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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 14611
Released: September 7, 1999 |
| Our Price: $6.80 |
| Used Price: $4.48 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Biography of the brief life and tragic death of Buddy Holly, one of the instrumental figures in the creation of rock and roll.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG
Release Date: 7-JUN-2005
Media Type: DVD
Description of The Buddy Holly Story:
Rock historians and hard-core Buddy Holly fans can and do take issue with director Steve Rash's 1978 biopic of the Lubbock, Texas, rocker's life: the script liberally juggles details from Holly's brief but blazing career, replacing producer Norman Petty and Holly's original bassist and drummer with fictionalized composite characters. Yet the core of the film, and the reason it's definitely worth a look and listen, is Gary Busey's lusty performance in the title role, triumphing against what might have seemed miscasting.
The burly, lantern-jawed Busey steps into the lankier, narrow-faced Holly's blue suede shoes and dances off with the movie. At a time when live rock albums thought little of overdubbing mistakes in the studio, director Rash honored Busey's nervy gamble in performing these songs live, singing in his own raw voice and rumbling through his own approximations of Holly's guitar work. What's lost in precise verisimilitude is more than compensated by Busey's conviction and a palpable, almost ecstatic terror as he charges through Holly's wonderful songs before indifferent roller-rink audiences.
Other films have nailed the period more accurately through art direction or script, but Busey's authentic energy gives this movie an emotional veracity that's just right for this chapter in rock history. Still, for musical purposes, go straight to the source, Holly's wonderful recordings.--Sam Sutherland
The Buddy Holly Story Reviews:
Satisfied Customer 
2009-09-30 - Would buy again from this seller. Item arrived quickly, and in condition described.
Thanks so much!
Worth picking up if you can find the original "flipper" DVD with BOTH "widescreen" and "fullscreen" versions
2009-09-17 - This is one of my favorite movies. Sadly, Sony/Columbia Tristar has taken the "flipper" DVD from 1999 off the shelves with both wide and full screen versions and replaced with a lackluster fullscreen only version instead(this one os from 2005). I was lucky enough to find an older one brand new for the same price as the fullscreen DVD. Gary Busey, Don Stroud and Charle Martin Smith were great in this music biopic, some of it is, however fictitious. But even with that, this is one of my faves. It rocks!
the day the music died 
2009-06-15 - This movie is the other side of la Bomba: the other young rock and
roll star who died in a plane crash in the winter of 1959.
The songs done by Gary Busey are pretty good, but not right on.
The idea that Richie Valenz and Buddy Holly might have gone on to
be even better known and regraded as rock and roll stars has
made people call the end of this movie :"the day the music died".
I liked the movie and if Elvis had been on the plane instead of getting drafted, things might have been different.
In the 60's the hunger for rock and roll brought us
the Rolling Stones and the Beetles.
Busey Delivers Big Time
2009-05-13 - Who knows how big Buddy Holly's legacy would have been had he sang for decades and didn't die at such a young age? Almost every single he put out was a hit song. At least we have this movie to help remember him, even if all the facts aren't there (never believe any movie.).
Gary Busey did a very good job of playing Holly and at imitating his singing voice. Busey not only sings like Holly, he's a dead ringer for him in the looks department. Some thing was the actor''s best performance ever, and you get no argument from me. He did the Texan proud, as did actors Don Stroud and Charles Martin Smith, who played the two members of Holly's backup group, "The Crickets."
Music-wise, there are some of Holly's better-known songs in the beginning of the film and its really good with a strong finish at the end as Holly and the boys are shown in Iowa in their last concert together. I'm also glad they ended the film on an upbeat note with that Iowa concert, instead of dwelling on his tragic accident. The ending could have been a real downer, but they didn't let it be.
the buddy holly story 
2009-04-24 - good movie, just missed the mark on some areas of his life and dwelled on the less important. Great performances of the cast, just needed better writing
