Saturday Night Fever made millions at the box office, earned an Oscar nomination for John Travolta, catapulted The Bee Gees' music career into the stratosphere with a record-breaking, Grammy-winning soundtrack album, and ignited a "disco inferno" that burns to this day. From Travolta's iconic white polyester suit and legendary dance moves, to the flashing lights and illuminated floor of the Odyssey disco in Brooklyn, Saturday Night Fever captured the era like no other film—and launched a phenomenon that changed the world forever.
Here, for the first time, is the complete history of Saturday Night Fever. From the New York magazine article that inspired the film—"Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night" by Nik Cohn—to the on-and-off-set dramas of Travolta, director John Badham, and producer Robert Stigwood, this deep dive into the making of a movie classic also includes special interviews with actors Donna Pescow and Joseph Cali, among others. It explores the huge impact of the film on the industry—including a "Death to Disco" backlash—as well as on American culture itself. With modern-day insights into its 1970s-era portrayals of gender, sex, and race, this is a richly detailed, delightfully entertaining celebration as glittering and multi-faceted as a mirrored disco ball. It's a must-listen for every movie and music lover who's ever caught the Fever . . .