by Ryan Lewellen
Buddy Holly died about 25 miles outside my hometown in Iowa. My parents loved his music, so I grew up listening to him on long car rides. I loved him, too. He wrote and produced cool little songs that were simple and clever. That, and the location of his untimely demise, were basically all I knew about him until I saw The Buddy Holly Story on Blu-Ray. That’s not to say I got all the facts from the movie, however.
Directed by Steve Rash (Can’t Buy Me Love, Queens Logic), the film chronicles the rock and roll pioneer’s career from his early days playing around Lubbock, Texas with The Crickets, to his beyond tragic death less than 3 years later. The whole thing plays like gangbusters. The musical performances (featuring entire songs played live on camera by the actors in real time — one of the first movies to feature such a thing) are powerfully energetic and a blast to watch. During the actors’ time off stage, Rash maintains a steady pace in every scene, but allows his characters time to marinate in natural rhythms.
Little touches here and there resonate: an odd smile, a strange pause, a clearly ad-libbed line which contributes nothing to a scene. The cast members so effortlessly live in their characters that every moment seems to have come from them, rather than from the calculated orchestration of people behind the camera. Everyone is pulling his or her weight, but Gary Busey’s rendering of Buddy Holly is outrageously fun. By the time they make it to New York, he is talking his way through every obstacle like Humphrey Bogart. You start to wonder if the universe kicked him out just for being such an unparalleled smartass. From beginning to end, the camera gives us a first-hand perspective including a POV entrance to a 50s roller rink, and a finale performance shot like a concert documentary. It all creates a feeling of authenticity, like you managed to show up and watch this story as it truly unfolded in history. Thing is…this ain’t how it unfolded.
Holly’s rise to stardom was not nearly so meteoric as Rash’s film would have you believe. He didn’t have a number one hit before any prior success, he didn’t have the entire Apollo Theater dancing in the aisles during his first appearance, and he probably didn’t punch a Nashville producer in the face for calling him a “n***** lover.” Does it matter? Not to me. I have to admit its title is a bit cavalier considering the contents of the plot, but the filmmakers created an artful biopic about a somewhat unsung hero of early rock and roll that didn’t involve drug addiction, prostitutes, or domestic violence. The film’s events may not be all true, but they are rarely trite, and never sensationalized, handily avoiding many tropes of the genre. Though this may not be a faithful portrait of Buddy Holly’s life, it is certainly faithful to the spirit of his music, and the tremendous influence of his too-short career.
It’s not difficult to recommend a movie so full of charm, good tunes, and good filmmaking. Check it out.
THE PACKAGE
The Buddy Holly Story is available (for now) on Blu-ray from the good folks at Twilight Time. This is a limited print of only 3,000 copies and is packaged with a four page booklet featuring, as usual, a fine write-up by Twilight Time’s resident film historian, Julie Kirgo, which provides some intriguing background to the film’s production.
The picture looks damn good. It’s colorful and crisp in 1.85:1 high definition, if a little grainy (owing the age of the film), and the music erupts in rapturous 5.1 surround sound.
Sadly, the special features are a bit slim, but significant nonetheless.
FEATURE COMMENTARY BY DIRECTOR STEVE RASH AND GARY BUSEY
Rash and Busey sat down in 1999 (for the DVD release?) to reflect on their work, and we can be thankful for it happening. The insights are funny and fascinating, and they are both humble enough to admit practically every story element was purely invented for the sake of the film.
ORIGINAL THEATRICAL TRAILER
Dated and clunky… always interesting to see old trailers.
ISOLATED SCORE TRACK
Presents the Oscar-winning original score written by Joe Renzetti all by its lonesome.
