Staying Alive

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For other uses, see Staying Alive (disambiguation).

Staying Alive
movie poster for Staying Alive
Directed by	Sylvester Stallone
Produced by	Sylvester Stallone Robert Stigwood
Written by	Sylvester Stallone Norman Wexler
Starring	John Travolta Cynthia Rhodes
Music by	Barry Gibb Maurice Gibb Robin Gibb
Cinematography	Nick McLean
Editing by	Mark Warner Don Zimmerman
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	July 11, 1983
Running time	93 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Preceded by	Saturday Night Fever
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Staying Alive is the 1983 sequel to Saturday Night Fever, starring John Travolta as the main character Tony Manero, Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Steve Inwood, Julie Bovasso, and dancers Viktor Manoel, Kate Ann Wright, Kevyn Morrow and Nanette Tarpey.This film marked the 10th film of actor John Travolta.

Taglines: Tony Manero knows the old days are over - But nobody's gonna tell him that he can't feel good again... Dance you your own beat... It's five years later for Tony Manero. The fever still burns!

1 Plot summary
2 Critical Reaction
3 Trivia
4 Awards and nominations
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Former disco king Tony Manero is six years older, and having left Brooklyn is now living in Manhattan staying in a flophouse while he works as a dance instructor and as a waiter at a dance club, looking for his big break in the modern dance productions on Broadway. Tony lands a role in the chorus of a new production called "Satan's Alley" starring wealthy English dancer Laura (Finola Hughes), whom he seduces only to find that he is the one who has been used.

His girlfriend Jackie (Cynthia Rhodes), sick of being considered second best, finally leaves him, and he soon realizes how cruel he has been. Tony sees an opportunity to replace the lead male dancer and asking Jackie to help succeed, resulting in an intense dancing chemistry between Tony and Laura which climaxes on opening night. The film ends with Tony leaving the stage door in order to "strut" in celebration, reminiscent of the opening scene of Saturday Night Fever.

[edit] Critical Reaction

Despite being one of the highest-grossing films of 1983, critics and fans blasted the movie, saying it lacked the heart and interesting characters of Saturday Night Fever, basically ignoring the elements of what made that movie a hit. Not only did Staying Alive hardly compare to its acclaimed predecessor, but it was also considered to be a terrible movie in general. A dance sequence in the final act of the movie flummoxed audiences instead of captivating them. In 2006, Entertainment Weekly dubbed Staying Alive the "Worst Sequel Ever." Many believe that this movie was the cause of the downward spiral of John Travolta's career that took place in the 1980s-early 1990s. It also received zero percent on Rotten Tomatoes [1].

[edit] Trivia

The title comes from the song by the Bee Gees. Six of their songs would be featured in this film. Apparently, director Sylvester Stallone did not communicate well with the group as he wanted Frank Stallone, his brother, to perform most of the songs for the film. The film was marred partially due to the lack of Bee Gees material and not being as memorable that made the first film very successful.
Travolta trained with Stallone for almost five months, working six days a week and sometimes 14 or 16 hours a day. He lost 20 pounds for the role.
The movie was directed by Sylvester Stallone with songs performed by Frank Stallone, Sylvester's brother. He has a part in the film as Carl, Jackie's musician guitar partner at the club.
There is a location reference to Saturday Night Fever when Tony, played by John Travolta, walks past the 2001 Odyssey club (the club had an advertisement for an all-male revue - suggesting that the former disco is now a gay-themed establishment.), on his way to visit his mother. 2001 Odyssey became the Spectrum in 1987 until its closure in 2005.
Sylvester Stallone has a cameo in the film when Tony, played by John Travolta, walks into him by mistake on a busy Manhattan street.
Julie Bovasso (who played Tony's mother) was the only other cast member besides Travolta to reprise her role from Saturday Night Fever.
Because of the popularity of John Travolta and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack at the time, Paramount decided to make this sequel less gritty for audiences who didn't get to see the original. The first film was an R [18 in the UK] and this was a friendly PG rating.
It was on the set of this film that Stallone and Travolta met, eventually becoming close friends.
Coincidentally, Tony Manero had a poster of the 1976 movie Rocky on his bedroom wall in the first film. Sylvester Stallone, who played the character of Rocky, would be directing this sequel.
In the novel adaptation, there were a few extra parts that were not in the film. One included Tony visiting Laura at her apartment prior to the night of the Broadway show of Satan's Alley. He wanted to make amends and hope they can be friends due to their chemistry during rehearsals for the show. She snaps at him and hints that "You don't have it..." which she says during the performance backstage in the final film only once. There was also an extended scene of Tony handing in his notice at the bar and the manager wishing him luck for his new career on Broadway. He vaguely says to Jackie in the final film that he is giving in his notice but was not shown in the final cut.
During the audition for Satan's Alley, where Jackie wins a role and Tony comments on her legs, there were a couple of outtakes of Tony from the introduction of the film where he dances at another audition. Notice his number on his top.
In the closing of the film when John Travolta struts down the street to the theme tune, there is a guy impersonating his walk behind him when he crosses the street. The last shot is an outtake, as John comes out of character and smiles at a member of the crew, most probably the director Sylvester Stallone.
The doorman who asks Tony if he was expected to Laura's party at her apartment is associate producer Tony Munafo, who was involved with this film and also Rocky IV and Rocky V.