I must admit I never really ‘got’ this movie when it came out. I know it was a huge success and is now hailed as a classic, but I found it rather hokey at the time, and I still think it is somewhat over-rated. 

The movie’s effect on popular culture cannot be denied, however. It of course made John Travolta a huge star and went a long way to popularise the 70s disco scene. But the movie’s lasting legacy will always be its Grammy winning soundtrack album, one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time. The Bee Gees songs on it are all stone-cold classics and became huge hit singles.

With the music’s huge popularity and the buzz around Travolta amongst teens, there was only one problem: the movie was originally released in the UK with an “X” (ie adults only) certificate, so kids could not legally get to see it in cinemas. So this became the only instance I can recall of a movie being re-cut and re-released soon afterwards as an “A” – so that disco and Travolta-loving kids could go see it. I saw the original version in the cinema and I remember seeing bits of the kids-friendly version on TV years later, in which all the swearing and sex scenes got cut out. This sanitised version rather ruined the grittiness that the original cut had going for it, but no doubt helped to line the studio’s pockets.

This poster is the for the original “X” certificate version, so much rarer. It brilliantly captures Travolta on the lighted dance floor in his iconic white suit and peacocking pose (subsequently much parodied in Airplane! and others).

As a postscript, the less said about the godawful sequel Staying Alive (directed by Sylvester Stallone, no less) the better!