Saturday Night Fever - Blu Ray Review

"Saturday Night Fever" gets its Blu Ray Treatment to wonderful success. While different in its progression than "Grease", there are some iconic moments in this one that sometimes outdoes that later entry. Specifically what really stands out in the transfer here (which is from the remaster two or three years ago) is Travolta's big solo sequence at 2001 Odyssey. The wide master shot looking up shows everything in the club. Specifically the lights, reflections and the balloons just pop on the screen now and make it look otherworldly. In other formats it looks very unspecific but here the focus and sharpness are unbelievable. The colors are perfectly even inside the world of the club. The Brooklyn elements are shadowy and more character driven so they are not meant to compete with the club's colors. The rehearsal studio sequence to "More Than A Woman" with the Tango Hustle has a balance of lights as well that seems to be perfectly calibrated in the 1080 mix which with pre-90s film can be a difficulty because the negative sometimes is what it is.The commentary by director John Badham talks about the approach to the character parts of the story. He talks about how intense the fan presence was at times for Travolta even at that time. He talks about the production design at the 2001 Odyssey Club, the PG rated cut (and doing the coverage for that) and the aspects of how controversial some of the dialogue by screenwriter Paul Wexler (who also wrote "Serpico") was at the time. He also talks that the Tango Hustle beat in the rehearsal studio (which, in my mind, is one of those great moments) was a move made up by John Travolta and John's assistant Colleen Murphy over lunch that day. Their choreographer didn't know he had to work that day and booked a fashion show instead. The "70s Discopedia" is a trivia track that breaks down a lot of behind the scenes elements going on at the time. Many of the characters have continued acting. One show a lot of them seemed to show up in was "The Sopranos". The track also indicates the John Avildsen ( of "Rocky" fame) was originally set to direct the picture but wanted to change Wexler's script which producer Robert Stigwood wouldn't allow. They parted ways on this point."Catching The Fever" traces the phenomenon of the film through different elements. "The 30 Year Legacy" talks about how much into pop culture "Fever" has become in terms of its iconic vision of the here-and-now in the late 70s. It is very rare that a musical based film is set in the time it is made. "Making Movie Soundtrack History" talks about how the Bee Gees became involved highlighting interviews with Robin and Barry Gibb. The music for the most part was recorded in the French countryside yet plays perfectly to NY. "Platform & Polyesters" follows the fashion and constume design of the film. One day the designer went shopping with John and they got mobbed. Everything was bought for the film off the rack which was a great marketing tool. "Deejays and Discos" talks about the impact of the film and its integration to basically reinvent disco and keep it going. It also talks about how Studio 54 figured into this and how the age of the Velvet Rope began at this time. "Spotlight On Travolta" involves most of the character actors talking about how Travolta was on set. They all spoke glowingly of him which is very true since he is a very nice guy. "Back To Bay Ridge" has the actor who played "Joey" taking us back to some of the locations which include Tony's house (which is being renovated), the paint store, the pizza shop and the spot where 2001 Odyssey used to be (now it is an office building). "Dancing Like Travolta With John Chesese" shows the dance that Stephanie and Tony did for the dance competition. It show what constitutes a couple different parts of it and then shows the technique in full motion. All throughout these features however Travolta, even in older interviews or new ones, is not seen which is odd since he did some for "Grease". However I understand since this is one role he likes to keep a mystery."Fever Challenge" is a feature where you can try to keep up like "Dance Party". It is a fun addition but not very interactive. The deleted scenes are brief including Tony trying to make out with Stephanie in the car, Tony's dad getting back his job and Travolta doing a "Stella" like set up at Steph's place at the end. However none of them would have really added anything or changed the film. This release of "Fever" has elements from the DVD release integrated into the disc. The menus obviously are getting better but it is 1080p looks of the scenes inside 2001 Odyssey that truly set this release apart since these scenes look phenomenal as does the "More Than A Woman" rehearsal scene at the dance studio. Out of 5, I give this release a 3 1/2.