Star 80 (1983)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Bob Fosse

Writers:

Teresa Carpenter (article)
Bob Fosse (written by)

Release Date:

10 November 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

Paul Snider is a narcissistic, small time hustler who fancies himself a ladies man. His life changes...

Plot Keywords:

Star | Centerfold | Murder | Playboy Centerfold | Nudity

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Mariel Hemingway	...	Dorothy Stratten
Eric Roberts	...	Paul Snider
Cliff Robertson	...	Hugh Hefner
Carroll Baker	...	Dorothy's Mother
Roger Rees	...	Aram Nicholas
David Clennon	...	Geb
Josh Mostel	...	Private Detective
Lisa Gordon	...	Eileen
Sidney Miller	...	Nightclub Owner
Keith Hefner	...	Photographer
Tina Willson	...	Bobo Weller
Shelly Ingram	...	Betty
Sheila Anderson	...	Exotic Dancer
Cis Rundle	...	Meg Davis
Kathryn Witt	...	Robin

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:16 | USA:R (#26722) | UK:18 | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1984) | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Blue Horizon Hotel, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Ladd Company, The

Trivia:

Mariel Hemingway received breast implants shortly before playing the role of Playboy model Dorothy Stratten, but denies that was the reason she got them.

Goofs:

Continuity: While Paul harangues Dorothy about her upcoming trip to New York while she soaks in the bathtub her face and hair are alternately wet/dry between shots.

Quotes:

Snider: [after Dorothy strips on the bed] So you're gonna do me a big favor, huh? Ok, that's me - a charity case.

Movie Connections:

References Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979)

Soundtrack:

JUST THE WAY YOU ARE

The Explosion of Eric Roberts

Whitin this shockingly beautiful docudrama there is a performance by Eric Roberts that goes beyond anything we had ever seen an actor do on screen. He explodes in front of our eyes. Fearless, horrible, pathetic, sad but above all truthful. With the kind of truth we're not use to deal with. I was horrified because I understood it, like James Mason in Lolita. I'm not sympathising with him but I'm understanding him. The counterpart to Roberts's human monster is not Mariel Hemigway's beautiful Dorothy Stratten but Carroll Baker as Dorothy's mother. We can tell by looking into her face that she knows. She knows,she senses, she fears to be right because there is so little she can do. Carroll Baker's superb portrayal represents us. We dread what she dreads and like her, we're impotent to the unavoidable. Star 80 is a masterpiece. Like all of Bob Fosse's work, nothing is casual. The puzzle that he presents us with, connects the dots in a twisted, although immediately recognisable, pattern, leading inexorably to the most excruciating domestic tragedy. From Othelo to O J Simpson. Our every day horror served cold as a shattering work of art.