Standing the test of time, 40 years later

Rating: 9/10 (16 July 2017)

"Saturday Night Fever" was released in 1977, meaning that this year marks the 40th anniversary. My local art-house theater here in Cincinnati had the good sense to hold a one-off special screening to commemorate the event (more in that later). I can't recall when was the last time I had seen the film, and in fact I wouldn't be surprised if this was the first time I saw it again in its entirety since I saw it during its original release (in Belgium, where I grew up, the movie was released in Spring of 1978, if memory serves me right).
Here some comments, in no particular order, having re-seen the film after all these years: 1. The music! Yes, the music! it remains the best feature of the film, and all of those Gibb Brothers-penned tunes are nothing short of a classic, every single one of them. 2. The dancing! John Travolta is as smooth as silk as he dances his way onto the dance floor and busts those disco moves. Love the scene when the entire floor dances along in unison to the Bee Gees' "Night Fever". And then there is Travolta's long solo during the Bee Gees' "You Shouls Be Dancing". Wow, just wow. 3. I had forgotten how many social commentaries and undercurrents there were in the film: tension within Tony's family, Tony's brother pulling a shocker, peer pressure among Tony's friends to 'fit in', even more pressure on the girls--if it all sounds contemporary, well, it is of course. They played out in society 40 years ago, and today--albeit not the exact same way of course. 4. The Travolta character gets a raise from his boss to $4/hr. Wonder how much that is in today's dollars? Almost $17! (Current federal minimum wage is $7.25.) 5. The age difference between Travolta and Gorney is much more noticeable to me now than it was for me as a kid (i was 17 watching it back then). 6. I was surprised at the number of F bombs throughout the movie (I don't know what version I saw in Belgium, the original R-rated version, or the subsequent revised PG version). 7. Seeing New York in 1977 like this, it feels like a bombed-out post-apocalyptic place, outright scary and depressing.
Bottom line: SNF stands the test of time, 40 years later, and then some. The Sunday matinée one-off screening where I saw this at was attended very nicely, mostly people in my age group (I am 57). The event was co-sponsored by one of the city "oldies" radio station, and everyone had a great time, hooting and hollering in the beginning when Travolta was walking as the Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive" was blasting from the screen. If you have a chance to re-visit this classic on the big screen, don't miss it!