Star 80

Rating:
Summary: spine tingling
Review: A movie that you will remember for years and years! hemmingways best film ever!!! a must see!

Rating:
Summary: The American Nightmare
Review: Dorothy Stratten received considerable attention for her 1980 Playboy centerfold spread, which showcased her girl-next-door beauty and personality to remarkable effect. Most who knew her described her as a very sweet, kind, and strangely innocent young woman, and although her name as such was not well known to the public at large, many industry insiders felt she was on the fast-track to Hollywood stardom. We will never know if she could have made the career many expected of her, for little more than a year after her debut in Playboy her promoter, manager, and husband Paul Snider blew her head off with a shotgun.

Mariel Hemingway gives the performance of her career as Stratten, capturing the mixture of wholesome beauty and vulnerability that so many of Stratten's acquaintances described. But STAR 80 is actually less about Stratten than it is about Paul Snider, the small-time hustler who discovered, promoted, and married her--and then lost her through a combination of his own hysterical insecurity and her rising fame. Eric Roberts is simply bone-chilling in the role; it is a performance that should have earned him an Academy Award. The supporting cast is equally fine, with Cliff Robertson and Carroll Baker as Hugh Hefner and Dorothy's mother respectively. But the film goes beyond offering exceptional performances in a tragic story of promising youth cut short.

Director and writer Bob Fosse begins his story with Stratten's death and then presents the history of the Stratton-Snider relationship in a semi-documentary style through flashbacks and flash-forwards. The style serves him very well, for the film quickly develops such intensity that at times it becomes extremely difficult to watch. As it progresses, the story itself becomes a metaphor for hedonism of the 1970s surging into the 1980s: a poisonous mixture of superficial appearances, selfishness, user-mentalities, and disposability. As viewers, we are trapped in a count-down to death, unable to alter a single misstep in Stratten's final days and horrified by the inextoriable drift toward violence. The final ten minutes of the film are certainly among the most powerful, disturbing, and upsetting ever put to film.

STAR 80 proved too unpleasantly real for box office success. This is not an "entertaining" film. But it is a brilliantly done film, one undimmed by the passage of twenty years--and one that, sadly, will likely be as valid twenty years from now as it is today. Strongly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: The American Nightmare
Review: Dorothy Stratten received considerable attention for her 1980 Playboy centerfold spread, which showcased her girl-next-door beauty and personality to remarkable effect. Most who knew her described her as a very sweet, kind, and strangely innocent young woman, and although her name as such was not well known to the public at large, many industry insiders felt she was on the fast-track to Hollywood stardom. We will never know if she could have made the career many expected of her, for little more than a year after her debut in Playboy her promoter, manager, and husband Paul Snider blew her head off with a shotgun.

Mariel Hemingway gives the performance of her career as Stratten, capturing the mixture of wholesome beauty and vulnerability that so many of Stratten's acquaintances described. But STAR 80 is actually less about Stratten than it is about Paul Snider, the small-time hustler who discovered, promoted, and married her--and then lost her through a combination of his own hysterical insecurity and her rising fame. Eric Roberts is simply bone-chilling in the role; it is a performance that should have earned him an Academy Award. The supporting cast is equally fine, with Cliff Robertson and Carroll Baker as Hugh Hefner and Dorothy's mother respectively. But the film goes beyond offering exceptional performances in a tragic story of promising youth cut short.

Director and writer Bob Fosse begins his story with Stratten's death and then presents the history of the Stratton-Snider relationship in a semi-documentary style through flashbacks and flash-forwards. The style serves him very well, for the film quickly develops such intensity that at times it becomes extremely difficult to watch. As it progresses, the story itself becomes a metaphor for hedonism of the 1970s surging into the 1980s: a poisonous mixture of superficial appearances, selfishness, user-mentalities, and disposability. As viewers, we are trapped in a count-down to death, unable to alter a single misstep in Stratten's final days and horrified by the inextoriable drift toward violence. The final ten minutes of the film are certainly among the most powerful, disturbing, and upsetting ever put to film.

