Stardust: The Bette Davis Story DVD (2006)
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DVD Cover Information
Primary Contributor: Bette DavisDVD: Region Code 1
Studio: Warner
Movie Reviews of Stardust: The Bette Davis Story DVD (2006)
Movie Review: Stardust: The Portrait Of A Lady
Summary: 5 Stars
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story is a superlative documentary about the life and times of Bette Davis. Narrated by Susan Sarandon, this fine documentary details the life of Bette both on screen and off; and we get excellent audio commentary along the way by none other than Ellen Burstyn, Frank Sinatra, William Wyler, Jimmy Cagney, Gena Rowlands and more.
This documentary starts with the Bette's childhood; we learn about her parents' difficult marriage and her father's lack of affection for her. Bette says (in one of several clips of interviews shown that she gave over the years) that when her father left them it was a relief more than anything else. After Bette saw The Wild Duck onstage she became determined to be a professional actress; and we find out about her acting studies in New York City before she traveled west with her mother to Hollywood.
The documentary details Bette's eighteen year rocky relationship with the Warner Brothers studio as well as her relationship with Jack Warner himself. We learn about her first marriage to Harmon Nelson--and all three other marriages after that. The documentary gives us a great understanding of how Bette was able to act so brilliantly in scenes from Jezebel and Of Human Bondage. The clips from her movies are very well chosen.
The film reviews Bette's many Oscar nominations as well as the two Oscars she did win over the years. Bette slowly but surely also became a gay icon because of her role in Now, Voyager and her campy portrait of Margo Channing in All About Eve. We see several clips of Bette working tirelessly at The Hollywood Canteen as well as film clips and stills of her with her children including B. D. and Michael, her four husbands and their homes during the decades.
As if this weren't enough, the retrospective of Bette's life delves still further. There is good coverage of the controversial book written by Bette's daughter B. D.; in that book B. D. laments having to be a constant companion for her mother who had no real faith in men. B. D. apparently also covered Bette's violent side along with the frequent and sometimes unpredictable mood swings Bette experienced. Despite Michael's protests, B. D. did publish her book; and I'm sure Bette did not like that one bit.
The film ends with on a somewhat bittersweet note: we get several clips of Bette receiving awards at numerous ceremonies in both the USA and Europe. We learn that she died peacefully in a French hospital in 1989 with her assistant at her side.
Overall, Stardust: The Bette Davis Story must be regarded as one of the best films about Bette Davis made to date. The film weaves together many clips, both old and somewhat more recent, as well as audio clips to tell the story of the life of this fantastic person. Bette Davis was an artist of epic proportions; and with great documentaries like this one she is sure to be remembered for ages to come.
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