Stardust

Not a truly great film, but one with impact -- especially when viewed with the film for which this 'sequel' is really more of a 2nd act; "That'll Be The Day". Together the two films give us over 3 hours of the life of Jim MacLaine as he goes from bright mid 1950s schoolboy to an aimless drifter shagging every woman he can get his hands on, breaking the hearts of everyone close to him, to stumbling into a career in rock 'n roll, to becoming one of the biggest stars in the world, with all the attendant hollowness of super-stardom in a business designed to make you self your soul and lose sight of what's real.

This 2nd film makes up the rock-star years of Jim's life, but the 1st film makes it clear that his self-destructive tendencies were there long before stardom, And if he's taken advantage of by managers and record labels, he's also a man who was amoral, selfish and at sea long before that.

It's a shame that pop star David Essex isn't an even stronger actor. He's not at all bad, but this is the kind of rich, juicy role in which a great actor could have exposed multiple layers of depth and complexity. Essex does his best, and is always natural, but isn't able to go that step beyond. (director Michael Apted apparently learned that lesson, and had actors play singers to great effect in his later 'Coal Miner's Daughter').

It would also have been great if the film had managed to avoid some of the clichés around rock and roll. It may well be that they're clichés because they're true, but we've also seen them many times, in many films before – even by 1974 when 'Stardust' was made.

One odd thought; on some level the film seems to be channeling Peter Watkins' far more original, political and challenging 1967 U.K. rock film "Privilege', with more slickness, but less grand ambition. No idea if that's intentional, but watching this film made we want to go back and re-visit that one.

The word 'uneven,' was never so appropriate. An excellent performance from Adam Faith and some good earthy dialogue, very real for the time, alongside some wooden delivery from others in places with all the clunky cliches of the rock bio. One odd thing thing is that relatively recent low-budget British films such as Teslstar and several others have created a 60s atmosphere and appearance so much better than was achieved for this film, made in 1974. I saw it on its original release and we noticed the jarring period-inappropriate extras and other stuff even then.

The film gets better though as it goes on, everyone seems more comfortable showing 70s people in 70s settings and the main character's gradual dislodgement from reality is well handled.

As a very young viewer of this film at 19 in 1974 when this film was released, I saw it at the theater as there was no such thing as video tape in those days. David Essex performance had a profound effect on me as did the films plot in general. The deep insight into the life of a famous rock n roll star as can only be experienced by that individual was both riveting to me at the time and has been indelibly etched in my mind ever since. As a matter of fact i have been looking for a copy of this film on video ever since videos inception with no success to this day. A truly captivating and entertaining film if you can find it!

"Stardust"...the continuing story of young Jim Maclaine (David Essex) from "That'll Be The Day" is an excellent 'must-see' sequel.

The story not only portrays the development of Maclaine's aspiring musical ambitions, but is a very insightful depiction of how the music business can be unpredictably cruel and coarse.

Ray Connolly is at the helm as writer once again along with David Puttnam and Sanford Lieberson producing. But, it is Michael Apted taking the reigns as Director in this second movie.

The nature of the story calls for another strong supporting cast and this is achieved with not only Essex maturing very well in the lead role, but with the addition of 60's pop idol, Adam Faith and future "Dallas" star, Larry Hagman. Faith's portrayal of Mike Menary, the manager of Maclaine's rock band, "The Stray Cats", cuts a brutally shrewd and dark figure. Hagman, in the role of Porterlee Austin, portrays a flamboyant personality as his character name suggests. Both of these characters eventually have one thing in common - money. But, it's Messrs. Faith and Hagman who virtually steal the whole film together because of their 'meaty' characterisations.

To add authenticity to the role of the rock band in the movie, Dave Edmunds is on hand in a supporting role along with writing and producing the band's songs. Keith Moon reprises his role from "That'll Be The Day" as the drummer and Paul Nicholas cuts a fine 'jealous' figure in the form of 'Knee-tremble Johnny'. And, Rosalind Ayres once again portrays Jim's wife, Jeanette.

The story takes up three years later where "That'll Be The Day" left off, and is a roller-coaster ride of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll sixties-style. The film covers a wide canvas between England, Spain and the USA and is beautifully filmed. It was made in 1974 and even then comes across as controversial for the time with some very memorable scenes. One of the scenes I particularly remember is when the band meet up in a Vegas showroom and during a heated discussion Jim Maclaine points to Stevie (Karl Howman) and matter of factly points out: "If it weren't for me you'd still be catching crabs in Oldham!". This certainly puts the place of my birth on the map. Finally, there is an equally enjoyable soundtrack that oozes the changing styles of Rock and Pop music from a distant time. Also, the ending is a killer...but won't really leave you in a state of shock.

"Stardust" is a wonderful piece of cinema that the British film industry should be very proud of.

David Essex is the top billed actor but this movie is a tour de force for fellow pop idol Adam Faith, who plays his manager. In truth it's Faith's film from start to finish. His down to earth, world-weary personna contrasts with Essex more star-struck, fragile character and the two combine well to explore the increasingly bizarre world of a working-class rock star on the road to oblivion. Essex' role seems more a supporting act to Faith's in STARDUST compared to THAT'LL BE THE DAY in which he plays the same role of Jim Maclean, a the bright but rather wayward would-be rock star. In truth Essex is better in the earlier film but the increasingly detached way he appears in Stardust does reflect the self destructing Maclean's progress up the ladder of fame but down the ladder of self control and self belief. The other popstar/actors in the cast all perform well, Paul Nicholas as 'Kneetremble Johnny' is the kind of brash self confident Jack-the-lad that we all remember from school, Kieth Moon is, well himself, mad, bad and wild on the drums. Dave Edmunds seems to be enjoying himself throughout and the non-pop star among them, Karl Howman gives good support as the keyboard player. In general they are a charismatic bunch and appear rather more like a real band than most movie versions. The direction has some good moments although it's less earthy and gritty than THAT'LL BE THE DAY, but the surprise is a script that crackles with believable dialogue and the ocassional burst of foul language.In many ways it's not at all the expected starry vehicle for it's leading man. Essex' cool nice-guy stage persona contrast quite starkly with the seriously flawed, pill popping, three-in-a-bed Maclean and no doubt this movie was shocking on it's initial release, not least to the parents who were previously relieved that Essex wasn't the same kind of "bad influence" on their teenage daughters as the Rolling Stones! There are scenes where the sense of time and place are not quite achieved. The audience at one concert look more 1974 than 1965 in their attire and time slips by on several ocassions without clear definition; are those cars quite right for the late 60s or are we already in 1972? It's not a pleasant film, not a feel-good movie. Quite the opposite, it evokes impressions of talent wasted and abused by a system wringing the last dollar out of everyone. Faith's line sums it up "...I own half of you!" and as many an artist in the industry will no doubt concur, his kind of character really does!

A grim, gritty, hard hitting movie, Far more so that many a critic would have us believe. Proof once again that the British film industry of the 1970s was far from dead and buried.