STAR 80 proved too unpleasantly real for box office success. This is not an "entertaining" film. But it is a brilliantly done film, one undimmed by the passage of twenty years--and one that, sadly, will likely be as valid twenty years from now as it is today. Strongly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Bob Fosse!
Review: FYI, the real disappointment with this DVD is that it was ripe for amazing Special Features and there are NONE! Fantastic film, surreal true life story...and Warner Brothers really dropped by the ball by not having any special features. How difficult could it have been to have one of the stars do a commentary track?? Surely someone could have coughed up a 15 minute documentary featurette on Dorothy Stratton. Not even an Original Trailer!

Okay, now that I got that off my chest...let's talk about the movie itself. Bob Fosse, master of theatricality, did an amazing job as Writer/Director...expertly presenting the tragic life and death story of Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratton. Picture perfect casting throughout...even in smaller roles played by Stuart Damon and Carroll Baker. Look for Keenan Ivory Williams in a bit part as a comic.

Great movie, seriously overlooked by the studio in this DVD presentation.

Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: I saw this when it first came out, and thought Eric Roberts one of the most brilliant actors I'd ever seen. A few years later I saw his sister Julia in her first movie, MYSTIC PIZZA, and thought she was one of the BLANDEST actresses I'd ever seen. So who goes on to become the big star? Julia!!! It's the luck of the draw, I guess! Anyway, this is an interesting and absorbing film. Some critics thought it was too sympathetic toward Paul Snider. But when making the film, Bob Fosse (writer/director) told Eric Roberts, "If I had not been successful, Paul Snider would have been me." And I think that is what makes this film unique, that you can see Snider's life, hopes for status and success, crumbling, pushing him toward psychic desperation. That guy was a wacko--probably a psychopath--no question. But I did think it interesting that Bob Fosse examined Snider's impulses closely. This is a dark film, and some--maybe most--people want sunny Adam Sandler fare, so don't/won't like it (and didn't: this flopped at the box office). But if you want to take a dark, but absorbing, trip, this movie is the ticket.

Rating:
Summary: Not a great DVD but a great film
Review: Okay since we are in the DVD forum, and we are supposed to be writing about the DVD, lets get that out of the way. If you are looking for neat features like audio commentary, deleted scenes and the like, you will not find them here. Only chapter selections on a pan and scan format. It did not include the pictures for the scene selections and that was a bit frustrating to navigate when I tried jumping into the miiddle of the film. So as far a DVD goes, thumbs down.

If however you are looking for a great film, you have hit the jackpot! Fosse's writing is amazing and is carried off by some excellent acting. Eric Roberts balances one challenging role. As the husband/manager living off his wifes fame and popularity, he comes across as a second rate Ike Turner. The man is a slime and you still manage to find some sympathy for him. Watching his behavior his fascinating, and we have seen his like in one form or another. One who portrays what he thinks a rich and glamourous life style is by spouting off ham-handed dialouge and wearing tacky clothes who doesent realize the joke is on him. When finally does, it ends with tragic results. I've not been a big fan of Roberts until this movie.

Hemingway is also very effective as the centerfold with the heart of gold. The contrast of her and Roberts works nicely. She may not be the smartest person but at least she knows who she is. Her flaw is that she tries to please everyone and that of course also leads tragically.

The only flaw to this film is it's production value. Many would argue that it was 1983 when the movie was made, but it still has the feel of a after school special. There really is no style to the film. Just point and shoot film. If Fosse was looking for a documentary syle, he succeeded better with "Lenny" which I also reccomend. "Star 80" is a good one!

Rating:
Summary: Overlooked, yet worth your time
Review: Star80 is a very overlooked movie despite excellent performances from both Mariel Hemingway and Eric Roberts.

