Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987)
- Directed by
- Todd Haynes
- Genre
- biographical film, musical film
- Country
- United States
- Runtime
- 43 min
- Rated
- NR
- Rating
- 7.0 of 10 from 63 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
This experimental film uses Barbie-like dolls and voiceovers to tell the story of singer Karen Carpenter's final years as she battled anorexia. It presents her life through an unusual mix of puppetry, archival footage, and Carpenters songs, focusing on her personal struggles rather than her career.
melancholicunsettlingexperimentalslow-burnbleakintimatedetachedpoignant
What happens
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story is a 1987 American experimental biographical tragedy film directed by Todd Haynes that portrays the last 17 years of singer Karen Carpenter's life as she struggled with anorexia. The film features live action puppetry of Barbie-like dolls along with actors' voiceovers, plus archival and on-location footage. Superstar was co-written and co-produced by Haynes and Cynthia Schneider, with an unauthorized soundtrack consisting mostly of the hit songs of the Carpenters. It was filmed over a ten-day period at Bard College in the summer of 1985. Barry Ellsworth collaborated on the film and was the cinematographer for the Barbie-themed interior segments of the film. The film was withdrawn from circulation in 1990 after Haynes lost a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Karen's brother and musical collaborator, Richard Carpenter. The film's title is derived from the Carpenters' 1971 hit "Superstar". Meanwhile, over the years Superstar has developed into a cult film, has notably been bootlegged, and is included in Entertainment Weekly's 2003 list of top 50 Cult Movies. Its apparent metamodern purpose as a film, including multiple perspectives on anorexia nervosa, the pop music industry, the Carpenters themselves, and the definition of a biographical film, has also given it a legacy among fans of avant-garde cinema; Guy Lodge, writing for The Guardian, expressed that "while Haynes is working in a vein of very rich irony, there's not a hint of snark here". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
The Karen Carpenter Story (1989)
Karen Carpenter: Goodbye to Love (2016)
La Bamba (1987)
Barbie and the Sensations: Rockin' Back to Earth (1987)
Au-dela du souvenir (1987)
All That Jazz (1979)
Control (2007)
The Hero's Journey (1987)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.