Saturday Night Fever - The Ultimate Disco Movie

John Travolta and Barry Gibb star in Saturday Night Fever - The Ultimate Disco Movie, with Bruno Tonioli. This documentary celebrates the fortieth anniversary of the 1977 blockbuster dance movie, and sees Strictly Come Dancing’s Bruno Tonioli, who was a young dancer in New York in 1977, walk us through the steps that made the movie legendary. He also revisits the streets of New York where the film was shot and looks back at the success of a film that gave everyone “disco fever”. Travolta, Gibb and other members of the cast and crew give gripping accounts of supreme success against a backdrop of setbacks and unexpected twists and turns. Bruno unpacks the skill, athleticism and dedication of Travolta whose incandescent performance prompted a disco dance craze. We also hear about the potent influence of impresario Robert Stigwood whose faith in Travolta, and a group who had hit a glitch in their career - The Bee Gees - proved visionary.

With clips from the original movie as well as astonishing access to those involved and using rarely seen on-location archive, this programme retells the nail biting evolution of a ground breaking US film that originated in the work of a British journalist; saw a director fired; suffered mafia threats; filmed guerrilla style on the streets of Brooklyn; had a newcomer cast; benefited from disco hits written in a weekend, and delivered a white suit and a performance from the man who wore it that have gone down in history.

Nominated for an RTS Scotland Award 2018 for Best Factual Documentary and Specialist Factual: Arts

BBC2