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22 out of 28 people found the following review useful: The last of the 70's movies, 27 August 2002 Author: Tasos Tz. from London, England
'Fame' (1980) is brilliant. It's got all these qualities that made the late 70's movies so great. It is proud of its directness and not ashamed of being over the top.What really matters here, is the journey, not the destination. Ignorant idiots with soap opera mentality, will never realize that 'Fame' is about the struggles, anxieties and triumphs of these young people, not about their careers.Ironically enough, none of the very talented actors of 'Fame' made it in Hollywood. 'Fame' marked the end of an era. The end of artistic freedom and experimentation and the beginning of commercialization and political correctness. It's the last statement of a generation that had a voice of its own.10/10
16 out of 22 people found the following review useful: Fame! I'm going to live forever. I'm going to learn how to fly., 3 July 2000 Author: PinkBubbles from Ottawa, Canada
I LOVE this movie. It is way too bad they don't make movies like this any more, and that teenagers are more amazed by a bunch of trashy movies with big name actors and big time special effects, but not big time plots and characters.I'm 15 years old, a teenager in the "nothing 90's" (oh, so it's 2000 now, who gives a care?), and being a lover of musicals, 80's high school movies (The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, etc.) and those sort of things, I was recommended this by a "Fame fanatic", my aunt. I knew after the audition scenes that this was a perfect movie for me. It follows the lives of tear-jerkingly believable characters of several different backgrounds. I laughed, I cried, and I bought the soundtrack. The acting is so excellent that the first time I saw it, I'd forgotten that these were not real living, flesh people, only actors.There a some flaws, however. There are a few gaps in some of the characters, and the movie should have went on for another 30 minutes, although it was already about 2 hours and 30 minutes (which it didn't feel like). It is also outdated, and you sometimes can't help but laugh at how much it is.If you've never seen this movie, and you are a fan of musicals, arts, and realistic teenage movies, run, don't walk, to a local video store.Hopefully, Fame will truly live forever!My rating: **** (out of 5 *'s)
10 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Good. Could have been great., 10 January 2007 Author: TOMASBBloodhound from Echo Base, Hoth. (formerly Lincoln, NE)
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.
11 out of 14 people found the following review useful: Story about potential., 20 April 2001 Author: Schlockmeister from Midnight MovieLand
This movie showcases a LOT of incredible talent. Fantastic performances throughout. The movie also is a great story about potential and how people use, abuse or ignore it in themselves. This is a story about students who look like they are all headed for fame and fortune. It shows the pitfalls along the way. We learn that talent is not enough. We also learn that many fall short and give up along the way. As an adult who was a teenager back when this movie first came out, it is a very bittersweet look at potential in us all and has us examine what we did with it in our lives, are we where we thought we would be? Yes, this movie is dated, it is over 20 years old, it HAS to be in some regard. But the story is timeless and will rank among classics of teenage movies and also always have a warm spot in the hearts of adults who grew up in the era. Highly recommended. Would make a great double feature with "Gold Diggers of 1933" just to show contrast and to see how Broadway has changed over the years.
12 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Brilliant movie, 2 March 2006 Author: adam-1009 from Poland
I truly hate musicals because music numbers just start out of the sudden and usually spoil scenes, but this one is completely different - it's simply brilliant. Plot perhaps isn't any challenge for the viewers, but the simplicity of people life stories makes this movie great.I've seen it at least dozen times and still I'm not tired with the plot, characters or music (I just love the soundtrack - it's the only soundtrack that I've really wanted to have and most probably will remain the only one that I owe).For me it's a must-seen kind of movie, great characters compiled with entertaining songs and a lot of things to think about after the movie end.
7 out of 8 people found the following review useful: The Game Of Fame, 12 November 2008 Author: Senyales from Fraggle Rock
Alan Parker's 'Fame' beautifully showcases college-life of eight aspiring artistes. Many seem to have a problem with the open ending and ponder on questions like what happened to Coco after the porn shoot or what happened to Ralph and Doris etc. However, I think this works well as it points to the uncertainty of their future as that's how life is. The point was to show their struggles during the college years and Parker captures that very well making it easy for the viewers to relate to and bringing a nostalgic feel.'Fame' starts with some audition scenes which are hilarious. Then it shows which candidates are selected and that's when the story starts. Though it is labelled a musical drama, it doesn't follow the traditional musical genre. The songs do not appear out of nowhere. They are well situated within the context of the film and quite nice to listen to. 'Fame' also has that wild 70's feel. If this movie is the last of the 70s then it 'rounds' up the decade well.The actors, most of them in their 20s, do a fine job. There are those who are shy, naive and afraid, those who are wacky, wild and a little reckless and those who put a front but all these characters are striving for their dream which is to become an artiste. The actors brilliantly demonstrate this. I particularly liked Barry Miller, Paul McCrane and Maureen Teefy who play the three close friends and Irene Cara who as the vulnerable singer Coco.I had heard a lot about 'Fame' but I was under the impression that it would be a flimsy musical. I got a chance to watch it last night and I was certainly under the wrong impression. Even though many won't appreciate it, To me it is great.
