The tragic life of a self-destructive female rock star (Bette Midler) who struggles to deal with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager.So, this is sort of, kind of inspired by the life and death of Janis Joplin, though with enough things changed to make it not quite a biopic. And then, to guarantee no one will ever see it, Bette Midler is cast in the lead... in what is her defining role (which says a lot about Midler and how she has made few good films).How this was picked up by the Criterion Collection is beyond me. The film suffers from an excess of music at the expense of the story. This would be alright if the music was good, but for the most part it is not. Heck, if you want a good music film, perhaps check out "Eddie and the Cruisers".

Bette's starring debut and she owns this film. She is tough, tender, heartrending, difficult, pragmatic, wounded and loaded with talent. You can't take your eyes off her and she holds the focus of the picture with ease. A wise decision was made to cast the great Alan Bates as her manager, when they go toe to toe forget about it, they tear up the screen. Frederic Forrest is equally strong as the man who is passing through Rose's chaotic life. The problem area comes in the script which is a cliché of all the star bios that have come before. A very thinly disguised retelling of the Janis Joplin story it never really digs deep into what caused her inner turmoil but Bette makes up for any shortcomings with enough emotional force to propel several movies.

I have saw many films about famous persons and about music but "Rose" is one of the best I have ever seen. It's really timeless movie and it always thrillingly to re-watching, at some moment you forget what is movie, you just living with characters of this film some time. Bette Midler showed here high class her acting and I will be planning re-watch all her filmography for the coming time, she is exceptionally talented actress and exactly the one of the best. The "Rose" is most truthful and emotional movie about generation 60's -70's, times when were born really great music and grand musician, whose we remember and love until today. It's very sensitivity and live story about woman dedicated herself and her life to music and gave to it all, without remainder. Pure brilliance and masterpiece for the century!!!

This is a most exciting, gripping and fabulous film. Bette Midler's electrifying performance was worthy of best actress. The Janis Joplin type performance is stunning - her heart and soul is in her voice which pulsates and vibrates into your very being and sends shock waves of electricity tingling coolly down the back of your spine touching your very soul. This is a gut-wrenching experience that teaches nothing but makes you experience everything.I love this film, the music and the voice and performance of Bette Midler. What a thrill it is to see an artist like Bette Midler perform to such an extreme and lofty level. What a dazzling radiant star that burned so brightly for so short a time and then was so suddenly and prematurely snuffed out. But when an artist gives so much of herself in every song she sings, it is no wonder that her life was slowly drained and eventually terminated by the fans who loved her.I was working with The Canadian Film Institute in 1980, one year after the release of this film, and we put on a festival in Ottawa at the National Film Archives Theatre in July. We started out with "The Rose" at 8pm and then concluded with Crawley Films Academy Award winning Documentary film "Janis" at 11pm. It was just like a live Rock Concert. The crowd was in a frenzy. The only thing missing was Jimi Hendrix! Love this one. Real entertainment and excitement!I should note that the director, Mark Rydell, does an overview commentary on the DVD version of this film and it is like taking a university level cinematic studies course. He makes interesting and relevant comments on every scene in the film and it is well worth listening to. Highly informative and fascinating!