Saturday Night Fever [VHS]

Saturday Night Fever [VHS]
by John Badham

List Price: ~~$9.95~~
Category: VHS Video
See more movie releases

Buy Saturday Night Fever [VHS] at Amazon.com

(Click here)

Buy this VHS video movie at online store in your country
Canada

Product details

Actor: Barry Miller, John Travolta, Joseph Cali, Karen Lynn Gorney, Paul Pape
Director: John Badham
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog; Italian (Original Language)
Format: Color, NTSC
Running Time: 118 minutes
Release Date: 1992-12-07
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Studio: Warner Home Video

VHS Movie Reviews of Saturday Night Fever [VHS]

Movie Review: Not that much has changed since 30 years ago
Summary: 5 Stars

Sure disco is out.But other dance take its place.Many Italians had moved out but it is still a working class neighborhood and I am sure many people can still relate to this movie.
I used to live in that part of Brooklyn.Not exactly Bayridge but Bensonhurst nearby.It was and still is,to a lesser degree,an Italian working-class neighborhood.One of my good friends and neighbors, an Italian,came as an illegal alien until he married an American woman.He works in the construction business and every Tuesday he plays in his band to make the rest of his week bearable,not unlike Tony.
This movie came out when I was ten.I could not see it but bought the vinyl album and memorized most of the songs.Lenny's pizza is STILL there.Almost everyday I walked down 86th Street and passed by Lenny's pizza as I lived 5 minutes from it without knowing its history in cinema.I never went inside because it looked sorta like a dump.The door barely fit my body.Don't get me wrong,I like Italian food and have been to most of the Italian joints nearby.One of them has a big Italian flag,taller than me,hoisted outside,waving in the wind.So you can imagine the shock I had when I saw Lenny's pizza in the opening when I caught the movie for the first time on TV and the regret I had not having eaten there now that I had left the neighborhood.
Like Tony,I used to walk 10 minutes to Belt Parkway and look at Verrazano bridge from the same angle and get "some ideas".I was too old for Coney Island.It got me too excited anyway.Verrazano bridge had a soothing effect on me.
Christianity is big in the neighborhood.There are statues of saints in people's front lawns.Once I looked outside the window at night and saw a procession of people led by a priest holding a candle that stretched at least two blocks.So I can appreciate the pride and then despair of Tony's mother at Tony's brother.
It is not the cleanest neighborhood.It is a chaotic and gritty neighborhood.The building next to mine used to be a brothel.When police raided it,they found,surprise,fellow police among the customers.But it is dynamic like Tony's moves on dance floor and full of colorful characters.My neighbor,the owner of a music store,said he played with Elvis.He just passed away.God rest his soul.
There are still a lot of Italian-Americans in that area.I had played soccer with them.Everyone was speaking Italian.I didn't understand a word.But they were nice to me.My friend would be driving but would follow a cute woman with his eyes with no regard to the traffic.Is it an Italian thing?He and his friends would put expresso in tiny tupperware in their pockets.
Many teenagers would gather in group seating in doorways or standing in street corner,much like Tony and his gang.Tony likes to look at himself in the mirror and comb his hair whereas my room-mate would dress up as spider-man and take self-portraits and go to anime convention.
Now many people of my heritage--Chinese--moved in as Italians moved out. But it remains the same if you substitute disco with karaoke.Every Saturday my landlord would hold party in the basement.He would play guitar,his brother bass and their friend drum.Some would sing.Some dance.Not disco but ballroom dance.That is how I met my Italian-American neighbors.
