The Buddy Holly Story

The Buddy Holly Story (1978) starring Gary Busey, Charles Martin Smith, Don Stroud, Maria Richwine. Starting in Lubbock, Texas in 1956, this movie tells the story of the meteoric rise and brief career of rock 'n' roll legend Buddy Holly (Busey). Busey, Smith and Stroud perform the songs of Buddy Holly and the Crickets, and those performances are the high point of the movie. It's great fun, for the most part, and Busey was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in the role of Holly. Not a typical Hollywood biopic, this film captures the excitement of the early days of rock 'n' roll, and any viewer who grew up with this music will find much to like. (Subtitles for the hearing-impaired are included on the disc.) Grade: A-