Stardust

"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.

I bought this DVD a couple of years ago, but have only sat down this afternoon and watched it, because the weather was so bad outside, and all I can say is wow! Sure the concert footage scenes are a little unrealistic due to the clothing of the audience,but you can easily overlook this due to the strength of the story and the performances on show here.

Whilst the stars of the film are obviously David Essex and Adam Faith, both who are believable and affecting, the whole cast ably supports them and the casting can't be faulted.

If you have an interest in pop/rock music through the decades, make sure you see this film, it's ripe for rediscovery and should be held in higher regard than it appears to be.

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!

This film is very worthwhile. You can pick out all your fave 60's references from "concept", "rock opera", "managers", dodgy sexual politics and the whole drugs thing. It works so very well because it is not based on one band. Not the Beatles, not the Stones, not the Beach Boys, Tommy Shondell or anyone. It's affectionate and damning of the whole process. It works very well as a "This Is Spinal Tap" without being a lampoon of the music business. Knowing without being smart-ass. A broad covering of its genre without being in broad strokes.

A great follow-up to "That'll Be The Day", the film that leads into this movie. I highly recommend this film to all fans of rock culture and David Essex. He proves he was not only a good singer, but a fairly accomplished actor as well. I have only seen this film about 30 times myself, but repeated viewings are recommended. The film is hard to find, but if you do, don't hesitate - just enjoy!