Star 80

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Village Voice article Death of a Playmate by Teresa Carpenter, Star 80 is about the life and death of Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten who was set for stardom until she gains the jealousy of her husband/ manager Paul Snider. Written for the screen and directed by Bob Fosse, the film is a dramatic account into Stratten’s life as well as her tumultuous relationship with Snider as Dorothy Stratten is played by Mariel Hemingway and Eric Roberts in the role of Paul Snider. Also starring Cliff Robertson, Carroll Baker, Roger Rees, and David Clennon. Star 80 is a eerie yet entrancing film from Bob Fosse.

Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten aka Dorothy Stratten was a young woman who had become the 1980 Playmate of the Year for Playboy magazine as she was due for stardom where she would appear in Peter Bogdanovich’s 1981 film They All Laughed. Instead, her life was cut short tragically at the age of 20 where she was killed by her husband/manager Paul Snider in a fit of rage and jealousy who would later kill himself. The film is about Stratten’s short life from how she was discovered by Snider and to the murder/suicide as it’s told in a unique narrative as it has Snider looking back while the narrative would cut back-and-forth in events during their life as well as various people including Stratten’s mother (Carroll Baker) and Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner (Cliff Robertson) being interviewed about Stratten and the events that led to her death. Bob Fosse’s script does take some dramatic liberties due to some legal issues as it relates to the real-life story where he wouldn’t be able to use the real names of Stratten’s family as well as Stratten and Snider’s neighbors at the home they shared in Los Angeles.

Another figure in Stratten’s life that is given liberties is the filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich where he isn’t mentioned in the film due to legal reasons. Instead, Fosse would create a fictionalized version of the character in Aram Nicholas (Roger Rees) who would be the filmmaker that falls for Stratten and offer a life without Snider’s control. The narrative does however create some unique development where Stratten would mature and be surrounded with people who really care about her as well as be aware of her husband’s behavior and plans. Snider’s development is just as interesting as this sleazy yet well-meaning guy who discovers Stratten at a Dairy Queen where he falls for her. Once she goes to Los Angeles and makes some connections, Snider becomes suspicious yet still has ambition. Unfortunately, his ideas for her and what he wants prove to be tasteless and low-class as he loses money and goes insane.

Fosse’s direction is definitely stylish not just in its usage of montages to play into Stratten’s rise as well as the numerous photos she took. It is also in the way he created different array of film styles ranging from the documentary to something more dramatic. Notably as he would maintain different visual styles in the way some of the scenes are presented where the interviews are very straightforward with a few stylish but eerie shots. The dramatic portions including a scenes where Stratten are interviewed do have a flair of style as it play into her rise to stardom. Fosse’s usage of close-ups and medium shots play into the intimacy in not just Stratten’s own observation of the world but also in the evolution of her relationship with Snider where it would eventually become toxic. Fosse would also use close-ups for a lot of the scenes set in Los Angeles with a few shots set in Vancouver as it play into the two different worlds these characters would encounter.

While Fosse would create something that is a play on the idea of fantasy vs. reality as it relates to Snider wants in the former, Fosse would an extra layer of realism for the film’s climax where the home that Stratten and Snider lived is the place where they actually lived in the final days of their lives. All of which plays into the tragedy as well as one man’s determination to keep this beautiful young woman no matter at what cost. Overall, Fosse creates an unsettling yet compelling film about the life and death of Dorothy Stratten.

Cinematographer Sven Nykvist does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography from the colorful look of the sunny day locations in California as well as some of the lavish approach to lighting for some of the interiors including Stratten‘s photo shoots. Editor Alan Heim does excellent work with the editing as it is very stylish with usage of dissolves, jump-cuts and montages to play into the craziness of the Hollywood life that Stratten would encounter as well as some of the eerie moments involving Snider. Art directors Michael S. Bolton and Jack G. Taylor Jr., with set decorators Anne D. McCulley and Kimberly Richardson, do fantastic work with the look of the Playboy mansion‘s interiors as well as the apartment that Snider has in Vancouver.

Costume designer Albert Wolsky does amazing work with the costumes as it plays into the look of the late 70s where it is all about style as Stratten‘s look represents this air of innocence while Snider‘s choice of clothing fits perfectly with who he is. Sound editor Dan Sable does nice work with the sound to play into the atmosphere of the parties as well as some of the chilling moments at the film‘s climax. The film’s music by Ralph Burns is superb for its mixture of low-key orchestral music with some electronic music to play into the times while the soundtrack that featured music by the Village People, Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, Steppenwolf, Louie Prima, Shirley Goodman and Leonard Lee, and the Band.

