Classics Film Marathon: Fame

Director: Alan Parker

Screenplay by Christopher Gore
Director of photography: Michael Seresin
Music by Michael Gore

Cast: Eddie Barth, Irene Cara, Lee Curreri, Laura Dean, Antonia Franceschi, Boyd Gaines

High School Musical and other hugely popular works are all about the life of an arts school and they all trace their roots back to Alan Parker’s Fame (he also worked on Pink Floyd’s Wall). Fame tracks the life of four young people from the first auditions to becoming seniors. The university years serve as chapters of the film. The work is primarily an art film, it relates the struggle that an artist, whether painter, dancer, writer or actor, cannot and, indeed, should not avoid. It is about the journey and not the destination; it is about the fact that incredible talent is in itself worthless without the necessary artistic humility, and without the right kind of luck you will never be a celebrity. It reminds us of the heroine of Parker’s next film, Evita, and even more so the star – Madonna – who played the role.

More programmes of the Budapest Classics Film Marathon in Urania National Filmtheatre.