Eddie Barth, Irene Cara, Lee Curreri

This early effort by director Alan Parker is lively but jagged as it follows four students through their years in the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Rather predictably, the kids fa...( read more  read more... )ll into four clearly defined stereotypes: brazen, gay and hypersensitive, prickly, shy. It makes up for a disjointed presentation with a lot of heart and a great soundtrack (for which it won two Academy Awards). The hopes and disappointments, failures and successes of these teens are fodder for emotional scenes and exuberant dancing in the streets. It also turned out to be the first of many imitators and spawned a popular television series. (It was the breakout film for the short-lived feature film career of Irene Cara, who sang the title song.) --Rochelle O'Gorman

Flixster Users

69% liked it

35,529 ratings

Critics

90% liked it

21 critics

R, 134 min.

Directed by: Alan Parker

Release Date: May 16, 1980

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DVD Release Date: June 1, 2004

Stats: 1,306 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,306)


  • October 12, 2009
    Fame is an odd film. It's a four year montage of the most hateful people on earth, young performers. It was the coolest thing before puberty but now nearly 30 years on, I'm not sure why? 80?s fun I guess but not great, that said, the new remake feels me with absolute dread! The o...( read more)riginal TV series was so much better. I would have a little dance on my car but it's brand new so I won?t.
  • May 20, 2008
    At the New York City High School for the Performing Arts, students get specialized training that often leads to success as actors, singers, etc. This movie follows four students from the time when they audition to get into the school, through graduation. They are the brazen Coco ...( read more)Hernandez, shy Doris Finsecker, sensitive gay Montgomery MacNeil, and brash, abrasive Raul Garcia. Nominated for multiple Oscars and quite deservedly winning two for its triumphant music, this is a musical in which it actually makes sense that people should burst into song -- sure, performing-arts students might naturally break into a tune without provocation, but their verve is the kind that just can't be contained.
  • February 3, 2008
    Pending Review...

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  • February 2, 2008
    I've always liked the song Fame. It took me 28 years to see the movie. I enjoyed the music and dancing. As a film I thought it was mediocre.
  • December 12, 2007
    I prefer the stage production that is an ACTUAL musical. This one's an "80's musical", that means no singing: just dancing and a couple of songs in the background, like "Flashdance" or "Footloose". But it's not bad. Just... 80-ish...
  • November 20, 2009
    bean...es bien realistica! lo que no entiendo es porque era tan famosa
  • November 16, 2009
    Alan Parker's film, though prone to melodrama, is possibly the grittiest & most truthful major musical ever made. Songs really work, too.
  • November 16, 2009
    just didn't do it for me. The last 1/4 of the movie was great, but the problem is that you had to sit through the first 3/4 to get there. Trying to cover a group of people over four years of high school I guess can be difficult, so either don't do it or find a way to do it that...( read more) doesn't confuse things (or make them so uninteresting).
  • November 5, 2009
    A delightful, absorbing story with a great deal of characters we learn to care about, and it is told with much fluidness in loosely organized fragments and never loses pace thanks to the great editing.
  • October 15, 2009
    Really, really good. Fame is such a classic and always will be.

Critic Reviews


Comments


  • egogirl
    July 25, 2007
    Does anybody know what the name of the person who played "Leroy" is??
  • aymez101
    January 3, 2007
    total truth i lv fam its gr8
  • Spicecats
    January 1, 2007
    I LOVE THIS MOVIE. EXCELLENT!


    LEE CURRERI = GREAT!
    GENE ANTHONY RAY = UNBELIEVEABLE!
    IRENE CARA = STUNNING!
  • Spicecats
    October 15, 2006
    I haven't seen it yet but i wanna, i watch the TV show though.

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Fame : Watch Free on TV


Fame Trivia


  • Daniel Craig is the new 007. But in which British gangster film did he find fame?  Answer »
  • For which 2 dance movies did Irene Cara sing the theme song?  Answer »
  • These two buddy 'droids rocketed to fame in 1977 with the release of"Star Wars". What were the names of the fireplug and the gold guy?  Answer »
  • Winona Ryder has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame ?  Answer »

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