Star 80

Director: Bob Fosse Bob Fosse

Overview

Director Bob Fosse's fact-based tale of Playboy centerfold Dorothy Stratten's short life and gruesome death focuses less on Stratten (played by Mariel Hemingway) than on her husband/manager, sleazoid pornographer and all-around failure Paul Snider (Eric Roberts, ideally cast). He sees the young beauty as his meal ticket and sets out to pimp her in the adult entertainment business. He marries her and appoints himself her career manager; soon after, she attracts the attention of Playboy executives and wins a spot in the magazine. As her success increases however, so does Snider's alienation as he finds himself left out in the cold. His jealousy begins to consume him; she spurns him on the advice of her new friends; he goes berserk and confronts her. The same murder-suicide inspired the made-for-television Death of a Centerfold. This was choreographer/filmmaker Bob Fosse's final film.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/24/2015
UPC:	0888574099282
Original Release:	1983
Rating:	R
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:43:00
Sales rank:	3,195

Special Features

Closed Caption

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Eric Roberts	Paul Snider
Mariel Hemingway	Dorothy Stratten
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
Jordan Christopher	Peter Rose
James Luisi	Roy
Neva Patterson	Playboy Executive
Robert Fields	Director
Keenen Ivory Wayans	Comic
Sandy Wolshin	Woman M.C.
Robert Perault	Actor
James Blendick	Gunseller
Jacqueline Coleman	Nightclub Dancer
Don Granberry	Bartender
Stuart Damon	Vince Roberts
Ernest Thompson	Phil Wass
Budd Friedman	MC
Deborah Geffner	Billie
Norman Browning	Detective
Hagen Beggs	Detective,2nd Detective
Bobby Bass	Hood
Gilbert B. Combs	Hood
Terence Kelly	Charlie
Tabitha Herrington	George
Dean Hajum	George
Dan Zaleski	The Jock
Lonny Chin	Playboy Mansion Guest
Paul Ryan	Radio Announcer
Michael Joel Shapiro	Playboy Assistant
Tracy Vaccaro	Playboy Mansion Guest
Fred Pierce	Head Butler
Lorraine Michaels	Paul's Party Guest
John Horn	Nightclub Owner
Paul Jabara	Actor
David W. Rose	Assistant Director
Stanley Kamel	Nick
David Cameron	Paul's Party Guest
Liz Sheridan	Makeup Woman
Robert Picardo	Interviewer
Stacey Toten	Paul's Party Guest
Erica Yohn	Interviewer
Marilyn Madderom	Editor
Mariska Hargitay	Actor
Liis Kailey	Aram's Assistant
John Sala	Actor

Technical Credits

Bob Fosse	Director
Wolfgang Glattes	Producer
Kenneth Utt	Producer
Henry Miller Jr.	Special Effects

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Star 80
1. Chapter 1 [3:07]
2. Chapter 2 [3:48]
3. Chapter 3 [2:34]
4. Chapter 4 [4:14]
5. Chapter 5 [2:52]
6. Chapter 6 [4:50]
7. Chapter 7 [4:06]
8. Chapter 8 [2:59]
9. Chapter 9 [3:19]
10. Chapter 10 [4:44]
11. Chapter 11 [4:30]
12. Chapter 12 [4:36]
13. Chapter 13 [2:52]
14. Chapter 14 [1:49]
15. Chapter 15 [5:17]
16. Chapter 16 [3:00]
17. Chapter 17 [2:01]
18. Chapter 18 [4:11]
19. Chapter 19 [3:59]
20. Chapter 20 [4:24]
21. Chapter 21 [3:24]
22. Chapter 22 [2:42]
23. Chapter 23 [4:38]
24. Chapter 24 [4:36]
25. Chapter 25 [3:38]
26. Chapter 26 [4:24]
27. Chapter 27 [1:37]
28. Chapter 28 [2:01]
29. Chapter 29 [2:49]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Star 80
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   Star 80: Chapters

Editorial Reviews

Undeniably powerful but also intensely disturbing and difficult to take, Star 80 is a film that seems to want to make a statement but also can't seem to decide what that statement should be. Director-screenwriter Bob Fosse is to blame for this indecisiveness, but also deserves credit for much of the film's impact. The film has the same visual confidence that marks his best work, with editing by Alan Heim that is a key ingredient in the film's effectiveness. Fosse captures a riveting, full-bodied performance from Eric Roberts. Rarely has an actor so willingly committed himself to creating such an unlikeable, alienating character. If anything, Roberts does his job too well. His performance overpowers the film (as the real man overpowered the life of Dorothy Stratten), giving it a center that is so repulsive that most viewers will feel alienated. Had Fosse the writer been as skillful as Fosse the director, he might have found a way of making this work, but too often the script seems to come down on Snider's side, making the viewer feel, in some strange way, complicit in his actions. The script also gives short shrift to Stratten, making her less realized, especially in Mariel Hemingway's vacant performance. Ultimately, despite the considerable skill and talent of the director and male lead, Star 80 is too off-putting to be the important film it wants to be.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler