The movie Baz Luhrmann called an “off-the-radar gem”
From his astonishingly singular debut, 1992’s Strictly Ballroom, it was clear that Australian director Baz Luhrmann would quickly ascend the ranks of the movie industry to become one of the most distinct and authentic auteurs making movies today. Bringing his unique filmmaking voice to the niche world of Ballroom dancing in Australia, the director demonstrated an aptitude for capturing romance and humour and an affinity for working with music and dance that would permeate his whole career.
His debut film marked the first in what would become ‘The Red Curtain’ trilogy, a series of films, including 1996’s Romeo + Juliet and the indelible Moulin Rouge! in 2001, that were thematically linked by their profound celebration of and love letters to the worlds of theatre. The Great Gatsby also utilised an incredible soundtrack, letting music and rhythm guide the narrative more than any other movie at the time did, and last year’s Elvis seemed to be the culmination of the style Luhrmann had forged: an audacious, kaleidoscopic, aural and visual ode to The King.
Considering his close association with music and dance, it’s unsurprising that Lurhmann greatly appreciates the original musical director, Bob Fosse. Originally a stage director and choreographer, Fosse transitioned to the screen, bringing with him an unparalleled wealth of skills and knowledge that were best displayed in the extravagant and moving 1972 film adaptation of Cabaret.
However, out of all of Fosse’s films, it’s an “off-the-radar gem” that resonated so strongly with Luhrmann – a movie many may not have even heard of. Speaking in an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, where the director picked his five favourite movies, the Fosse picture that made it on the list was, in fact, an entry that came much later in his career – 1983’s Star 80.
“Cabaret is the classic work [from director Fosse], but Star 80, I think, is really worth visiting, because it wasn’t a successful film, and it really dealt with a kind of heinous crime,” Luhrmann said. Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning article’ Death of a Playmate’ for Village Voice, the biographical drama explores the murder of Canadian Playboy model Dorothy Stratten at the hands of her husband, Paul Shnider, in 1980.
“The film itself is brilliantly made, in terms of rhythm and storytelling; if you look at it, you’ll see that a lot of directors of my era have been influenced by the aesthetic,” Luhrmann continued. “Bob Fosse’s great ability with rhythmic storytelling is very alive in the movie, and what’s so intriguing is that it takes a true chapter in the history of Hugh Hefner and the world of Playboy and tells it as a kind of psychological thriller.”
Although it released to a lukewarm reception and failed to garner any significant clout at the major awards ceremonies, Star 80 has gone on to build up a status as a cult classic – bolstered by the praise of such a heavyweight modern auteur like Luhrmann, who described it as a thriller which brings a “whole lot of Fosse-like theatricality. So, I think that’s a kind of little off-the-radar gem.”
