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50 of 53 found the following review helpful:
 Bette As JanisJul 03, 2002
By Wendy Kaplan
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 found the following review helpful:
 bette midler is triumphantApr 07, 2000
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 found the following review helpful:
A Startling MovieJan 12, 2000
By H. Brady
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.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Drugs, Sex, Rock and Roll ! ! !Jun 10, 2005
By Eddie Landsberg
"My 10th year as a reviewer ! ! !"
Actually, as a movie simply taken as that (a movie) the film isn't so great, but as a concert film, its one of the greatest of all times... tied together buy the tragic rise to fame/pressures of success in "da biz" story... as a showcase for the Divine Miss M's enormous talents and a great rock and roll films with incredible high energy its probably the best ever made. The onstage scenes are among the best ever captured on film... Bette Middler, the band, and the entire production company were obviously in top form. At the time and even now no one accept maybe Tina Turner) was anything like her... Most of the shooting even puts to shame the "live concerts" you see on MTV today, even with the latest state of the art technology ! ! !
Loosely based on the life of Janis Joplin, the film doesn't really go much into her upbringing, origins and rise to stardom, but moreso shows her demise at the hands of her greedy manager who simply won't let her quit... She does her best to "get away" (acting out, escaping, wreaking havoc, falling in love, going on drinking binges) between the concernts, but can never quite escape... and always winds back on the stage, which is where she shines and perhaps the only place she was meant to be... and with a band like that, why not ? I remember playing the soundtrack over and over again as a child. Incidentally two other great "concert films" were made in this era, THE JAZZ SINGER (starring Neil Diamond as a rock and roll singer who marries a shikseh and decides to strut his stuff on Yom Kippur to the aghast of his alte kakker father) and the (deservedly) much forgotten WAY OF THE WORLD, featuring live concert footage of Earth Wind and Fire... The BLUES BROTHERS would follow a few years later...
This was an era when THE CONCERT was a major part of American life (pre VCR, DVD, digital audio and cable) and that going to concert was part of the American experience... this movie was more than aware of America's fascination with the whole scene from what was going on backstage and the "glamour" of what was happening behind the scenes... and it did it unforgettably well. My only dissapointment is that this film doesn't yet have the true cult status it deserves.
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 Becomes the rose...Jul 24, 2003
THE ROSE, for its bravura performance by Bette Midler in a Joplinesque tale of the excesses and pitfalls of fame, has difficulty finding its own legs some 25 years after its release. While the movie packs a wallop by the end in emotional intensity, the lead in is far too predictable to keep this from being entirely riveting. The other problem with this film, and perhaps its biggest flaw, is the overuse of concert scenes. While these are full of energy and excitement, they tend to drag the plot down considerably. Yes, we have some clue that Rose works her [tail] off, but the extent to which we see this tends to hurt the film's pacing. THE ROSE is not a classic movie but a classic PERFORMANCE by Midler. Her acting career has been a spotty one at best and THE ROSE is by far her greatest achievement. Midler's performance is full of paradox: touching yet abrasive, sensitive yet ribald, comic yet tragic. THE ROSE is BETTE MIDLER...the only reason this film hasn't passed into "forgotten Hollywood".
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