Saturday Night Fever - Versions and Sequel

Versions and Sequel

Two theatrical versions of the film were released: the original R-rated version and an edited PG-rated version. (The PG-rated re-issue was in 1978; the middle-ground PG-13 rating was not created until 1984.)

The R-rated version released in 1977 represented the movie's first run, and totaled 118 minutes.

After the success of the first run, in 1978 the film was re-issued to a PG-rated version and re-released during a second run to attract a wider audience. The R-rated version contained profanity, nudity, a fight sequence, and a multiple rape scene in a car, all of which were de-emphasized or removed from the PG version.

Producer Robert Stigwood said in a recent interview on "The Inside Story: Saturday Night Fever", about the PG version: "It doesn't have the power, or the impact, of the original, R-rated edition."

The PG-rated version was 112 minutes. Numerous profanity-filled scenes were replaced with alternate takes of the same scenes, substituting milder language initially intended for the network television cut. To maintain runtime, a few deleted scenes were restored (including Tony dancing with Doreen to "Disco Duck," Tony running his finger along the cables of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and Tony's father getting his job back).

In 1979, Paramount Pictures paired up the PG-rated version of the film as a double feature along with its other John Travolta blockbuster, Grease.

Both theatrical versions were released on VHS, Laserdisc, CED Videodisc, and DVD. But the R-rated version never saw wide release until its Laserdisc (in limited edition) and DVD issues. The R-rated special-edition DVD release include most of the deleted scenes present on the PG version. Both the PG- and R-rated DVD releases also include a director's commentary and "Behind the Music" highlights. Starting in the late 1990s VH1, TBS, and TNT started showing the original R-rated version with a TV-14 rating. The nudity was removed/censored, and the stronger profanity was ether edited or (on recent airings) silenced. But this TV edit included some of the innuendos from the original film that were edited or removed from the PG version. Turner Classic Movies has aired the film in both versions (the R-rated version is commonly seen on their normal lineup, while the PG version has appeared on TCM's "Funday Night at the Movies" and "Essentials Jr." program blocks.)

The network television version (which premiered on November 16, 1980 on ABC) was basically a slightly shortened form of the PG-rated version, but contained several minutes of outtakes normally excised from both theatrical releases to make up for lost/cut material. It is among the longest cuts of the film. This version is still aired today on local stations and most recently on TV Land. But with some swear words too strong for a TV-PG rating slienced and removal some of the extra footage for time.

A sequel, Staying Alive, was released in 1983. It starred John Travolta and was directed by Sylvester Stallone. (Staying Alive, rated PG, also predated the introduction of the PG-13 rating.)