Overview
A rock star's life spirals as fame and loneliness collide in a turbulent journey.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- raw
- melancholic
- volatile
- music movie night
- 1970s cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly regarded the film as a powerful, music-driven character drama elevated by Bette Midler's committed performance, while finding its story conventional in places.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Mary Rose Foster is an invented singer deliberately modeled on Janis Joplin, while the story follows her final tour and collapse.
Rose remains successful on tour but is trapped by her greedy manager's demands, exhaustion, loneliness, and dependence.
The film repeatedly places Rose's brassy, high-energy stage performances against the private insecurity and depletion behind them.
Rose begins a relationship with limo driver Huston Dyer while constant travel, addiction, and professional pressure undermine intimacy.
Films like The Rose, and why
Coal Miner's Daughter
music-centered drama about a self-destructive performer, touring pressure, addiction, and emotional isolation
Lady Sings the Blues
raw musician portrait combining volatile performance energy, substance abuse, romance, and tragic decline
A Star Is Born
intimate rock-star drama focused on fame, loneliness, addiction, and a turbulent romantic relationship
Nashville
concert-driven character drama about a charismatic performer crushed by commercial expectations and personal demons
Movie Details
- Director
- Mark Rydell
- Release Date
- 1979-11-07
- Runtime
- 125 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (138)
Cast
- Bette Midler
- Alan Bates
- Frederic Forrest
- Harry Dean Stanton
- Barry Primus
- David Keith
- Sandra McCabe
- Will Hare
- Rudy Bond
- Don Calfa
Common questions
- What is The Rose about?
- A combustible rock singer fights touring machinery, addiction, and loneliness while reaching for love and a return home.
- What is The Rose like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Rose as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Rose violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Rose as mild.
- What did critics think of The Rose?
- Critics broadly regarded the film as a powerful, music-driven character drama elevated by Bette Midler's committed performance, while finding its story conventional in places.
- Which films are like The Rose?
- Films with a similar feel include Coal Miner's Daughter, Lady Sings the Blues, A Star Is Born, and Nashville.
- How long is The Rose?
- The Rose runs 125 minutes.
