Fame (1980)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Alan Parker

Writer:

Christopher Gore (written by)

Release Date:

16 May 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

If they've really got what it takes, it's going to take everything they've got.

Plot:

A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.

Plot Keywords:

Graduation | Audition | Actor | New York | Singer

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Eddie Barth	...	Angelo
Irene Cara	...	Coco
Lee Curreri	...	Bruno
Laura Dean	...	Lisa
Antonia Franceschi	...	Hilary
Boyd Gaines	...	Michael
Albert Hague	...	Shorofsky
Tresa Hughes	...	Mrs. Finsecker
Steve Inwood	...	François Lafete
Paul McCrane	...	Montgomery
Anne Meara	...	Mrs. Sherwood
Joanna Merlin	...	Miss Berg
Barry Miller	...	Ralph
Jim Moody	...	Farrell
Gene Anthony Ray	...	Leroy

Also Known As:

Hot Lunch (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | French

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Canada:14A | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Iceland:L | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Haaren High School, 10th Avenue 59th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

Director Alan Parker wanted a scene that showed Doris overcoming her fear and becoming an actress. He heard of the audience participation at the local screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and went to check it out. He loved it so much that he not only decided to use it in the film, he had many of the "cast" from the local screenings appear in the film, as the people doing the time-warp on stage when Doris runs up and joins them.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Coco is doing her screen test for François Lafite, her hair is shown falling over her left shoulder as seen through the camera viewfinder. In the direct shot her hair is off the shoulder.

Quotes:

Shorofsky: No! No! No! Hold the bow like this! Not like this! This isn't your dick you're holding! It's a violin bow! Hold it with respect, like...
Bruno Martelli: ...Your dick?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "What a Year: 1980 (#2.1)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Red Light

Can you believe this movie was made over 20 years ago? It still hasn't lost its punch 20 years later.

Its amazing after 20 years this movie still hasn't lost none of its punch and its too bad that they don't make movies like this anymore. I remember when this movie came out. I was 14 years old and I thought it was going to be another one of those idiotic teen comedies and so forth. Boy, was I dead wrong. This movie had a lot to go for it especially during a decade where a lot of high school movies of the 80's consisted of "The Breakfast Club", "Sixteen Candles","Pretty In Pink","Fast Times At Ridgemont High", "The Last American Virgin" and so forth. Fame consisted of eight talented teenagers all hotly pursing their dreams at the prestigious New York's High School Of The Performing Arts. Its a stunning combination of drama and pathos,but in the same level it's an explosion of pulsating song and electrifying dance numbers that made this one of the most memorable movie musicals of the 1980's. Director Alan Parker(of Midnight Express,Mississippi Burning,and others)brings to the screen a profusion of fresh young talent in front of the camera and behind it(like choreographer Louis Falco and composer Micheal Gore who won Oscars for the film's dynamic score and the title song he co-wrote with lyricist Dean Pitchford). The action here is very intense as it spills all over the Big Apple from the shadows of 42nd Street to the bright lights of the great white way and not to mention the sequences around Times Square. As for the characters who were then unknowns at the time it was a stark reality check as it follows the lives of several individuals from different backgrounds. Some of them made it while the others were just getting by and the rest knew the getting their fame would cost them the ultimate price. However,there are some gaps in some of the characters but after seeing it again it makes you wonder after 20 years that this film still has the emotional pull and from there it never lets go. The soundtrack to this movie is still great even after 20 years later. If you have never seen this movie brace yourself for some roof raising pleasure cause from the beginning its one helluva ride. Make sure that you get the director's version which contains additional scenes that were cut from the original print. NOTE: "Fame" also brought some unknown talent like choreographer/dancer Gene Anthony Ray,and also singer/ songwriter Irene Cara(who would got on to become one of the biggest R&B/Pop singers of the decade--the Mariah Carey of her generation)and also two years later would become a subsequent TV series that would showcased the talents of Ray and other original cast members including Debbie Allen(which ran for five seasons ending its run in 1986). As for movie itself,its worth seeing.