Star 80

Star 80
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBob Fosse
Screenplay byBob Fosse
Based on"Death of a Playmate"
by Teresa Carpenter
Produced byWolfgang Glattes
Kenneth Utt
Starring
CinematographySven Nykvist
Edited byAlan Heim
Music byRalph Burns
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • November 10, 1983 (1983-11-10)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million
Box office$6.4 million[1]

Star 80 is a 1983 American biographical drama film written and directed by Bob Fosse. It was adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning Village Voice article "Death of a Playmate" by Teresa Carpenter and is based on Canadian Playboy model Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her husband Paul Snider in 1980. The film's title is taken from one of Snider's vanity license plates. The film was Fosse's final film before his death in 1987.

The film stars Mariel Hemingway as Stratten and Eric Roberts as Snider, with Cliff Robertson, Carroll Baker, Roger Rees, Stuart Damon, Josh Mostel, and David Clennon in supporting roles. The film chronicles Stratten's relationship with Snider, their move to Los Angeles, her success as a Playboy model, the dissolution of their relationship, and her murder.

Star 80 was filmed on location in Vancouver and Los Angeles; the death scene was filmed in the same house in which the real murder-suicide took place. The film was released on November 10, 1983. It initially received mixed reviews from critics, but the performances of Hemingway and Roberts received critical acclaim. The film has been reappraised over the years and has been reviewed positively.