Fame

I only watched this movie because I liked a few songs from the soundtrack. Turns out only the title track is in there, the rest are from the TV show of the same name. And I ain't sitting through 136 episodes just to hear a few select tunes. iTunes, here I come. The movie itself takes the very fascinating subject of the pressures of fame and success, before essentially turning them into tropes worthy of a soap opera. We have the talented dancer from a violent background, the actor who later finds out he's gay, the singer who ends up taking her top off for a dubious 'screen test'... all of this could be good stuff, but not in the overdramatised, inauthentic way it's presented here. It's as dated as disco, as boring as ballet and as much a waste of time as listening to the greatest hits of Barry Manilow. On repeat. Treat it like the product of its age that it is, and skip it. 4/10

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.

source: Fame

Trailer—Fame

Fame

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.

There are so many television offerings that take the untried and untested talents of this country and showcase them. Sometimes these are people who have never put themselves in front of an appreciable audience; sometimes they are already professional. I'm thinking of the difference between American Idol and The Voice. The latter sometimes has people who have backed up major stars, or already have several record albums. So this is fresh because it gives us the idol makers and the forces that push people to succeed or fail. Most of the criticism has been done by others. I honed in on each character and felt the pain and the energy. Pretty good movie but of a different time.

'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