The Buddy Holly Story

"His story will have you singing, laughing, crying, cheering, and stomping your feet"

1978 1h 54m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🔥

100%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 136🍅100%Rotten Tomatoes●78Metacritic★7.2IMDB · 10,506

DramaMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A chronicle of the rise and brief career of rock 'n' roll star Buddy Holly, who aspires to play music the way he wants it to sound. Holly and his band, the Crickets, are first invited to record in Nashville, where they encounter creative differences with the producing staff. Later they play a major booking at the Apollo Theater, scheduled there under the mistaken assumption that they're a black band. Holly's career eventually goes solo -- until the tragic day the music dies.

“His story will have you singing, laughing, crying, cheering, and stomping your feet”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Gary Busey
Buddy Holly
Don Stroud
Jesse Charles
Charles Martin Smith
Ray Bob Simmons
Conrad Janis
Ross Turner
William Jordan
Riley
Maria Richwine
Maria Elena Holly
Amy Johnston
Cindy Lou
Dick O'Neill
Sol Gittler

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Steve Rash
Writers: Alan Swyer, Robert Gittler
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $14M — a 12.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

48 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Steve Rash, shot by Stevan Larner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Joe Renzetti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David E. Blewitt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Gary Busey and Don Stroud and Charles Martin Smith carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "His story will have you singing, laughing, crying, cheering, and stomping your feet".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Steve Rash directs. Stevan Larner behind the camera. Joe Renzetti scores. David E. Blewitt cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $14M — a 12.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
348 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Directed by Steve Rash, shot by Stevan Larner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Joe Renzetti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor David E. Blewitt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Gary Busey and Don Stroud and Charles Martin Smith carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "His story will have you singing, laughing, crying, cheering, and stomping your feet".
9IMDB entry: tt0077280 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "rock 'n' roll", "disc jockey", "biography", "rags to riches".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stevan Larner
Original score: Joe Renzetti
Editing: David E. Blewitt
Production design: Joel Schiller
Runtime: 114 min · 1h 54m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,200,000
Box office: $14,363,400
Return: 1197% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Buddy Holly Story (1978)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 78/100
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 10,506 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 3 wins & 6 nominations total

Academy Award for Best Original Song Score

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Steve Rash

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-08-06
★ 7/10
Aside from a passable resemblance to the man himself, Gary Busey also sounds a bit like Buddy Holly in this biopic of a man who blazed a trail through the American music industry. Despite the popularity of his toe-tapping "Peggy Sue" type numbers, he still faced quite an uphill battle to convince the powers that be that his quirky style of lyric writing and performing was not quite as Satanic as some of the more establishment figures thought. With his two best pals - the "Crickets" never far away, we follow the tumultuous process as they fall in and out and Holly falls for the love of his own life - Maria (Maria Richwine). Busey does well here as he portrays a man in love with his music, his audience and the idea of opportunity whilst conflicted with a desire to stay at home and be with his family. Like so many who become alive on stage, there are huge amounts of nerves and a sense of uncertainly about his abilities and popularity - especially when he begins to become idolised and goes solo. There are plenty of opportunities to get into his songs here, and those of the Big Bopper and Eddie Cochran and the film not only serves to illustrate just how pioneering Holly was, but also just how influential he was within a group of musicians who were changing the scene for ever. The supporting roles are rather undercooked, and that can impact a little on the study of his character, but Busey really does own this part and director Steve Rash knew enough to let us watch and judge by ourselves. Sure, there's an element of mimicry here, but it does come across as natural and personable.

Production companies