In the commentary,the director remarked he is sure people still talk that kind of racist dialogue somewhere in Brooklyn.How true!I remember I couldn't give street direction to people in a car and got racial slur hurled at me.One day I saw stickers of white supremacist groups on many poles of bus-stops.While it is not lynching,it is still disturbing.I later read about Yusef Hawkins and what happened to some Mexican laborers.Till now,there isn't any African-American in the neighborhood.Luckily for me the people I met,be they Italians or Latinos or any other ethnic groups are friendly and tolerant.Maybe being of Chinese heritage is lucky and have it better.Remember one of the posters on Tony's wall is Bruce Lee.Tony's pals wanted to see his new movie.They are more disparaging to other ethnic groups such as Latinos and African-Americans.Thirty years went by,as cliche as it seems,when it comes to racism,there is progress but there is still room to improve.I wonder,even today, how many would give up their trophies and money like Tony in the dance contest.
I am half-way between Tony and Stephanie.Like Stepahnie,I would regale my neighbors with tales of the celebrities I met in Manhattan and even show them the autographs I got.Looking back,I was so vain.Many of my neighbors rarely go to "the city".
The movie is about moving up the social ladder and overcoming social barrier which is still relevant today.Stephanie personifies Manhattan.Its sophistication is skin-deep.A veneer.It is not all that it claims to be.It is smart of the director to end the movie with a freeze frame of Tony, personification of provincial Brooklyn, and Stephanie in a tentative embrace,leaving the audience to imagine what happens afterward.How will Tony's career turn out?Will he make it in Manhattan or eaten up by the tough city?Is Manhattan as good as he thought it to be?Will they get married?These are up to each viewer's imagination.(I haven't watched Stayin Alive)
I,for one, briefly encountered my Stephanie/Manhattan and parted way.Not being able to make it in Manhattan,I left US altogether.Brooklyn,the ground zero of many immigrant journeys,its sight and sound,its color and character still lingers on in me.Like Tony,I am about to cross the threshold to a new world where I can be all that I can be.
PS Donna Pescow looks like Giulietta Masina and lends Fellini qualities to the movie.
As to which edition is better,25th anniversary or 30th,it is a toss up.I have watched both but own the latter.It is wrapped in a cute miniature white disco suit of Tony! Some reviewers are big on deleted scenes(which are included only in 25th edition).These 2 minutes clips are deleted for a reason and IMO should stay deleted.They don't give any new perspective to the movie.The VH1 documentary in the 25th edition and the 30 year legacy documentary in the 30th edition both have their pros and cons.One is not better than the other.The best bonus feature and the most valuable insight into the film is the director's commentary,which is included in both editions.You are all set with just this special feature.30th anniversary edition has more special features such as revisiting Bayridge and Bee Gees interview.So it has a slight edge.But they are all good.
Just read Nik Cohn's story on which the movie is based.The script writer had made a lot of changes and the final product is at least 80% his creation.Vincent of the short story,a cold,callous and James Deanish guy, becomes Tony in the movie,with more human touch and more likable. Donna,withdrawn,masochistic and quite creepy,becomes Annette,more normal and just infatuated with someone.
Nik Cohn based his story on British teenagers and it is interesting to see that British and American and,I would dare say,every culture's kids are pretty much the same.

