The Star
by Stuart Heisler
List Price:
Our Price: $17.99
You Save: $1.99 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $6.46 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bette Davis, Minor Watson, Natalie Wood, Sterling Hayden, Warner AndersonDirector: Stuart Heisler
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: Ernest Laszlo
Producer: Bert E. Friedlob
Writer: Dale Eunson
Writer: Katherine Albert
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of The Star
Movie Review: Bette amazes me--and what a look we get at Hollywood behind the scenes !!!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Star packs a great deal of action, drama and suspense into an extremely good film. The acting is impeccable; with stars like Betty Davis, Natalie Wood and Barbara Lawrence it's tough to miss the target! Of course, Bette Davis gives her usual tour de force performance; and it's great to see her act so convincingly. The cinematography works well throughout the movie; and the choreography shines especially in the scenes at the harbor and the scenes on the movie set where we get a brief movie being filmed within a movie. The plot moves along at a very good pace and I was never once bored.
When the action starts, we quickly meet washed-up Hollywood star Margaret Elliott (Bette Davis) who looks absolutely nauseated as she secretly watches an auction of her prized belongings to pay off her creditors. Even one of her closest "allies" in the business, Harry Stone (Warner Anderson), walks out with her crystal chandelier and he doesn't give it back to Margaret even when he see that she's devastated by it all. Margaret pushes Harry to talk to studio boss Joe Morrison (Minor Watson) to get her a part in "The Fatal Winter;" but Harry isn't about to go out on a limb to help Margaret just yet, either.
To make matters even worse for poor Margaret, the management company where she rents a modest apartment is now practically banging on the door for back rent long overdue and her daughter Gretchen (Natalie Wood) must live with her ex-husband and his new wife because Margaret can't afford the expenses of having her own child live with her. Margaret's sister (Fay Baker) and her brother-in-law Roy (Herb Vigran) want yet another monthly support check from Margaret who finally blows her top and throws them out!
Margaret can't take all this; she gets drunk and drives recklessly with her Oscar all over Hollywood. She gets arrested for drunk driving but after a night in jail she gets bailed out by a man for whom she once got a juicy movie role, Jim Johannson (Sterling Hayden). Jim feels sympathy and genuine affection for Margaret and he likes her daughter Gretchen as well. Jim coaches Margaret into taking a job at a department store as a saleslady but this doesn't last long; Margaret is too proud for this letdown after being a huge Hollywood star. Margaret does get a chance through Harry to play a small role in a picture but she flubs the rehearsal by playing the role as if she were much younger than they wanted her character to be; and Margaret again sinks into despair.
What will happen to Margaret? Will she ever return to pictures--there's a guy with a screenplay and he says it's just right for Margaret--is it right for her? What about Margaret and Gretchen--will they ever be able to live together again? And what happens to Jim, who cares so much about Margaret's life--will he be able to eventually get her back on track in life? No plot spoilers here folks--watch the movie and find out!
The DVD comes with one extra besides scene selection; we get a bonus entitled "How Real Is The Star?" There is the theatrical trailer as well.
The Star is one of Bette Davis' great movies, even though some will say that her career was going downhill when she made it. Her acting absolutely mesmerized me; I couldn't take my eyes off her. What a performer! I highly recommend this film for her fans and people who enjoy classic movies will want to get this DVD, too.
Summary of The Star
As Margaret, Bette Davis got yet another good picture and earned her ninth Academy Award nomination. Davis?s confident, perceptive performance lends absolute authenticy, as did a prop she provided. An Oscar stautette set noticeably on the car dashboard during Margaret?s drunken spin through Beverly Hills ? was one of two Davis owned. Sterling Hayden and Natalie Wood co-star in this gripping story that has many moments of truth (Leonard Maltin?s Movie Guide). The Star shines.DVD Features:Featurette:New Featurette How Real is The Star? - RT: 7:45Theatrical Trailer:
"Come on, Oscar--let's you and me get drunk." This caustic Bette Davis line is not aimed at a co-star but at the Academy Award itself, which down-on-her-luck actress Margaret Elliot cradles bitterly at the beginning of an inebriated evening. As you can guess, Davis is at full-throttle in his ripe melodrama, which came a couple of years after All About Eve and serves as a kind of less-classy companion piece to that classic. As the movie begins, Margaret has lost her career and family because of her own demanding nature. Rescued by a roughhewn boatbuilder (Sterling Hayden) she once befriended, she confronts what's most important--being a star, or being a (ahem) woman.
The rickety script and cut-rate production values betray The Star as a product of Davis's post-Warners wanderings. It does have some sunny location shots of San Pedro, plus a young Natalie Wood before she broke out of child-star roles. But the biggest draw, other than Davis, is the Hollywood behind-the-scenes juice, and the guessing game of how close the material was to Davis's own career (rumor has it the character, who wants to glamorize herself for a supporting part as a slatternly housemaid, was based more on Joan Crawford). It ain't art, but it's an artifact of a different era, skipping between backstage expose and camp. --Robert Horton
Drama DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Hollywood: Journey to the Dark Side...
The StarWarner Brothers; Release date: 2005-06-14; DVD
Best price: $8.32
Price in other shops:
Sunset Boulevard - The Centennial CollectionPARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2008-11-11; DVD
Best price: $10.20
Price in other shops:
All About Eve (Two-Disc Special Edition)TCFHE; Release date: 2008-04-08; DVD
Best price: $9.98
Price in other shops:
Ed Wood (Special Edition)Release date: 2004-10-19; DVD
Best price: $9.34
Price in other shops:
The Red Shoes - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 1999-05-18; DVD
Best price: $20.99
Price in other shops:
A Star Is BornWarner Brothers; Release date: 2000-09-19; DVD
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
Hollywoodland (Widescreen Edition)UNI DIST CORP. (MCA); Release date: 2007-02-06; DVD
Price in other shops:
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Two-Disc Special Edition)WARNER HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2006-05-30; DVD
Best price: $11.75
Price in other shops:
Mommie Dearest (Hollywood Royalty/ Special Collector's Edition)PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2006-06-06; DVD
Best price: $3.55
Price in other shops:
Inside Daisy CloverDVD
Best price: $17.37
Similar DVD Movies
The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 3 (The Old Maid / All This, And Heaven Too / The Great Lie / In This Our Life / Watch on the Rhine / Deception)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-04-01; DVD
Best price: $36.02
Price in other shops:
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Two-Disc Special Edition)WARNER HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2006-05-30; DVD
Best price: $9.22
Price in other shops:
The AnniversarySTARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2006-04-04; DVD
Best price: $4.28
Price in other shops:
Jezebel (Restored and Remastered Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2006-05-30; DVD
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
Marked WomanWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-05-30; DVD
Best price: $4.94
Price in other shops:
Old AcquaintanceWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-05-30; DVD
Best price: $9.54
Price in other shops:
Mr. SkeffingtonWarner Brothers; Release date: 2005-06-14; DVD
Best price: $10.68
Price in other shops:
The LetterWarner Brothers; Release date: 2005-01-11; DVD
Best price: $9.93
Price in other shops:
Dead RingerWarner Brothers; Release date: 2004-08-10; DVD
Best price: $11.55
Price in other shops:
The Little FoxesRelease date: 2001-09-18; DVD
Best price: $7.07
Price in other shops: