Fame (1980)

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:

Performing Arts | Singer | Graduation | New York City | Audition

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
Maureen Teefy	...	Doris
Debbie Allen	...	Lydia
Richard Belzer	...	M.C.
Frank Bongiorno	...	Truck Driver
Bill Britten	...	Mr. England
Eric Brockington	...	Plump Eric
Nicholas Bunin	...	Bunsky
Cindy Canuelas	...	Cindy
Nora Cotrone	...	Dancer
Mbewe Escobar	...	Phenicia
Gennadi Filimonov	...	Violinist
Victor Fischbarg	...	Harvey Finsecker
Penny Frank	...	Dance Teacher
Willie Henry Jr.	...	Bathroom Student
Steve Hollander	...	Drama Student (as Steven Hollander)
Sang Kim	...	Oriental Violinist
Darrell Kirkman	...	Richard III
Judith L'Heureux	...	Nurse
Ted Lambert	...	Drama Student
Nancy Lee	...	Oriental Student
Sarah Malament	...	Dance Accompanist
James Manis	...	Bruno's Uncle
Carol Massenburg	...	Shirley
Isaac Mizrahi	...	Touchstone
Raquel Mondin	...	Ralph's Sister
Alba Oms	...	Ralph's Mother
Frank Oteri	...	Schlepstein
Traci Parnell	...	Hawaiian Dancer
Sal Piro	...	Rocky Horror M.C.
Lesley Quickley	...	Towering Inferno Student
Ray Ramirez	...	Father Morales
Loris Sallahian	...	Drama Student
Ilse Sass	...	Mrs. Tossoff
Dawn Steinberg	...	Monitor on Stairs
Jonathan Strasser	...	Orchestra Conductor
Yvette Torres	...	Ralph's Little Sister
F.X. Vitolo	...	Frankie (as Frank X. Vitolo)
Stefanie Zimmerman	...	Dancer Teacher
Tracy Burnett	...	Dancer
Greg De Jean	...	Dancer (as Greg DeJean)
Laura Delano	...	Dancer
Michael DeLorenzo	...	Dancer
Aaron Dugger	...	Dancer
Neisha Folkes-LeMelle	...	Dancer (as Neisha Folkes)
Karen Ford	...	Dancer
Robin Gray	...	Dancer
Hazel Green	...	Dancer
Eva Grubler	...	Dancer
Patrick King	...	Dancer
Cynthia Lochard	...	Dancer
Julian Montenaire	...	Dancer
Holly Reeve	...	Dancer
Kate Snyder	...	Dancer
Meg Tilly	...	Dancer
Louis Venosta	...	Dancer
Philip Wright	...	Dancer
Ranko Yokoyana	...	Dancer
Adam Abeshouse	...	Musician
Yvette D. Carrington	...	Musician
Fima Ephron	...	Musician
Anthony Evans	...	Musician
Crystal Garner	...	Musician
Lisa Herman	...	Musician
Thais Hockaday	...	Musician
Karen Hoppe	...	Musician
Frankie Laino	...	Musician
April Lang	...	Musician
Richard Latimer	...	Musician
Lisa Lowell	...	Musician
Ann Marie McDermott	...	Musician
Kerry McDermott	...	Musician
Maureen McDermott	...	Musician
Josh Melville	...	Musician
Peter Rafelson	...	Musician
Ann Roboff	...	Musician (as Anne Roboff)
Boris Slutsky	...	Musician
Alan Vetter	...	Musician
Evan Weinstein	...	Musician
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Judith Blaylock	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Guido Corte	...	Man in airport (uncredited)
Donna Edge-Rachell	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Holland Taylor	...	Claudia van Doren (uncredited)

Directed by
Alan Parker

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Christopher Gore		written by

Produced by
David De Silva	....	producer
Alan Marshall	....	producer

Original Music by
Michael Gore

Cinematography by
Michael Seresin		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Gerry Hambling

Casting by
Howard Feuer
Jeremy Ritzer

Production Design by
Geoffrey Kirkland

Art Direction by
Ed Wittstein

Set Decoration by
George DeTitta Sr.		(as George DeTitta)

Costume Design by
Kristi Zea

Makeup Department
Joseph Coscia	....	hair stylist (as Joseph G. Coscia)
Joe Cuervo	....	makeup artist (as Joseph Cuervo)

