The Rose (1979)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Mark Rydell

Writers:

Bo Goldman (screenplay)
Bill Kerby (story)

Release Date:

7 November 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

She gave and gave, until she had nothing left to give

Plot:

The story of the tragic life of a self destructive female rock star, modeled after Janis Joplin.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Artist | Price Of Fame | Chauffeur | Lesbian

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Bette Midler	...	Mary Rose Foster
Alan Bates	...	Rudge Campbell
Frederic Forrest	...	Huston Dyer
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Billy Ray
Barry Primus	...	Dennis
David Keith	...	Pfc. Mal
Sandra McCabe	...	Sarah Willingham
Will Hare	...	Mr. Leonard
Rudy Bond	...	Monty
Don Calfa	...	Don Frank
James Keane	...	Sam
Doris Roberts	...	Mrs. Foster
Sandy Ward	...	Mr. Foster, Rose's Father
Michael Greer	...	Emcee
Claude Sacha	...	Female Impersonator

Also Known As:

The Tour (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Iceland:L | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Portugal:M/16 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/18 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

When originally issued on Home Video by the Magnetic Video corporation, the film was separated into 2 parts, as VHS could only hold 2 hours of videotape at the time and the alternative would have been to time compress it. (See also _Superman (1979)_.)

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: The car phone has a rotary dial, but when Rose makes a call, the soundtrack sounds like a touch tone phone.

Quotes:

Rose: Where you going...? Where's everybody going...?
[she collapses onstage]

Movie Connections:

Edited into The Linda McCartney Story (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

When a Man Loves a Woman

Awesome!

I'm no fan of Bette Midler, but I was mighty impressed by her first starring role in "The Rose". The Divine Miss M plays Rose, a Janis Joplin-type, living her last days in a sea of sex, booze, and drugs. The movie shows painfully and slowly how her life goes completely out of control, while her friends and management are helpless.

Midler, unlike the unbearably long line of singers/rappers/divas/bubblegum pop stars who have done acting, can do both and dominate. Midler's Oscar-nominated performance is awesome, and her singing voice is superb as she belts out the songs with panache. If you want to see her do something else besides the endless comedies she does, check this one out.