Rebirth
When Atari Corporation bowed out of the market in the late 1990s, we knew we could abandon any hopes of exciting new hardware bearing the Fuji symbol (and as far as Atari computer users were concerned, this was already the case when the Jaguar platform became the sole product line in a drastic slimming down of operations). It was also inevitable that another company would soon buy the rights to use the trademark on consumer products, to cash in on the past glory of the name. Enter Hasbro Interactive. I remember the very strange feeling of walking into shops and seeing the Atari name again, it didn't seem right, not least because of the thoroughly cheesy and quite unnecessary re-design of the Atari logo, on pre-school toy coloured boxes of re-hashed games from bygone decades. Admittedly I've since actually played some of these updated classics and on the whole they weren't bad at all but was this supposed to be innovation?

Hasbro Interactive obviously didn't have much of an idea what to do next with the Atari name. The two were later acquired by established games developer and publisher, Infogrames. It has recently been said the Atari name is no more than a trademark that Infogrames slaps on second-rate driving games. For sure, whatever virtues CEO Monsieur Bruno Bonnell may extol of the new, "re-invented" Atari, the fact remains this is no longer Atari the company and probably never will be ever again. Nevertheless, Infogrames appears to be more determined than Hasbro in its effort to promote the brand. After a shaky start and despite something of an identity crisis at the moment, the old Hasbro-styled Atari logo has been thankfully discarded (but not before it was painted on the roof of the stands at a football stadium near London Heathrow so it could be seen from the sky by thousands of airline passengers every day, aargh...), and the Atari web site shows what new games we can look forward to. We'll judge them on their own merits and tell you whether they're worthy of the Atari name. The biggest of these is undoubtedly the follow-up to 1999's smash hit for PC, Unreal Tournament. Unreal Tournament 2003 is finally out now and we look at it this month.

You got nothin' to be afraid of, your mother's spaghetti sauce don't drip. It don't taste, and it don't drip...
Arriving almost at the same time as UT2003, finally it's here, the even longer awaited Saturday Night Fever in glorious digital on DVD! I thought Region 2 would have to wait as usual, but since it's an old film and Paramount seems to have deliberately held back for its 25th anniversary (it's not as if the technology to do it wasn't there, even if we account for restoration work), a staggered release would probably make as much sense as Infogrames' dilution of the Atari brand on its products.

I snapped up my copy at London Oxford Road's Virgin Megastore for an unbeatable £17.99 (then found it at my local Tesco for £15.99, fool). As befits a commemorative release, it comes in a special glossy card sleeve case rather than the more usual (and more durable) plastic keep case. The artwork is printed on a silver, holographic base making it look suitably glittery. Unfortunately the Saturday Night Fever logo looks like it's been re-designed by a hip and trendy crayon-wielder who hasn't even seen the film. It also has, "John Travolta" above it in big letters, true modern day Hollywood style. Wow, really?! A further dollop of "D'Oh!" is added by the slogan on the front boldly proclaiming, "The quintessential disco movie"... Oh, dear.

By now you've probably worked out that I think many things are best left alone, yet it continues... On the back of the case, at least one of the still shots is back-to-front (reckless or intentional?) and the sleeve notes have been dumbed down. Here is the text from the uncut VHS copy I bought in 1996 followed by the new version for comparison:

Old
Oscar-nominee John Travolta gives a sensual and intelligent performance as a local disco kingpin at the peak of his popularity. Once a week, after six full days of work in a Brooklyn paint store, Tony douses himself with Brut cologne, dons a floral bodyshirt, gabardine pants and platform shoes - and ritualistically prepares himself for "Saturday Night Fever."

Through the influence of Stephanie - his more sophisticated dance partner - and Tony's brother - a disillusioned priest - Tony begins to question the way he views life and the narrowness of his perspective. The disco dance sequences and the Bee Gees' music make the film an accurate and absorbing barometer for the seventies' generation.

New
John Travolta gives a sensual and intelligent performance as the troubled Tony Manero - Brooklyn paint store clerk by day and undisputed king of the dance floor by night. Every Saturday, Tony puts on his wide collared shirt, flared trousers and platform shoes and heads out to the only place where he's seen as a god rather than just some young punk. But in the darkness, away from the strobe lights and glitter ball, is a tragic story of disillusionment, violence and heartbreak.

Without a doubt, Travolta's performance made him a Hollywood legend, but Saturday Night Fever is more than just a movie that defined the music and fashion of a generation. It's a powerful and provocative urban tragedy that carries as much significance today as it did in 1977.

Paramount did a good job here, the film looks the best I've ever seen it - details I never noticed before suddenly leap out (scratches and scuffs on the dance floor at Odyssey 2001, for example) and there is little print damage and colours are well saturated. Definition is not too shabby considering the film's age. Early on, in the opening sequence with the red credits that are almost a distant haze on VHS, we see clearly legible text even though it hasn't totally escaped the smudged effect. It's a 1.78:1 anamorphic presentation with 5.1 Dolby Digital mix, and at 114 minutes, it's not the hacked-down PG version. There's a good selection of extras including interviews, rare footage of Travolta rehearsing those Manero moves (not all of which made it into the film) and a director's commentary, plus subtitles in no less than 14 languages.

Let's go!

Shiuming Lai, Features and Technical Editor

MyAtari magazine - Feature #1, November 2002