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Saturday Night Fever (1977)

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Top Critics

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

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

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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

Directed By: John Badham

Written By: Nik Cohn, Norman Wexler

In Theaters: Dec 19, 1977 Wide

On DVD: Aug 10, 2002

Paramount Pictures

Saturday Night Fever Trailer & Photos

Cast

John Travolta
Tony Manero
Karen Lynn Gorney
Stephanie
Barry Miller
Bobby C.
Joseph Cali
Joey
Paul Pape
Double J.
Bruce Ornstein
Gus
Donna Pescow
Annette
Val Bisoglio
Frank Sr.
Julie Bovasso
Flo
Nina Hansen
Grandmother
Lisa Peluso
Linda
Sam Coppola
Fusco
Denny Dillon
Doreen
Bert Michaels
Pete
Donald Gantry
Jay Langhart
Shelly Batt
Girl in Disco
Robert Costanzo
Paint Store Customer
Stanley de Santis
Fran Drescher
Connie
Murray Moston
Haberdashery Salesman
Monte Rock III
Deejay
Martin Shakar
Frank Jr.
Ann Travolta
Pizza Girl
Helen Travolta
Woman in Paint Store
Robert Weil
Becker
Ellen March
Bartender
William Andrews
Detective
Karen Gorney

Critic Reviews for Saturday Night Fever

All Critics (40) | Top Critics (5) | 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

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Top 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)

A.D. Murphy

Variety

Top 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

Janet Maslin

New York Times

Top 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

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Disco drama is not just daaancin' yeah!

December 15, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Charles Cassady

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)

Eric Henderson

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)

Eric Henderson

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

John J. Puccio

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)

John J. Puccio

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

Edward Havens

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

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

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

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment (1)

Derek Adams

Time Out

My "how to" book as a teenage.

April 29, 2005 Comment

Michael A. Smith

Nolan's Pop Culture Review Source: Nolan's Pop Culture Review

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Saturday Night Fever

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I was shocked. This film was way better than I expected. I was tempted to fast-forward the many dance sequences, but around them, John Travolta builds an interesting and compelling character with a performance worthy of its Academy Award nomination. Tony Manero has Rocky and Serpico posters on the bedroom wall in his

April 15, 2012

Daniel Perry

Super Reviewer

Silly but, for some strange reason, charming.

April 25, 2010

Tsubaki Sanjuro

Super Reviewer

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