By Gregg Shapiro

Contributing writer

“Saturday Night Fever: 30th Anniversary Special Collector’s Edition” (Paramount)—Thirty years before John Travolta donned a fat-suit, a wig and a dress to play Edna Turnblad in the movie version of “Hairspray,” he strutted his considerable stuff in the disco epic “Saturday Night Fever.”

Long before he became the poster boy for Scientology, Travolta created the dance-obsessed character of 19-year-old Tony Manero. Brooklyn-based Tony lives to dance and not even his rotten day job at a paint store and the unhealthy family dynamics of his home life can take that away from him. He enhances his baby blue eyes, dimpled chin and toned body with gold chains and charms, fastidiously assembled polyester ensembles and hair that is blow-dried and coiffed within an inch of itself.

Tony’s racist and sexist posse—Joey (Joseph Cali), Double J (Paul Pape), Gus (Bruce Ornstein) and unstable Bobby (Barry Miller)—are a drinking, drugging and womanizing crew who accept Tony’s leadership role. To the extreme, Bobby hangs on Tony’s every word and deed. But all you have to do is watch Tony make his entrance into their favorite disco, with women and men throwing themselves on him, to understand his magnetism. Of course, once Tony takes to the dance floor, there’s no doubt why he’s so admired and respected. But it’s Tony’s social skills that leave something to be desired, and when he meets Stephanie (Karen Lynn Gorney), a woman from Bay Ridge who also comes to the disco to dance, but who has set her sites on self-improvement, which includes relocating to Manhattan, we watch Tony go through a metamorphosis that he probably never imagined possible. DVD special features include the informative multi-segment “Catching the Fever,” commentary by director John Badham and much more.

 

“Flashdance” (Paramount)—Like John Travolta’s portrayal of Tony in “Saturday Night Fever,” it is more than likely that it is for the part of welder-by-day and dancer-by-night Alex in 1983’s “Flashdance” that Jennifer Beals will most likely be forever remembered for. Sure, there’s a whole generation of LGBT folks who know her best as Bette on “The L Word.” Still others fondly remember her first for her career-making performance as Alex.

Essentially a glorified tale of keeping one’s dreams alive, “Flashdance” follows Alex’s pursuit of an audition at the Pittsburgh Dance and Repertory Company, encouraged all along by mentor Hanna (Lilia Skala). When her Porsche-driving boss Nick (Michael Nouri) at the steel mill asks her out on a date after seeing her dance as part of the sophisticated floor-show at working-class dive Mawby’s Bar, she turns him down. But eventually they begin a romance that is full of all the highs and lows one might expect from their age and cultural differences.

Nevertheless, Nick is supportive of Alex’s ambitions, even going so far as calling in a favor to guarantee Alex an audition at the Rep. The characters spout the kind of pretentious dialogue that only co-screenwriter Joe Eszterhas could manufacture, and most of the music sounds unfortunately dated. But “Flashdance” went on to become a phenomenon, including winning an Oscar for the “Flashdance—What a Feeling” theme. It also inspired numerous 1980s fashion trends, most notably involving leg warmers and deconstructed sweatshirts. “The Look of Flashdance” featurette in the DVD special features examines the movie’s impact on fashion, while “The History of Flashdance” provides just that for anyone interested.