An infectious musical drama, “Saturday Night Fever” propelled John Travolta to international stardom and launched disco as a legit phenomena. As a portrait of a self absorbed youth culture that offered little opportunity to poorly educated Americans in the 70’s, it’s a time capsule that continues to be pretty powerful stuff. The film is often frank and brutal (for its time) in its portrayal of the main character Tony Marnero (Travolta) and his decision to use the disco competition to make something of his life. The Bee Gees songs and other soundtrack selections perfectly compliment and provide a telling commentary on the film actions of the characters. ---

Image & Sound:

This is the second time that “Saturday Night Fever” has appeared on DVD. The transfer looks colorful and sharp. ***

The 5.1 mix more than adequately handles the demands of the music and action. ---

Director John Badham provided an excellent commentary track on the original release. That has been ported over here. ***

“Catching the Fever” is a five part documentary that runs just under an hour about the making of the film. The documentary covers everything from the genesis of the film, Travolta’s involvement, the soundtrack, costumes and the era that gave birth to this often gritty film. Unlike, say, “Grease” or some of the other films of this ilk, “Saturday Night Fever” had substance to it. ***

We also get “Dance Like Travolta with John Cassese” which sums up everything that this feturette is about. “Fever Challenge” a game (sort of) about the film and “70’s Discopedia”. The latter feature wasn’t accessible and the disc kept freezing up every time I tried to access it. ---

Final Words: