The American singer and songwriter, one of the pioneers of rock and roll Charles Hardin Holly, whose success lasted only a year and a half, is known to many. To most music lovers, he is known as Buddy Holly, who died at the age of 22 in a plane crash.
One of the most prominent contemporary critics, Bruce Eder likened the musician’s personality to the most influential creative power of early rock and roll. It is not surprising that the singer came under the scrutiny of filmmakers who, to one degree or another, devoted pages of their work to the frontman of The Crickets.
Personality in the cinema
The film “The Story of Buddy Holly” is the second attempt to create a biopic about a young rock and roll actor. The first was the “Third Side of the Coin” tape, which was not destined to be released due to disagreements between the creators. It is well known that her screenplay was written by American actor Tom Drake ("Meet Me in St. Louis") in collaboration with The Crickets drummer Jerry Ellison.
The stage image of the leader of the group, Buddy Holly, was used by director Lance Manjia in his post-apocalyptic comedy action movie The Six-String Samurai. The main character of the picture is also called Buddy, he is also a musician traveling to Lost Vegas to replace the late King of Rock and Roll. But an armada of cannibals, dirty savages, and other violent opponents stand in his way.
In one episode of the cult Pulp Fiction, the viewer has the opportunity to watch doubles of legendary personalities, including Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Buddy Holly, played by Steve Buscemi.
Musical and Biographical Drama
The story of Buddy Holly was the basis of the musical and at the same time documentary drama directed by Steve Rash, which was released in 1978. The picture faithfully reproduces a brief creative biography of the famous rock singer of the 50s and talks about the influence of his work on the formation of other contemporary musicians, in particular the Beatles. The debut director, in the best way, managed to convey the spirit of that era, the viewer feels the mood that owned the members of The Crickets and their fans.
The creators entrusted the image of Buddy Holly to realize Gary Busey. The actor studied in the ninth grade, when the tragedy spread around the world about the untimely death of a young rocker, together with two like-minded musicians who crashed in a plane crash. At the beginning of the filming of the film, the performer was ten years older than his hero, but the age difference did not stop Busey from wearing the famous horn-rimmed glasses, taking the Fender-Stratocaster guitar and performing Buddy’s songs with enthusiasm. The picture was warmly received by critics, the press and the audience. IMDb feed rating: 7.30.
Features of the shooting process
Gary Busey, by the way, was a fellow countryman of an outstanding musician. He became so accustomed to the image that he did not take off his glasses even after the end of the shooting day. The actor’s wife said in an interview with the media that Gary was also Buddy Holly at home, and that she was constantly haunted by the feeling that she was living with a ghost from the 50s. The efforts of the performer were appreciated, he received an Oscar nomination and a prize from the British Film Academy. Busey personally performed all the songs from the repertoire of the phenomenal singer, achieving amazing results.
A huge merit in the careful reconstruction of the style of melodies of the past years belongs to the premium composer Joe Renzetti, deservedly received an Oscar for adapting music. Due to the modest budget, almost all the scenes of the picture were shot from the first take, which undoubtedly benefited the tape, added realism.
Some inconsistencies
According to the plot of the film, Buddy Holly's parents were categorically against his passion for rock and roll. In fact, they, on the contrary, encouraged classes in music, helped to master the basics of playing the violin, guitar and piano.
In reality, at concerts, as the photo confirms, Buddy Holly just stood playing the guitar, only stamping his foot. The cinema Buddy performed by Gary Buze with his behavior on the stage is more reminiscent of Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy during the performance of the song Johnny Bee Goode.
Famous Paul McCartney at a party in New York organized in honor of Holly's birthday traditionally hosts the show of Steve Rush's brainchild.