Production Management
David Golden	....	unit production manager
Candace Suerstedt	....	assistant production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert F. Colesberry	....	first assistant director
Ray Greenfield	....	second assistant director (as Raymond L. Greenfield)
Joseph Ray	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Joseph M. Caracciolo	....	property master (as Joe Caracciolo)
David Coleman	....	property master (uncredited)
Richard Shelton	....	painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Arthur Bloom	....	sound recordist
Jerry Bruck	....	stereo sound consultant
Rusty Coppleman	....	sound editor
Jay M. Harding	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michael J. Kohut	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dennis Maitland II	....	boom operator
Christopher Newman	....	sound mixer (as Chris Newman)
Aaron Rochin	....	sound re-recording mixer
Thomas Scott	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby (as Tom Scott)
Les Wiggins	....	sound editor
Robert Davenport	....	sound re-recordist (uncredited)
James Fenton	....	sound crew chief (uncredited)
Duncan McEwan	....	sound re-recordist (uncredited)
Otto Snel	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Stunts
Colette Alexander	....	stunts (uncredited)
Sandy Alexander	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Holly Bower	....	still photographer
Catharine Bushnell	....	still photographer
Joseph F. Coffey	....	camera operator
Bill Gerardo	....	second assistant camera (as William Gerardo)
Vinnie Gerardo	....	first assistant camera (as Vincent Gerardo)
Marty Nallan	....	key grip
LeRoy Patton	....	first assistant camera: New York (as Leroy Payyon)
Tom Priestley Jr.	....	camera operator
Frank Schulz	....	gaffer (as Frank O. Schulz)
John Stanier	....	camera operator
Garrett Brown	....	Steadicam operator (uncredited)
Billy Kerwick	....	best boy grip (uncredited)
Sal Martorano	....	electrician (uncredited)
Robert Shepherd	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Margery Simkin	....	special casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mark Burchard	....	wardrobe
Al Craine	....	wardrobe supervisor: men
Beverly Cycon	....	wardrobe supervisor: women
Thelma Gregory	....	wardrobe supervisor: women (as Thelma S. Gregory)
Ellen Mirojnick	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Terry Busby	....	assistant editor
Jack Gardner	....	assistant editor
Leonard Green	....	assistant editor
Michael B. Hoggan	....	additional editor: Los Angeles
Norman Hollyn	....	assistant editor
Eddy Joseph	....	assistant editor
Yoshio Kishi	....	additional editor: New York
Stefna Smal	....	assistant editor
Glenn Cunningham	....	apprentice editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Chuck Irwin	....	music recording engineer
Don Brooks	....	musician: harmonica (uncredited)
Norman Hollyn	....	music editor (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Harold 'Whitey' McEvoy	....	transportation captain (as Whitey McEvoy)

Other crew
Pamela Adler	....	assistant: Mr. Marshall
Pamela Adler	....	assistant: Mr. Parker
Arlene Albertson	....	production office coordinator
Renee Bodner	....	script supervisor
Louis Falco	....	choreographer
William Gornell	....	assistant choreographer
John Kane	....	unit publicist: Solters & Roskin, Inc-
Ellie Linas	....	production auditor
Angela Micklesburgh	....	production assistant: London
Grant Reid	....	assistant location manager (uncredited)
Lynda Van Damm	....	assistant production accountant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1980) (USA) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Greater Union Organisation (GUO) (1980) (Australia) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1980) (USA) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Video (198?) (Australia) (VHS)
• Vídeo Arte (Brazil) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Cherokee Studios  music recorded and mixed at
• Cherokee Studios  original music recorded and mixed at

Also Known As:

Fame: The Original Movie (Australia) (DVD title)
Hot Lunch (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | French

Colour:

Colour (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 | Canada:G (Quebec) | 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:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The school is based on the real-life Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan. It is a public school, and therefore available to any New York City high school student who successfully auditions.

Goofs:

Continuity: When everyone is dancing in the street, a man in a yellow and black striped shirt changes from dancing on the street, to suddenly dancing on a car.

Quotes:

Leroy Johnson: I's young, I's single, and I loves to mingle!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Dance Flick (2009)

Soundtrack:

I Sing The Body Electric

Good. Could have been great.

A recent survey of children in the UK re-enforced the notion put forth by this film 27 years ago. That being more than anything else, young people want to grow up to be somebody famous. It used to be doctors and firemen that kids wanted to be. Now, everyone wants to be famous. Fame is a story of a group of kids accepted into the High School for Performing Arts in New York City. We seen them first audition, then take classes and learn about life for the next four years. The film has a lot of fine qualities, but ultimately leaves you feeling a little unsatisfied.

Alan Parker's bold directorial style fits the story pretty well. The film has been classified as a musical, but more than anything it is a drama. Musical numbers and dance routines break out here and there, and Parker keeps them as close to realistic as they really could have been filmed. The acting is for the most part top-drawer with a few exceptions. The pacing is a little off, particularly toward the end of the film, but by that point, the story has already taken a few wrong turns anyway.

First off, the auditions at the beginning of the film should have weeded a couple of the principle characters out. It seems unlikely that anyone would show up and audition for one department, then stumble their way through admissions to another. Some of these people just don't look that talented or interested to begin with. Once the first year of classes gets going, the film settles into a nice groove. The interaction between students and teachers is very well handled, and it leaves you wanting more. The film begins to lose itself later on as we see more and more of the students' lives out of school. Some of these people just aren't worth caring about.

The film's biggest mistake is making the Ralph Garcy character so prominent. This guy is a boorish; self-centered jerk. A "professional a-hole" as he proudly declares on stage during his comedy routines. The audience is supposed to somehow feel for this guy and his tragic personal situation, but I was just hoping they'd throw his butt out of school. Irene Cara, Maureen Teefy, Paul McCrane and the late Gene Anthony Ray are the people you'll care about by the time this film is over. Try as I might, I still can't develop abs like Gene Anthony Ray had in this film.

Overall this film is good. It is memorable, interesting, and full of daring scenes and performances. It runs maybe a little too long, and perhaps some of the wrong characters get fully developed while others kind of hover in the background. The musical numbers are great, and there is even a surprise or two waiting to be discovered by the time the film is over. Though not perfect, Fame will be a film that lives on in one way or another for many years to come.

7 of 10 stars.

The Hound.