The Rose [Blu-ray]

This is one film I did not expect to see get a 4K restoration and a Criterion blu ray release! What a awesome job they did on this great classic!! I am a big fan of The Rose (since owning a copy on VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD) and the quality was from blah to its such an ugly transfer that its hard to watch. Criterion has fixed that problem! There is detail and color that I have never seen on this film before (no bleeding of all the reds) hat it is like watching the film for the first time. Along with the awesome video lies the top notch audio in lossless DTS-HD 5.1. There is also a great interview from 2015 of Bette Midler talking about the film (sure wished she had her own commentary track) that is a joy to watch. She is brilliant in this rock and roll masterpiece. Criterion once again proves to us HD fans why they are the best when it comes to restorations for blu ray releases. Thank you Criterion for making this film beautiful to look at and listen to. A Criterion fan forever!!

My experience with ordering Blu-Ray editions of older movies has been mixed. Most movies older than 20 years don't really look all that different in HD than on traditional DVD. "The Rose", however, is one of the rare exceptions to that rule. I was stunned by the HD quality of this Blu-Ray edition. The difference between this and my DVD copy (which I've watched about 20 times in the last 10 years since I bought it) is like night and day. Both picture and sound are crisper, cleaner and sharper. This film looks and sounds as if it was just released last year. It was well worth the extra bucks, and, of course, Bette Midler's performance is simply amazing. This is a definite must-have for any movie lover's collection!

The number one reason to see this movie is to see Bette Midler's musical performances, which feel disappointingly sparse. I find this movie to be an interesting relic of the 1970s where films where less polished, or at least feel less polished considering what came after. Maybe a better way to put it is less plastic.The main gist of the story is Bette Midler's character has substance abuse problems, is over-worked, and is lonely. She wants to take a break, her manager doesn't want her to. Along the way, there are some fine musical performances by Midler.I have heard this film is very loosely based on the life of Janis Joplin but I do not have enough knowledge of Joplin's life story to understand what that means. The movie has a sort of a documentary feel to it and then it just sort of ends. No real coda, unless you count the Rose being sung over the end credits, or you consider the opening shot of the film a sort of end scene.I give the blu-ray 5 stars for film quality and I give the movie a rating of good on a binary scale of bad, where the movie is not worth watching, to good where there is plenty to enjoy in the movie, and this movie has plenty to enjoy, especially if you enjoy music or are a fan of Bette Midler.

This was actually a gift for someone that hadn’t seen The Rose and I was curious too if it would live up to memories of binge watching it, in the early Eighties. Anyway, it looks and sounds better than I ever remember and a Soundsystem/ bar is a MUST if you really want to get the most out of this blu ray. Love the extras but like another reviewer stated, the only thing I wish is Bette Midler was part of the commentary. The interview, while short, is interesting though! Bette Midler totally rocks this b**** and with out her this movie would have been totally substandard.

I've only seen the movie 30+ times. But to be unbiased..If you're a fan of the 60's music scene and more precisely Janis Joplin you have to give this movie a look with an open mind.It's NOT Janis nor is it supposed to be, but the 'scene,' the vibe, the music and the acting never got the credit this flik deserved. How the academy overlooked this one and especially Bette Midler's performance, is beyond me. I can say that she was cast perfectly, but they were not at all expecting no less ready for her to pull it off as amazingly flawless as she did.You might need to be familiar with her prior to The Rose to understand what seemed like an intentional oversight and slap in the face IMO.This movie is a must for lovers of that time period and will leave you pulling for her yet hurting with her..

Having owned the previous Dvd version released years ago, THIS is to say the very least, is "Superior"! The sound, the audio, the visuals are amazing on this Blueray Version...It's prestineness totally pops out and makes you feel like you're watching this film for the first time..in comparison to previous version. I don't need to comment on the performances of all the actors, which are excellent with Bette in her best acting performance leading the pack...

Beauiful TRUE STORY about Janis Joplin and her struggleswith addiction as she rises to stardom. This movie would not have been the same without BETTE MIDLER ! It was one of her best performances ever ! That girl can sing !!!

Bette Midler self destruct herself like you never seen before and people just seem to anticipate when and how it will all end. There's some lessons to be learned from this type of movie.

For the Bette Midler fan - I don't need to tell you why to watch this, you already know! :) For the Midler critic: I'm guessing your familiarity with her are from a few comedy movies that did nothing for you. If you can suspend your already formed thoughts and watch this, you will be well rewarded. If you only know her from the movies, you probably don't realize that she is mainly known for her live shows, full of music and comedy. She is at her best when performing live, having a way of captivating an audience like no other. In this film, all the music is recorded live at the time of filming, not dubbed back in at the production level. The director then told the audience that if they didn't like her performance to not cheer and clap - he made her go out and own it, and own it she did! The concert footage is great, very real and gritty. The movie is the tale of the overwrought star, feeling alone in the world but having an insatiable need and desire to be loved, not knowing how to handle it. It is a fantastic movie with no question why it received Oscar nominations. Recently watching this I was concerned that this movie being from '79 wouldn't hold up today, or wouldn't live up to my memory of it, but I still enjoyed it immensely. This Blu-ray edition is brighter and clearer - I can't decide if I think it being less gritty takes something away from it, but I can understand what the actors are saying better, especially the manager who I couldn't always quite grasp what he was saying. This copy includes an audio commentary by the director, as well as some interviews (including Bette Midler) and a small showing of the filming of a scene. Enjoyed seeing Bette's take on the filming at the time of her first major film, as well as her reflections on the process now. A great movie, go watch it! What else can I say?

Fantastic DVD- a real depiction of the rock circuit back then.......Bette is astounding! ....special added features like the interviews are soo interesting.

One of my favorite ❤ Movies, I was having a lot of trouble finding this movie and then I discovered it on Amazon. Plus I was lucky enough to have it delivered in just 3 days. Absolutely overjoyed to have The Rose 🌹 to watch over and over again.

One of my all time favorite movies. On par with the new Star is Born. Better than the Streisand version. Better Midler plays a Janis Joplin like rocker, to a tee

Beautifully acted. Bette Midler is so good and her singing is excellent. I love Bette Midler and I loved this movie. It is a classic.