On DVD: Saturday Night Fever The 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition

Directed by John Badham

Starring John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Donna Pescow

Back in 1977, I was eight years old. My friend Tina and I begged and begged to see this film at our local drive in. Mom finally relented and piled us into the car, with my Grandmother to see this film. We thought it was cinematic gold, they weren’t so impressed. So, how does the film hold up when it is revisited? Paramount Home Video recently released the 30th Anniversary Special Collectors Edition on DVD.

The Movie

Tony Manero ( John Travolta) is your typical Bay Ridge Brooklyn young man. He has a dead end job in a paint store and lives with his parents. He spends every bit of his paycheck on polyester clothes, gold chains, platform shoes and alcohol at the local discotheque.  He seems typical, hanging out with this friends, living for the weekend and doing nothing special.

However, it is when Tony is on the dance floor that he turns on the magic. Tony is one of the best local dancers around, While girls pay him no attention in the paint store or on the street, when he is dancing, they line up just to have a spin with him or to have a word with him.

Annette (Donna Pescow) is Tony’s frequent dance partner. He views her as only his dance partner and declines her romantic advances. He has his eye on the new girl at the club,Stephanie Mangano (Karen Lynn Gorney).

Stephanie, to Tony, is absolutely amazing. She is a Brooklyn girl that has made it in Manhattan. To him, she is classy and much different than the common Brooklyn girls he cuts a rug with every Saturday night. But, Stephanie doesn’t respond to Tony’s romantic overtures, the only thing she is interested in is his skills as a dancer and securing him to be her partner in the upcoming dance competition at the club.

Suddenly, the focus in Tony’s life isn’t just dancing on Saturday nights. It is the possibility of taking his dancing to a professional level and making sure he keeps Stephanie at his side permanently. But, will all of this work or is Tony destined to be just another Brooklyn loser burnout?

On the surface, the film could just seem like an abundance of dance sequences, sharp threads and a great 1970’s Disco soundtrack. But, if you look beyond that, the film offers much more. It is a great time capsule of the time and a great 1970’s coming of age film.

John Travolta truly shines in his role as Tony and brings a depth to the character that reminds us of why his star rose so quickly after this part. Forget Battlefield Earth or Look Who’s Talking, Saturday Night Fever is why Quentin Tarantino knew he would be right for the part in Pulp Fiction.

The rest of the cast is filled with great character actors such as Donna Pescow (most recently seen on The Sopranos),Julie Bovasso as Tony’s Mom,Val Bisoglio as Tony’s Father,Martin Shakar as Tony’s brother, a recent fallen Priest. The list goes on and on.

So, this trip down memory lane was a good one and this DVD certainly belongs on the shelf of any film fan, particularly those that are rabid about 70’s cinema. This film is about a lot more that bell bottoms and Bee Gees.

8/10

The Video

Saturday Night Fever: The 30th Anniversary Special Collectors Edition is presented in anamorphic widescreen. The transfer looks good, the colors are overall very vibrant and the black levels are respectable. However, the color red has some issues from time to time, so that is going to take the score down a bit.

7/10

The Audio

Saturday Night Fever: The 30th Anniversary Special Collectors Edition is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital Stereo. The dialogue is crystal clear and every thump of the Bee Gee’s bass is heard nicely.

7.5/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features

Saturday Night Fever: The 30th Anniversary Special Collectors Edition is presented in a great package with the DVD designed to look like a disco ball, and a translucent sleeve that slips over for the full effect. Nice Job!

A plethora of bonus features await your discovery on this release. Catching the Fever  is a five-part retrospective documentary, with new footage and interviews with Badham, producer Robert Stigwood, executive producer Kevin McCormack, Robin and Barry Gibb, and many principal cast members. But, where is Travolta?

Back to Bay Ridge is a revisit to the film’s original locations and you can still grab a slice where Tony stuffed his mug.

Dance Like Travolta With John Cassese is offered, in which he and a partner help us re-create the More Than a Woman dance sequence. Then you can take the Fever Challenge , a tutorial of some of Tony's finest solo moves.

But, that’s not all. Not to be missed is a director’s commentary with John Badham. Badham provides a very entertaining and informative look at the film and has some great behind the scenes stories to share and some interesting perspectives about the characters in the film.

70s Discopedia is a popup text track which plays over the movie, with little trivia tidbits about the movie and fun facts about the period. I found it interesting, but probably not the main bonus feature you want to check out first.

Along with some trailers, this is a nice selection of bonus features to accompany this film.

9/10

Overall (Not an Average) 8.5/10

The Review

The Movie 8/10

The Video 7/10

The Audio 7.5/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 9/10

Overall (Not an Average) 8.5/10

-Suzie Lackey