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.

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!

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.

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.

Following on from 'That'll Be The Day', this movie looks at what happens to Jim when he gets the stardom he wants. His band includes Paul Nicholas, Karl Howman, Dave Edmunds, and Keith Moon, with Adam Faith as manager. The band is called The Stray Cats and they make the usual trip through highs and lows of fan hysteria to a rather bleak ending.

Of the two films, this one is the best. Not buying into the pop music myth, there is no happy ending for Jim after all his dreams have been granted and destroyed. The music is good, and the acting excellent (especially from Essex and Faith, and also Larry 'J R' Hagman). Look out as well for Blue Peter's Peter Duncan as the replacement for Nicholas in the band.