John Badham

Director of Saturday Night Fever, WarGames, Stakeout, and other 70s and 80s hits.

Saturday Night Fever (1977) -- I never saw this movie until the mid-90s, even though my brother had the trading cards, I had Mickey Mouse Disco, and enjoyed the parody of it in Airplane! I figured I knew everything about it, that it was just a goofy movie about disco dancing. I was happily surprised when I eventually watched the movie and saw that it not only contained great disco music and dancing, but that the story was compelling and emotional and real throughout. In fact, there was nothing goofy about it at all. I'm still interested in the life beyond the movie as well, and the soundtrack (featuring the Bee Gees) is one of the best ever made. (Sylvester Stallone directed the sequel, Staying Alive.)

WarGames (1983) -- Pretty fun movie, probably especially so for teens and pre-teens of the time who were into computers (or for older folks, like me, who have become somewhat interested in the culture of older computers). In the 80s, everyone (in movies, anyway) thought they were just a few keystrokes away from changing their high school grades, creating a woman, or chatting with the president, and the premise that young Matthew Broderick could begin World War III worked really well here.

Short Circuit (1986) -- It's been a while, but I don't remember liking this movie too much even when I was eleven. Though it seemed harmless enough for one of those robot-spouts-pop-culture-references movies. (Kenneth Johnson directs the sequel, Short Circuit II.)