Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987)

43m
Running Time

July 15, 1987
Release Date

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987)

43m
Running Time

July 15, 1987
Release Date

External Links & Social Media
Watch Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story Trailer

Plot.

The final 17 years of American singer and musician Karen Carpenter, performed almost entirely by modified Barbie dolls.

Where to Watch.

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Cast & Crew.

Merrill Gruver

Merrill Gruver

Karen (voice)

Michael Edwards

Michael Edwards

Richard (voice)

Melissa Brown

Melissa Brown

Mother (voice)

Rob LaBelle

Rob LaBelle

Dad / Mr. A&M (voice)

Cynthia Schneider

Cynthia Schneider

Dionne Warwick (voice) / Writer / Producer

Todd Haynes

Todd Haynes

Todd Donovan / Director / Screenplay / Producer / Editor

Bruce Tuthill

Bruce Tuthill

Narrator (voice)

Gwen Kraus

Gwen Kraus

Narrator (voice)

Nannie Doyle

Nannie Doyle

Cherry Boone

Larry Kole

Larry Kole

Announcer

Joanne Barrett

Joanne Barrett

Self-Singer

Michelle Manenti

Michelle Manenti

Michelle Hoyt, Musician

Moira McCarty

Moira McCarty

(voice)

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Self (archive footage)

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Self (archive footage)

Gina Garan

Gina Garan

Costume Design

Details.

Release Date
July 15, 1987

Status
Released

Running Time
43m

Content Rating
NR

Genres

Last updated:

This Movie Is About.

bulimia
anorexia
puppetry
lawsuit

Wiki.

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story is a 1987 American experimental biographical film that portrays the last 17 years of singer Karen Carpenter's life, as she struggled with anorexia. Directed by Todd Haynes, the film features archival documentary footage and stop motion animation using Barbie dolls with actors' voiceovers. Superstar was co-written and co-produced by Haynes and Cynthia Schneider, with an unauthorized soundtrack consisting mostly of the hit songs of The Carpenters. It was filmed over a ten-day period at Bard College in the summer of 1985. Barry Ellsworth collaborated on the film and was the cinematographer for the Barbie themed interior segments of the film.

The film was withdrawn from circulation in 1990 after Haynes lost a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Karen's brother and musical collaborator, Richard Carpenter. The film's title is derived from The Carpenters' 1971 hit "Superstar". Meanwhile, over the years Superstar has developed into a cult film, has notably been bootlegged, and is included in Entertainment Weekly's 2003 list of top 50 cult movies. Its apparent metamodern purpose as a film, including multiple perspectives on anorexia nervosa, the pop music industry, The Carpenters themselves, and the definition of a biographical film, has also given it a legacy among fans of avant-garde cinema; Guy Lodge, writing for The Guardian, expressed that 'while Haynes is working in a vein of very rich irony, there's not a hint of snark here'.

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