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Saturday Night Fever (1977)

tomatometer

90

Average Rating: 7.5/10
Reviews Counted: 39
Fresh: 35 | Rotten: 4

No consensus yet.

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 1

audience

67

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 159,489

My Rating

Movie Info

John Travolta graduated from minor celebrity to superstar with Saturday Night Fever. Travolta plays Tony Manero, a Brooklyn paint-store clerk who'd give anything to break out of his dead-end existence. In life, Tony is a peasant; on the disco dance floor, he's a king. As the soundtrack plays one Bee Gees hit after another (including "Stayin' Alive"), we watch white-suited Tony strut his stuff amidst flashing lights and sweaty, undulating bodies. Tony's class aspirations are mirrored in his

R, 1 hr. 59 min.

Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Classics

Nik Cohn, Norman Wexler

Aug 10, 2002

Paramount Pictures

Cast

All Critics (39) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (5) | DVD (35)

A small, solid film, made with craft if not resonance.

April 27, 2009 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Travolta's characterization, given the script and directorial demands, is okay. It will please the already-committed; but it won't win him any new fans.

March 5, 2009 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment (1)
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Mr. Travolta is deft and vibrant, and he never condescends to the character, not even in a scene that has Tony and Stephanie arguing about whose Romeo and Juliet it is, Zeffirelli's or Shakespeare's.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

There's a lot in the movie that's sad and painful, but after a few years what you remember is John Travolta on the dance floor in that classic white disco suit, and the Bee Gees on the soundtrack.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Disco drama is not just daaancin' yeah!

December 15, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

In a just world, this movie would've been soundtracked with Donna Summer's "Could It Be Magic" and Diana Ross's "Love Hangover." So, in other words, the soundtrack to Looking for Mr. Goodbar.

May 10, 2009 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment (1)
Slant Magazine

Saturday Night Fever's heart is actually in the right place. It's ears, though? That's another story.

May 10, 2009 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comments (3)
Slant Magazine

...one cannot dismiss its cultural significance, which today may be part of its campy appeal. (Blu-ray Edition)

May 7, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Today, it's like a kind of '70s jukebox that hasn't quite aged that well.

May 7, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment (1)
Movie Metropolis

The omission of John Travolta in any of the commentaries or documentaries is a major shadow that the new disc cannot get out from.

October 13, 2007 Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | Comment
FilmJerk.com

John Badham's film (his best to date), a zeitgeist picture that captures the disco subculture of the 1970s like no other work, features a star-making performance from John Travolta who dominates every frame.

November 29, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

In the end, the real killer is the movie's abject sincerity.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment (1)

My "how to" book as a teenage.

April 29, 2005 Comment

strong and engaging

February 7, 2005 Comment
Shadows on the Wall
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Saturday Night Fever

First off, a disclaimer: no, I had never actually seen this before (but still had preconceived notions about it), and I don't really care for the disco scene.You might be wondering then why I finally decided to give it a chance and watch it. Well, a couple of reasons. As a burgeoning historian wishing to specialize in

April 16, 2007
cosmo313
Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

Like most people, I derided this film without actually having seen it. Most people assume it to be nothing more than a soundtrack vehicle. Fortunately, that's not the case. This is actually an extremely good and well-made film, as well one of John Travolta's best performances. Yes, the music is great, but it's the film

January 29, 2008
FilmFanatik
Tim Salmons

Super Reviewer

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Foreign Titles

  • Nur Samstag Nacht (DE)
  • Saturday Night Fever (1977) (UK)
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