Saturday Night Fever
1977, R, 119 min.
D: John Badham; with John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gormey.

Today mostly regarded as disco camp, Saturday Night Fever should rank as one of the great American films. John Travolta seized his moment in his breakout starring role as a young American dreamer who wants something more from life. A sensation on the disco dance floor, he follows his instincts – and his feet – to dance, dance, dance his way up life’s ladder. The movie may be held responsible for hurling the Bee Gees into merciless radio rotation, but Saturday Night Fever pulsates to their strident beat. Singlehandedly, the success of SNF kept the all-but-dead Hollywood musical dance format alive for at least one more decade.

This article appears in April 14 • 2000.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

Marjorie Baumgarten is a film critic and contributing writer at The Austin Chronicle, where she has worked in many capacities since the paper's founding in 1981. She served as the Chronicle's Film Reviews editor for 25 years.