Word: disco
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER is one of those movies you would probably enjoy if you let yourself. Leave home your preconceived notions about what a movie about disco dancing, set in Brooklyn, starring John Travolta of Sweathog fame is going to be like--you should find the movie a pleasant surprise...
Travolta plays Tony Manero, king of the Bay Ridge, Brooklyn disco scene. From the opening shot, a sweeping glance of Bay Ridge streets complete with pizzerias, neighborhood stores and the F train rumbling overhead, we know Tony is in control of his environment. In the background float the strains of "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees, who wrote and performed the movie's score. Tony works in a paint store, a job that proves singularly unpromising. But he really lives for Saturday night, when he and his friends hit the 2001: Odyssey discotheque...
...scene in the disco tells the audience why. During the week, Tony is a nobody in a dull job with an unrewarding family life. Yet once he enters the 2001 he becomes an object of respect, of admiration, of attention. As he and his friends walk in, the crowd parts. People's heads begin turning, just like a "My broker is E.F. Hutton..." commercial set to music. Beautiful women come to Tony's table to ask him to dance, or to be allowed to wipe off his sweaty forehead. And Manero can really dance...
...disco scenes are an effective mixture of sound, light and movement that catches the intensity and power of the fever that brings these people out to dance. The dance floor is a vibrant pattern of red, blue and yellow flashing lights, punctuated by the incessant disco beat from the record booth. The dancers, especially Tony, are graceful, swirling pairs that make you wish you had learned how to hustle back in high school. Lean back and enjoy the dance scenes for their own sake. They form the backbone of the movie, so you will see a lot of them...
...place," as Stephanie puts it--the audience soon realizes he is different, more aware of his motives and desires. The high he gets from dancing is transitory. He wants that same feeling to come from other parts of his life, which is empty but for the disco dancing. He comes to view his life as unsatisfying and unhealthy, especially when several events occur to help him see his life more clearly...