John Travolta’s 70th birthday: With a swing of the hips on a hero’s journey – Culture

There isn’t a dance style he doesn’t master: disco groove in “Saturday Night Fever” or rock’n’roll in “Grease.” John Travolta’s moves made him famous and later got him out of a career slump. Looking back at a light-footed man.

John Travolta makes a big entrance. His solo dance scene in the 1977 cult classic “Saturday Night Fever” sparked a worldwide dance wave. The youth threw on polyester clothes and contorted their bodies under glittering disco balls.

Valve for the fun society

19-year-old Tony lives in the poor New York borough of Brooklyn. His temporary job is poorly paid and there is constant trouble in his Catholic family home. Women are worth nothing and are only there for fun. In the dance fever, Tony can forget his problems – on the dance floor he is the king of the night.

The film came at just the right time. The USA had to deal with the aftermath of the Vietnam War and the economy was still sputtering after the oil embargo. The fun society needed an outlet valve. John Travolta as Tony Manero pulled the trigger for them and the new disco generation was born.

New camera technology, great soundtrack

“Saturday Night Fever” owes its success to more than just the legendary dance scenes. The film also intones socially critical background noises.

The film music went through the roof with many legendary Bee Gees songs: to this day the album is one of the best-selling film soundtracks. The imagery was new for the time: “Saturday Night Fever” was one of the first films to use a steady camera. Thanks to a mounting system, the camera can move dynamically with the protagonist and deliver virtually shake-free images.

Legend:

Dynamic images thanks to a steady cam. This recording technique made it possible to experience Travolta’s solo dance up close.

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Dance through the 1970s

From then on, John Travolta’s unique selling point in Hollywood was his smooth hip swing. Just a year after “SNF”, the musical film adaptation “Grease” is coming to cinemas.

The film is set in the 1950s and led to a revival of rock’n’roll. In particular, the final scenes with Olivia Newton John and the soundtrack “You’re the One that I Want” finally make John Travolta the dance messiah of the big screen.

When the sequel to “Saturday Night Fever” directed by Sylvester Stallone came into theaters in 1983, John Travolta’s star began to decline. The film is criticized by the trade press as a “pseudo-soul drama” and the dance numbers are ridiculous.

Legend:

Embarrassing sequel: The follow-up film “Staying Alive” from 1983, directed by Sylvester Stallone, becomes the downfall of Travolta’s film career.

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Grooving contract killer

Travolta didn’t deliver any more big hits until the 1990s. Until he was offered the role of Vinnie Vega in “Pulp Fiction” by a young, wild director named Quentin Tarantino.

Legend:

You wouldn’t give him the unscrupulous contract killer: dance scene with Uma Thurman in “Pulp Fiction”, John Travolta’s comeback film.

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Travolta as an unscrupulous contract killer is the biggest possible image change after the talking babies in “Look Who’s Talking”. The dance performance with Uma Thurman – as a reference to his earlier works – a Tarantine stroke of genius.

One could almost fully admire John Travolta’s heroic journey through Hollywood’s ups and downs if it weren’t for his membership in the controversial Church of Scientology. Travolta has been a registered member of the global cult since 1975.