Saturday Night Fever

Best known for launching John Travolta to stardom and popularising disco music worldwide, John Badham's film makes an impression right from its opening scenes, which move to the rhythm of the Bee Gees' Stayin Alive, to which young Tony Manero struts.

The film is a kind of glamorous counterpoint to the very dark Taxi Driver (1976): The protagonist, Tony, also clumsily tries to seduce a sophisticated woman, checks himself in the mirror in search of an identity and roams the streets, but with his slicked-back hair, flashy shirt, sparkling shoes, gold chain and bell-bottoms, he constantly displays a style and charisma reminiscent of blaxploitation films.

This enticing glamour doesn't prevent Saturday Night Fever from realistically grounding its character in the everyday life of a gang of young Italian-Americans in Brooklyn, whose dreams and fears it captures: Tony seeks the recognition his family denies him, and the way he trains to shine on the dance floor shows a desire to make it, like the hero of Rocky (1976) whose picture adorns his bedroom - incidentally Sylvester Stallone would direct a less than memorable sequel to Badham's film six years later.

But Tony's social rise remains relative: whether it's romance or success, the low-budget, cult classic Saturday Night Fever eschews Hollywood stereotypes

Alain Boillat (CEC, Unil)