Fame

Fame follows a group of teenagers who win places at a New York high school for the performing arts, and the years they spend there training as singers, dancers, actors and musicians. Drawn largely from working-class backgrounds, they arrive with ambitions of making it in show business while still dealing with the ordinary pressures of family, romance and self-doubt. Among them are Coco, an outspoken singer; Montgomery, a sensitive acting student; the shy Doris; Bruno, whose electronic music unsettles his teachers; and Leroy, a dancer whose attitude brings him into conflict with the school.

The film was directed by Alan Parker and written by Christopher Gore, produced by Alan Marshall and David De Silva for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was Parker's third feature, arriving between Midnight Express and Pink Floyd: The Wall. The cast includes Irene Cara as Coco, Barry Miller as Ralph, Maureen Teefy as Doris, Paul McCrane as Montgomery, Lee Curreri as Bruno and Gene Anthony Ray as Leroy, with 105 credited performers in all.

Made for about 9 million dollars, Fame took roughly 42 million dollars worldwide, a strong return that reflected its appeal to young audiences. On IMDb it holds 6.6/10 from around 26,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.4/10 from 533 votes. A critics' rating of 7/10 from 37 reviews places it slightly above those audience scores, indicating a generally favourable professional response alongside more mixed viewer opinion.