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful: Loved it, 3 January 2005 Author: jlon from Dublin
Parker's best movie. DVD review.Four years in the lives of talented students attending a performing arts school on 46th Street, New York.Amazing, energetic, funny, lively, and memorable movie dealing with a group of performing pupils. That scene where everyone literally dances in the street has to one of the best scenes from the '80s. Picture has incredible editing where most of the early scenes are only a few seconds in duration. Highlights include the Rocky Horror scene, the student playing those awesome analogue synths (one was a Prophet 5?), the girl pretending to be OJ Simpson, the ballet dancers, and the spontaneous singing and dancing in the canteen (Cara has a great voice). Some of the drama and character plots seemed a bit forced (and dated) but nevertheless this is my favourite movie from director Parker.Fame is a must-see movie from the early '80s.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times., 1 October 2000 Author: TVholic from New York
High school. Years and decades later, some look back on it with fondness, others with embarrassment. But few find it easy to forget. It's one of the most critical phases of our lives, when changes come fast and furious whether we're ready or not. No longer children, not yet adults, irresistible forces buffet us, pushing and pulling us in every direction."Fame" did its best to capture this turbulent, chaotic period for its cast of young characters. For the most part, it succeeded. It meandered, but did feel like a slice of life. This movie holds a special place in the hearts of the Class of '80. We had just bid farewell to a decade, and soon to the end of three or four stimulating and sometimes difficult school years. We were headed out into the cold, cruel world, leaving home for college then parts unknown. As we approached our watershed event, this newly released movie was like a two-hour yearbook for us. We couldn't escape the titular song on the radio. That was us up there on the screen. Those were our friends, rivals and classmates as we had faced our own dreams, frustrations, successes and failures.It's especially poignant for those who attended any of New York City's other elite, top-tier high schools, especially Stuyvesant, Bronx HS of Science or Brooklyn Tech. Like the kids here, we were considered the best of the best. We had no auditions, but instead rigorous entrance exams. Perhaps even more than the Performing Arts kids, we were expected to change the world, although not necessarily become famous. Like them, not all of us made it. But the pressure cooker environment fostered extraordinary camaraderie and esprit de corps, not unlike the toe-tapping "Hot Lunch Jam" in the cafeteria. On our own graduation day, our spirits soared almost like the jubilant crescendo in the rousing finale. The film leaves us fittingly on a single, triumphant note at the end of "I Sing the Body Electric," pointing to the blindingly bright, boundless future and all the promise it held."Fame" couldn't have been set anywhere else. This story never would have worked in a small or suburban school. Los Angeles has a stronger identification with movies and television, but NYC is a mecca for all of the arts. Home not only to what was then called PA, but also world-renowned Juilliard, NYC is a cultural center unmatched by any other city in the world. It's also a time capsule of the rest of the city of the time, showing the seediness, grit and dirt that was endemic of a New York still struggling back from the fiscal crisis that had nearly bankrupted it. But most of all, it showed the vitality, since muted by the inroads of Giuliani, Disney and tourism.What I wouldn't give to be young again. But with "Fame," at least I can remember what it was like.
16 out of 27 people found the following review useful: It builds up--and then insults--its own characters, 11 September 2004 Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca
"Fame", about teenage kids in Manhattan's School for the Performing Arts, looks right, feels right, and it sometimes sounds right--but too soon the film becomes a muddled soap opera about wiseass children reaching too far for their stars. The large cast does good work, and director Alan Parker has alert eyes, but better editing might've left some of Parker's pretensions out of the mix. After one student admits to being homosexual (not just once, to a girl student, but twice, to his entire class and teacher), he is seen in tight close-up putting on lipstick; this is done for a sniggering effect, which is stupefying once you realize the ENTIRE CLASS is dolled up to look like characters from "Rocky Horror". The gay kid is the only one we see humiliated, by the class bully and the camera. This manufactured slapping-down is then used several more times: against the promising disco queen, the wealthy white ballerina, the talkative dancer, the stand-up comedian, and the illiterate who can't move on to better things because of his failing grades. It's a big, smelly cart full of aged clichés. If people respond, it's due to the cinematography (which captures some of New York's squalor and dusty classrooms with a bracing realism), the propulsive soundtrack, and the cynical-funny talk. These characters are quite a different matter; probably resembling no real student at the actual school, they are plot-mechanisms, and their pitfalls are punctuated by a director who can almost be heard saying, "Look! See!" ** from ****
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful: not really good, 28 April 2007 Author: thetoweriscloser from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
There were very few good moments in this film. Only a couple of characters were fleshed out and not that well. There were plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. The pace creep-ed along like an old man. There were many moments that the film never came back to like Coco stripping. What happened to her? How about Garci's sister? Is she better now? What about Leroy? We learned absolutely nothing about him. What about the electronic piano guy? How about the rich girl that got an abortion? What happened to her? That was an interesting subplot.Overall this is not a good movie and I recommend another musical that was in this film. LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN!!!!!!!
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