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.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.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.
- Nominated for 4 Oscars
- 5 wins & 12 nominations total
- Female Impersonator
- (as Claude Sacha)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe movie was originally titled "Pearl", which was a biographical movie based on Janis Joplin's life. The film's screenplay was revised and fictionalized after her family declined to allow the producers the rights to her story.
- GoofsWhen Rose's airplane lands for her St. Louis show, the airport is surrounded by mountains.
- 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 and my loving legs. Dive right in, baby, the water is fine"? Is that what you say, girls?
[the women in the crowd scream "No!"]
Rose: Or do you say, "Fuck this shit! I've had enough of you, you asshole! Pack your bags. I'm putting on my little waitress cap and my fancy high-heeled shoes, I'm gonna go find me a real man. A good man, a true man."
- Crazy creditsLyrics of "The Rose" are displayed at the end of the credit crawl, scrolling to the ending of the song.
- Alternate versionsCBS edited 14 minutes from this film for its 1984 network premiere.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Linda McCartney Story (2000)
I would estimate that roughly a quarter of the film's runtime consists of Midler on-stage singing and performing in front of an audience of hundreds, and in one case thousands, of extras as part of a real-life concert. The technical logistics of putting together such a believable event is quite impressive, with multiple cameras, special effects, complex lighting, and in only one camera take.
The non-concert plot has Rose in various states of emotional highs and lows, mostly lows, as she laughs and cries, whines and moans, and argues and fights with those around her. This is a lady who is controlled by emotion, not reason or logic. She laughs one minute, cries the next, then laughs, then cries some more.
As such, the plot trends emotionally repetitive, though we as viewers sense that all this enormous gushing of raw feeling can't continue indefinitely. And thus with great effect, the film has a dramatic ending, one that combines character resolution with stunning visuals, followed by end credits set against the musical backdrop of Amanda McBroom's moving, hymn-like title song, "The Rose".
By far the best element of the film is Midler's electrifying performance. Yet, the concert footage and film editing are also impressive. The weak link is a plot that, though acceptable, seems anemic in comparison to Midler and the stunning visuals.
Inspired by the unnerving musical career of Janis Joplin, "The Rose" presents viewers with an emotionally moving story, character driven, that is set within an overall film production that is technically both competent and credible.
- Lechuguilla
- Mar 13, 2011
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $8,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $29,174,648
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $793,063
- Nov 11, 1979
- Gross worldwide
- $29,174,648
- Runtime2 hours 5 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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