The casting by Howard Feuer and Jeremy Ritzer is wonderful as it includes some notable small roles from Keenan Ivory Wayans as a comic, James Luisi as Hefner’s assistant, Stuart Damon as a TV actor that Snider talks to, Tina Willson as a Playboy Playmate, Keith Hefner as a photographer cheated out of a finder’s fee by Snider, Lisa Gordon as Dorothy’s sister Eileen (a fictionalized version of Louise Stratten), Kathryn Witt as Stratten/Snider’s neighbor Robin, Josh Mostel as a private detective Snider hires late in the film, and David Clennon as a neighbor of Stratten/Snider who befriends them only to be wary of Snider’s troubled behavior. As a fictionalized version of filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich in the form of Aram Nicholas, Roger Rees is excellent as this filmmaker who falls for Stratten as well as being nurturing to her growing talents as an actress and being the man who wants to help her. Cliff Robertson is brilliant as Hugh Hefner as the man who founded Playboy as he sees something more in Stratten where he would be a fraternal figure of sorts for her while being very suspicious towards Snider.

Carroll Baker is amazing as Stratten’s mother who is suspicious about what Snider wants to do as she isn’t really charmed by him while she is also aghast in how he stole Stratten from her. Mariel Hemingway is remarkable as Dorothy Stratten as this young and beautiful woman who finds herself becoming a star where Hemingway displays an air of innocence to the character as well as someone who would grow up knowing that something isn’t right about Snider. Finally, there’s Eric Roberts in an incredible performance as Paul Snider as he exudes the sleaziness of the character in the way he looks and acts but also has a charm that is engaging where it would morph into something very dark in its anguish and torment where Roberts really creates something that is very scary to watch.

Star 80 is a marvelous film from Bob Fosse that features great performances fro Eric Roberts and Mariel Hemingway. It’s a film that doesn’t just explore not just some of the darker aspects of obsession but also tragedy in the form of a real life story of the murder suicide of Dorothy Stratten and Paul Snider. In the end, Star 80 is a brilliant film from Bob Fosse.

Bob Fosse Films: Sweet Charity - Cabaret - Liza with a Z - Lenny - All That Jazz - The Auteurs #56: Bob Fosse

© thevoid99 2016

The Thing (1982 film)

Based on the novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr., The Thing is the story about a group of mysterious life form that infiltrates an Antarctic research station where a group of men to defend themselves from the creature who can imitate these men as paranoia ensues. Directed by John Carpenter and screenplay by Bill Lancaster, the film explores the world of men trying to deal with something they don’t know as they eventually start to distrust each other. Starring Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, T.K. Carter, Donald Moffat, and Charles Hallahan. The Thing is a chilling yet harrowing film from John Carpenter.

A group of American Antarctic researchers witness a Norwegian helicopter team trying to kill a dog as it later shoots at them only to kill the shooter and save the dog. Suspicion arises as a helicopter pilot named R.J. McCready (Kurt Russell) and Dr. Copper (Richard Dysart) go to the Norwegian camp where they find the place in ruins as well as a strange body. Upon bringing the body and video documentation at the camp, something strange happens where an autopsy is made where a man named Blair (Wilford Brimley) makes a discovery about this strange thing as it starts to imitate various life forms and kill those around the area as many struggle to survive against this strange alien being. Yet, distrust and paranoia starts to play in as the residents in the camp try to figure out what to do just as their numbers start to dwindle.

The film is essentially a story of survival and paranoia that revolves around a team of American Antarctic researchers trying to kill a strange alien who can imitate all sorts of life forms including themselves. During the course of the film, these men realize that the monsters can turn into humans and is willing to kill at any length leaving to all sorts of mistrust among many. Leading the pack is a helicopter pilot who is trying to maintain his cool and get everyone in tact where everyone becomes afraid or starts to act erratic leading to them being suspicious around one another.

Bill Lancaster’s screenplay definitely plays to a lot of the schematics of horror in which characters get picked off one-by-one and whoever are left are all trying to deal with the monster. The script does manage to invest a lot of time with the characters as they’re all just normal guys who do their job and such as they try to live their life in the extremely cold Antarctic. There’s not much plot in the story but it doesn’t need one since it’s just simply about a group of men fighting a monster and eventually themselves just as distrust starts to arrive. Even as they all realize that if they need to survive, they have to trust one another through some strange tests and such where there’s also the feeling that they might not make it all.

