The Buddy Holly Story

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: May 18, 1978

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

78	METASCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

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Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

Staff (Not Credited)

Until they get that epic version of The Big Bopper’s life and career off the table, this is still the best Rock and Roll biography ever filmed. Read full review

Lynn Van Matre

One of the most engaging rock biographies ever filmed. [31 Jan 1988, p.18C]

Robert Martin

It works on virtually every level: script, acting, direction and, above all, music. For anyone who cares about the origins of rock 'n' roll, this film is compulsory viewing. [01 July 1978]

Roger Ebert

The movie gets the feel right, and there's real energy in the concert scenes, especially the tricky debut of Buddy Holly and the Crickets as the first white act in Harlem's famous Apollo Theater. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

The Buddy Holly Story smacks of realism in almost every respect, from the dramaturgy involving Holly and his back-up band, The Crickets, to the verisimilitude of the musical numbers. Read full review

David Ansen

This unpretentious, affectionate biography of the horn-rimmed Texas boy who changed the course of rock 'n' roll is a real movie, with a firm grasp on its characters, an honest-to-god plot and an old-fashioned heart. [26 June 1978, p.79]

Staff (Not Credited)

Fine biopic which showcases a brilliant performance by Busey as Holly, and conveys a real, raw feeling for the music. Read full review

Gary Arnold

Steve Rash directs the firm in a clean, observant and confidently transparent style - making an impressive debut after several years of TV pop-music specials - and demonstrates a flair for expressing Holly's appeal. [18 Aug 1978, p.B1]

TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)

Busey did all his own singing and playing, as did Martin and Stroud as The Crickets, providing a welcome sense of realism. Busey's performance is terrific. Read full review

Dave Kehr

The plotting of this 1978 biopic is contrived, and director Steve Rash's feeling for Buddy Holly's time and place is virtually nil, but Gary Busey's performance is astonishing—less as an interpretation than as a total physical transformation. Read full review

Vincent Canby

It's Gary Busey's galvanizing solo performance that gives meaning to an otherwise shapeless and bland feature-length film about the American rock-and-roll star who was killed in a plane crash in 1959. Read full review