The Rose (1979)

The tragic life of a self-destructive female rock star who struggles to deal with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager.

Director:

Mark Rydell

Writers:

Bo Goldman (screenplay), Bill Kerby (screenplay)

Stars:

Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Kenny Sacha	...	Female Impersonator (as Claude Sacha)

Storyline

Bette Midler plays The Rose, a female rock star strikingly similar to Janis Joplin. The film follows Rose's career during her last tour, as she's determined to return to her Florida hometown. Although a success, she's exhausted and lonely but continued working by her gruff and greedy manager. Though loud and brassy, Rose is an insecure alcoholic and former drug user who seems to crave approval in her life. She begins a romance with a limousine driver, who's actually an AWOL sergeant from the United States Army. Her rock and roll lifestyle of Drugs, Sex, and Rock and Roll and constant touring lead her to an inevitable breakdown.

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Plot Keywords:

roses | bath house | drugs | awol | driver | 

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Taglines:

The legend of "The Rose" continues...

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pearl

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$29,200,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mal is seen applauding Rose from the wings during her singing of Stay With Me Baby, though it wasn't in the script. David Keith simply spontaneously applauded Bette Midler's heart-wrenching performance. Director Mark Rydell felt it was a good touch and decided to include the scene.

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Rose: Ain't it just grand layin' there late at night in your bed, waitin' for your man to show up? And when he finally does, at oh about 4 o'clock in the mornin', with whiskey on his breath, and the smell of another woman on his person... Oh honey, I can smell another woman at 500 paces. That's a easy one to catch.
[crowd gets really noisy]
Rose: Oh, the women are getting nasty. So what do you do when he comes home with the smell of another woman on him? Do you say, "Oh honey, let me open up my loving arms ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Lyrics of "The Rose" are displayed at the end of the credit crawl, scrolling to the ending of the song.

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Connections

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997)

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Soundtracks

I've Written a Letter to Daddy
Music and Lyrics by Larry Vincent, Henry Tobias, Moe Jaffe

User Reviews

A surprisingly good mix of fact & fiction!

Originally intended as a flat-out biography of Janis Joplin's last days titled "Pearl" ( Janis' nickname and alter-ego ) the filmakers allegedly ran into privacy issues with the Joplin family which caused them to take a more "loosely based" approach of a "composite" character! Even Bette Midler herself had some ideas of her own that promised to provide a fictious portrayal! Since I had always found Janis Joplin's life both fascinating and tragic I had to write off seeing this movie in the theatres when it first came out in 1979.It wasn't until sitting through it on HBO that I could truly appreciate how utterly great Bette Midler's performance was!It certainly stayed close enough to the "truth" while adding some dynamic elements that a Janis biography portrayed by anyone else would have sorely lacked! Bette Midler is truely at her best! She pours out her heart and soul into this role and leaves nothing behind!Her rock concert scenes alone show her broad talent as a stage performer! Her scenes drunk & stoned give a rare glimpse into a lonely and crazy world of rock stars(like Janis Joplin was!) Her scene with her childhood country-music idol reminded me of a similar situation between Janis and Johnny Cash! Her former lesbian lover is reminiscent of Janis' one-time "biographer/lover" Peggy Caserta! The "homecoming" concert at the film's end reminded me of Janis' 10-year-highschool reunion which she attended only shortly before her death! All in All I regret not having seen (in the theatre) this "loosely based" and yet "thinly disguised" story of Janis!With Bette Midler at center stage it stands as both a glowing tribute to Janis AND Bette!