John Carpenter’s direction is very engaging for the way he builds up suspense and horror as he knows how to maintain a sense of rhythm into creating that sense of momentum in the suspense and horror. From the film’s opening scene that is this amazing wide shot of a helicopter trying to follow a dog through these snowy rocky mountains. It is clear that Carpenter is establishing something that would play a key part in the story with this opening sequence for what these men are to face. Through these vast locations set around British Columbia, Canada and parts of Alaska, Carpenter creates a world where nature is unforgiving in the cold world of the Antarctic. It’s not just this dark creature and themselves that they’re facing but also nature itself.

Carpenter’s direction also has a sense of foreboding intimacy in his framing where it’s clear that everyone is trapped in the rooms they’re in as Carpenter shoots the actors in various group shots and cuts to another small group to see who is the monster and who is not. It’s all part of the world of paranoia that Carpenter is trying to set-up that adds to the suspense where the third act revolves the small group of survivors trying to fight the monster any way they can. Overall, Carpenter creates a truly captivating yet mesmerizing horror film that plays to a lot of its schematics and more.

Cinematographer Dean Cundey does great work with the film‘s exhilarating photography to capture the beauty of the landscapes along with the sense of dread in the film‘s nighttime interior and exterior scenes where the lighting creates an unsettling mood. Editor Todd C. Ramsay does excellent work with the editing to play up the suspense and horror while utilizing dissolves and fade-outs for the film‘s transitions. Production designer John J. Lloyd, along with set decorator John W. Dwyer and art director Henry Larrecq, does amazing work with the set pieces such as the base the characters live in to the ruined Norwegian base and spaceship that is found nearby.

Special creature effects designer Rob Bottin, along with Stan Winston, does brilliant work with the look of the monster as it imitates itself in various forms that also features an element of repulsiveness in its look as it plays a large key to the film‘s horror element. Sound editors Colin C. Mouat and David Lewis Yewdall do superb work with the sound to play up the sense of atmosphere that occurs as it also plays a key part in the film‘s suspense and horror. The film’s music by Ennio Morricone is fantastic for its intense, orchestral-driven score that adds to the film’s drama and suspense as Morricone’s score is a major highlight along with the film’s opening theme by John Carpenter that is this chilling, electronic-driven piece that adds to the film’s darkness.

The casting by Anita Dann is terrific for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Norbert Weisser and Larry J. Franco as the Norwegian men in a helicopter as well as Adrienne Barbeau as the computer chess game that McCready is playing against. Other noteworthy small roles include Thomas G. Waites as the radio operator Windows, T.K. Carter as the cook Nauls, Richard Masur as the kennel operator Clark, Joel Polis as the scientist Fuchs, Richard Dysart as the doctor Copper, Peter Maloney and Charles Hallahan as the researchers Bennings and Norris, David Clennon as the scientist Palmer, and Donald Moffat as the base head Garry. Wilford Brimley is great as the scientist Blair who makes a discovery about the autopsy and his powers as he immediately starts to act erratic. Keith David is superb as the researcher Childs who rallies around everyone while often challenging McCready in the game of distrust. Finally, there’s Kurt Russell in an incredible performance as McCready who leads the team in fighting everyone while is willing to do anything to prove that he’s not the monster as it’s Russell bringing a lot of guts and charisma to his performances.

The Thing is an outstanding horror film from John Carpenter that features an intense performance from Kurt Russell. The film is definitely a horror film that doesn’t try to create any scares by focusing on characters and heavy themes that adds to the element of suspense and horror. Even as it explores the world of paranoia and survival in an unforgiving landscape that adds to the sense of terror in the film. In the end, The Thing is a hypnotic yet engrossing film from John Carpenter.

John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault on Precinct 13 - Halloween - Someone’s Watching Me! - Elvis - The Fog - Escape from New York - Christine - Starman - Big Trouble in Little China - Prince of Darkness - They Live - Memoirs of an Invisible Man - Body Bags - In the Mouth of Madness - Village of the Damned - Escape from L.A. - Vampires - Ghosts of Mars - The Ward

The Auteurs #60: John Carpenter Pt. 1 - Pt. 2

© thevoid99 2012