Mariel Hemingway portrays Dorothy Stratten, famous model who marries a lunatic played by Eric Roberts. He will stop at nothing to dominate her life and career, and it all ends with tragic circumstances. The last 10 minutes are quite possibly the saddest scenes I have seen in a movie.

The Australian DVD is thankfully presented in its original widescreen presentation (and anamorphic too) unlike the American pan and scan version.

I'm surprised Mariel Hemingway's career didn't take off because she is an exceptional actress.

Rating:
Summary: Eric Roberts is riveting!!
Review: The reason I think Eric Roberts is one of the most underappreciated actors in Hollywood is due to this film. His performance as the husband of doomed Playboy Playmate, Dorothy Stratten, is one of the most psychologically disturbing and eerie portrayals that I have ever seen. It is the masculine counterpart to that of Glenn Close's portrayal in "Fatal Attraction". If you enjoyed that film, this is a "must see".

Although the movie is primarily about the late Dorothy Stratten, it is really about Paul Snider, her obsessed and self centered husband. Snider, a small time promoter and part time pimp, discovered Dorothy Stratten in 1978 when she was working at a ice cream parlor in Vancouver B.C.. He courted the naive young beauty, dated her and convinced her to pose for nude pictures that he would send in to Playboy. Playboy, impressed with what they saw, made her the Playboy Playmate of the Year. This landed her television and motion picture work. Because she felt she "owed" him, Dorothy married Paul Snider; however, she fell in love with the director of her last movie (I won't mention this director's name here but he is quite famous and his name was changed in "Star 80"). When Snider found out she was having an affair and he was losing her, he brutally raped and murdered her and subsequently killed himself. All of this, from her discovery, rise to stardom and death happened only in the span of two years. This is an amazingly short time frame for any talented beauty looking for a career in Hollywood.

Mariel Hemmingway delivers a lighter role as Dorothy and portrays her as the quintessential child-woman (Dorothy Stratten was only 20 when she died). Although Stratten posed nude for Playboy and was hailed as a sex godess, she was still a sweet, unsophisticated and naive "kid" who suffered from forays with her husband. That is the extent of Hemmingway's performance and she did it well. However, the contrasting underworld of Paul Snider was explored and propogated throughout the film. You saw the universe through his eyes. You felt the humiliation and insecurity he felt when accompanying his dazzling wife at the Playboy mansion. You were sickened by him and yet you felt his humiliation when Hugh Hefner looked down on this small time loser. And, finally, as he was realizing that he was losing his meal ticket, "Dorothy", you felt the agony and desparation he felt. That was how powerful a performance that Eric Roberts delivered.

In most breakups, either person eventually has to let go. Unfortunately for Dorothy Stratten, Paul Snider refused to let her go and you knew he never would, even if he had to destroy them both.

Rating:
Summary: a distinctive and disturbing film.
Review: This is a highly original and unsettling film. Although Mariel Hemingway as Dorothy Stratten effectively conveys her innocence and vulnerability, it is Eric Roberts as Paul Snider, the seedy small time loser and user of women, who is the focus of this film. What Roberts does so effectively is to make clear to the viewer why his awareness that he is losing Dorothy to a big name director leads to him committing his horrible rape-murder-suicide. It is more than just losing a meal ticket; it is instead the total self-negation it represents to him as someone who is dominated by feelings of worthlessness and a corrosive mixture of inadequacy, insecurity and hatred towards those he perceives as successful, rich and powerful. It is Roberts's delineation of these aspects of his character that makes his terrible act seem like the inevitable outcome of the forces that drive him, and leaves the viewer experiencing a mixture of horror and pity, even though one feels revulsion towards him. Moreover, the supporting performances by Cliff Robertson and Carroll Baker are excellent.
A definite recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: This movie will be hauntingly familiar to any woman who has ever been in a relationship with an overly jeolous, possesive man. It is scary to realize any one of us could have suffered Stratten's fate. Eric Roberts is so convincing in his role, that I almost beleived Roberts was Paul Snyder. Mariel Hemingway is gorgeous.