“Forty years ago, one film changed the world,” said Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli, speaking of Saturday Night Fever. You might not remember it that way. You might recall Saturday Night Fever coming out and the world staying pretty much the same. But it’s Christmas – let’s give Bruno’s thesis a full hearing.
Saturday Night Fever: The Ultimate Disco Movie (BBC2) was a deep dive into the making of a low-budget, possibly world-changing film, with contributions from its cast members, producers and one of its directors. What promised to be an over-the-top fan letter from Tonioli was, in the end, an entertaining examination of the making of an accidental blockbuster.
A bearded John Travolta was on hand to offer some perspective on the part that made him. “My whole life has been a blessing with that movie,” he said, speaking with his customary chilling earnestness. “It’s the foundation. It’s the blueprint for my whole career.”
Travolta was in fact already quite a star, the teen heartthrob in a popular sitcom called Welcome Back, Kotter. Producer Robert Stigwood had signed him up with an eye towards making a film of the musical Grease, but when that project was delayed, Saturday Night Fever was put together to fill the gap and provide a commercial vehicle for Stigwood’s other big act: the Bee Gees.
The screenplay, based on a magazine article about the disco subculture in Brooklyn, was gritty; the swearing alone guaranteed an R rating. Travolta saw it as an art film. “Taxi Driver with dancing,” he said.
The first director, John G Avildsen, who had just made Rocky, didn’t share this vision; he was replaced by John Badham. Location filming was bedevilled by the local mafia and Travolta’s teenage fans. There were many reasons Saturday Night Fever almost didn’t make it to the screen: even as it neared completion, the editor realised the dance sequences couldn’t be synced to the music because the Bee Gees’ final tracks were slower than the demos used during filming.
A programme like this can become a victim of its own success: there comes a point when you think about turning it off and just watching Saturday Night Fever instead. But it was worth the full viewing and by the end Tonioli almost made good on his claim.
