Fame (1980)
Genre: Music / Drama
Duration: 133 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Alan Parker
Stars: Irene Cara, Lee Curreri and Laura Dean
IMDb score:
6,6 (26.163)
Releasedate: 16 May 1980
Fame plot
"If they've really got what it takes, it's going to take everything they've got."
A group of young people is accepted at a school for drama, dance and singing. Four of these youngsters are followed in the harsh world where only perfection is possible.
Actors and actresses
Coco
Ralph
Doris Finsecker
Montgomery
Bruno
Leroy
Hilary
Lisa
Michael
Shorofsky
Reviews & comments
james_cameron
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- 7060 messages
- 9825 votes
One of the few Alan Parker films I hadn't seen, partly because I always thought this was a musical. Fortunately, that turns out not to be the case. The film leans a bit towards the genre here and there and has a few musical intermezzos, but fortunately the damage is limited in that regard. Other than that, it's a pretty good movie, I must say. A bit bland and hysterical here and there, especially in the beginning of the film, but gradually plotlines and characters gain in strength. With retroactive effect, the film is also quite explicit in terms of theme and language, especially compared to the decent television series of the same name that followed a few years later.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Filmkriebel
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- 10012 messages
- 4678 votes
This was recently on TV but it was not easy. Several students at an art school in the drama, dance and music departments are followed; There is also an attempt to give some backgrounds but I found it difficult to catch on. The characters get a bit more shape later in the film (with themes such as outing and suicide that are discussed) but for me this was figs after Easter and on top of that the small storylines are finished very sloppily. The well-known music of Irene Cara was a must and the spontaneous dance scene in the streets of New York is well known. Fame, in my opinion, is a film that doesn't really know which direction to take and that doesn't really come out anywhere. Mediocre as a drama and mediocre as a music film. A big miss from Parker.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Dievegge
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- 3180 messages
- 8228 votes
When teens choose art college, they're doing it to develop their artistic talents, or maybe because they're tired of regular high school. This is a real school in New York: the High School of Performing Arts. Some of the teachers we get to see actually taught there. Eartha Kitt, Liza Minnelli and Suzanne Vega are former students.
We learn a lot about the social and family background of some students. In New York, quite a few people have an ethnic background. One tries to camouflage that by changing his name; the other tries to play it right. People undergo changes around that age. The overprotected wallflower Doris blooms all the way. Those four years can be a stepping stone to a career in music, theater or dance, but for many it becomes a disillusionment and the title takes on an ironic meaning. Talent is no guarantee of success.
In the acting class they learn that you have to dig into your own memories and feelings, and take off your mask on stage. For Montgomery, that means standing up for his sexuality - a daring topic for the time. Classical ballet is danced on Swan Lake, but modern dance styles are also discussed. Mozart and Beethoven are performed on classical instruments, but Bruno forms a one-man orchestra with his synthesizers.
As the actors danced in the street between the neon lights and the yellow taxis, they heard a song by Donna Summer. The title track was only added afterwards. Against all this exuberance is the fragile ballad Out Here on My Own, written by Lesley Gore and sung with emotion by Irene Cara. The text is about the insecurity of an adolescent and the search for a place as an individual in this world. Whatever becomes of them, all students will remember those four years as an eventful period in their lives.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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