With its high-energy performances and refreshing characters, Alan Parker’s teen musical became a major hit.
USA 1980
Dir Alan Parker
With Irene Cara, Gene Anthony Ray, Lee Curreri, Laura Dean
133min
35mm
Certificate 15
‘Fame! I’m gonna live forever...’ Irene Cara’s high-energy title track heralded the arrival of the 1980s and helped make Alan Parker’s surprisingly dark teen musical a major hit, while the TV spin-off turned Gene Anthony Ray and Debbie Allen into household names. As precocious dance prodigy Leroy, Ray’s raw talent and energy punch through, and he presented a tantalisingly enigmatic portrayal of black masculinity for queer audiences looking to see themselves on screen. Time to remember his name.