Saturday Night Fever: Critic Reviews

Mr. Travolta is deft and vibrant, and he never condescends to the character, not even in a scene that has Tony and Stephanie arguing about whose Romeo and Juliet it is, Zeffirelli's or Shakespeare's.

There's a lot in the movie that's sad and painful, but after a few years what you remember is John Travolta on the dance floor in that classic white disco suit, and the Bee Gees on the soundtrack.

A small, solid film, made with craft if not resonance.

Travolta's characterization, given the script and directorial demands, is okay. It will please the already-committed; but it won't win him any new fans.

Disco drama is not just daaancin' yeah!

Saturday Night Fever's heart is actually in the right place. It's ears, though? That's another story.

Today, it's like a kind of '70s jukebox that hasn't quite aged that well.

John Badham's film (his best to date), a zeitgeist picture that captures the disco subculture of the 1970s like no other work, features a star-making performance from John Travolta who dominates every frame.

In the end, the real killer is the movie's abject sincerity.

My "how to" book as a teenage.

strong and engaging

One of the best films of all time

It holds up beautifully, mainly because it puts the characters and their flaws first and the disco nightlife second. Travolta remains an amazing, graceful presence on the dance floor.

The very epitome of 'outdated', but oddly enough that's what makes it such a (mini) classic.

Too bad the kids didn't really jump off that bridge...