Movie Review: Terrible Packaging
Summary: 1 Stars

CD was very scratched from being loose in packaging. Someone probably saved a whole $ .50 or less on cheesey CD case.

Movie Review: Saturday Night Fever
Summary: 5 Stars

This is such a cool movie. Brings back 70s memories and makes you want to move your feet.

Movie Review: "A True Classic"
Summary: 5 Stars

"Saturday Night Fever" defined the late 1970's and made disco the most popular form of music. With a soundtrack headed by the Bee Gees and with John Travolta in the starring role, the movie has cemented itself forever in the hearts of film buffs worldwide. Travolta (who received a Best Actor Oscar nomiation) plays Tony who works at a dead-end job during the day, but is a superstar on the dance floor at a local Brooklyn disco. The movie is widely known for making Travolta a superstar and is the first film to be widely responsible for the huge record sales of its soundtrack, which was the biggest movie album until 1992's "The Bodyguard". The DVD comes with the trailer, 3 deleted scenes, audio commentary by director John Badham, and much more. A sequel, titled "Staying Alive" and starring Travolta, was released in the early '80's and was a commercial flop.

Movie Review: Defective DVD
Summary: 1 Stars

This DVD not only didn't work, but after trying it on the third DVD player it locked it up and it took me ten minutes to get it out of the machine.

Write your own review

Summary of Saturday Night Fever [VHS]

Saturday Night Fever is one of those movies that comes along and seems to change the cultural temperature in a flash. After the movie's release in 1977, disco ruled the dance floors, and a blow-dried member of a TV-sitcom ensemble became the hottest star in the country. For all that, the story is conventional: a 19-year-old Italian-American from Brooklyn, Tony Manero (John Travolta), works in a humble paint store and lives with his family. After dark, he becomes the polyester-clad stallion of the local nightclub; Tony's brother, a priest, observes that when Tony hits the dance floor, the crowd parts like the Red Sea before Moses. Director John Badham captures the electric connection between music and dance, and also the desperation that lies beneath Tony's ambitions to break out of his limited world. The soundtrack, which spawned a massively successful album, is dominated by the disco classics of the Bee Gees, including "Staying Alive" (Travolta's theme during the strutting opening) and "Night Fever." The Oscar-nominated Travolta, plucked from the cast of Welcome Back, Kotter, for his first starring role, is incandescent and unbelievably confident, and his dancing is terrific. Oh, and the white suit rules. (Note: Saturday Night Fever was cut from its original R-rated version after its initial release in order to obtain a PG rating. The PG version is 11 minutes shorter and is missing parts of scenes and some street talk. Both versions are available on video.) --Robert Horton

Stills from Saturday Night Fever (Click for larger image)

	?

Drama Video

Genres > Cult Movies
Drama > By Theme > Class Differences
Racy
Urban Life
Musicals & Performing Arts > Musicals > Drama

Video Genres

Movies most talked about in Drama Video

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me [VHS]
New Line Home Video; Release date: 1998-09-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $1.28
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Badlands [VHS]
Warner Bros. Pictures; Release date: 1995-01-31; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Mystery Train (1989) [VHS]
MGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 2000-03-07; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $0.48
Price in other shops: ~~$14.95~~

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer [VHS]
Mpi Home Video; Release date: 1998-10-13; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $17.50
Price in other shops: ~~$19.98~~

Bad Lieutenant [VHS]
Live / Artisan; Release date: 1994-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops: ~~$9.98~~

Fellini Satyricon [VHS]
MGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 1993-01-27; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $0.48
Price in other shops: ~~$19.98~~

Saturday Night Fever [VHS]
Warner Home Video; Release date: 1992-12-07; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: ~~$9.95~~

Easy Rider [VHS]
Sony Pictures; Release date: 1999-10-12; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.95
Price in other shops: ~~$14.95~~

King of Hearts [VHS]
MGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 2000-10-03; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $72.00

Valley of the Dolls (Spec) [VHS]
20th Century Fox; Release date: 1997-12-23; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $11.35
Price in other shops: ~~$12.98~~

Similar Video, DVDs, Audio CDs

The Boy in the Plastic Bubble
WESTLAKE ENTERTAINMENT INC; Release date: 2003-11-01; DVD
Best price: $3.20
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Ghost (Special Collector's Edition)
PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2007-03-13; DVD
Best price: $9.43
Price in other shops: ~~$12.98~~

Footloose (Special Collector's Edition)
BACON,KEVIN; Release date: 2004-09-28; DVD
Best price: $5.25
Price in other shops: ~~$12.98~~

Dirty Dancing (Ultimate Edition)
LIONS GATE HOME ENT.; Release date: 2003-12-09; DVD
Best price: $7.45
Price in other shops: ~~$14.98~~

Urban Cowboy
TRAVOLTA,JOHN; Release date: 2002-10-08; DVD
Best price: $4.18
Price in other shops: ~~$9.98~~

Flashdance (Special Collector's Edition w/ Bonus CD)
PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2007-09-18; DVD
Best price: $11.75
Price in other shops: ~~$19.99~~