Product Details

• Actors: Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton, Barry Primus
• Directors: Mark Rydell
• Writers: Bill Kerby, Bo Goldman, Michael Cimino
• Producers: Aaron Russo, Anthony Ray, Marvin Worth
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: May 14, 1996
• Run Time: 125 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303354742
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,128 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Bette Midler plays a Janis Joplin-like singer overwhelmed by stardom and its excesses. Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond) directs what is a kind of hybrid showcase for Midler's concert talents and a standard pop biopic, with the usual rhythms of desire, success, betrayal, failure, and such. Alan Bates is the best thing about the movie as the Rose's ruthless manager, and Harry Dean Stanton and Frederic Forrest add some interesting seasoning. But as a whole, the film can't rise above its mixed purposes or clichés. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bette As Janis, July 3, 2002

By 

Wendy Kaplan (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rose [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Those of us of a certain age well remember the ultra-talented and ultimately doomed 60s icon, Janis Joplin.

In this thinly disguised Joplin biography, Bette Midler outdoes herself as an out-of-control, incredibly talented, self-destructive singer who turns to the bottle, sex, and anything else she can to hide from her intense inner pain. It sounds like a cliche, and by now it is, but that was Janis--and Bette does her one better. Her angst shines through with great poignancy, even when she is belting out hit after hit, responding to her audience as though she is making love.

Hard living, hard boozing, and bent on destroying herself, the singer has us riveted to her story. Her tearful phone call to the father who never approved of her is one of the high points of the film: Bette pulls out the stops.

Alan Bates is divine as always as the singer's manager, but this film belongs to Bette. If you are not aware of Midler's incredibly wide-ranged talent, this is the perfect movie. It can make you a lifelong fan.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars bette midler is triumphant, April 6, 2000

By 

"buyyie" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rose [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Bette Midler is heartbreaking as the woman who becomes known to the world and herself as, The Rose. Her life takes many unexpected twists and turns before the unforgettable and shocking ending is revealed. Bette Midler pours her heart and soul out in her Oscar nominated performance, for Best Actress of 1979, and her dedication shines through, Enjoy! This film also won a Golden Globe for best song and best actress in a comedy/musical movie- Bette Midler, Congratulations! 11

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Startling Movie, January 12, 2000

By 

H. Brady (Syracuse, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rose [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This 1979 film, for which star Bette Midler received an Oscar nomination, is a jolting, intense, and hypnotic portrayal of a famous rock star named The Rose. In this film, the viewer witnesses firsthand her life and death struggles with drugs, alcohol, and her vile manager, Rudge. (played by Alan Bates) This film in no way glamorizes the life of rock stars-it does precisely the opposite. It is a commentary on the sad life of someone who appears to have everything, but who in reality has nothing. The end will stun you, and Midler gives a stellar performance that you will NEVER forget. HIGHLY recommended.