"SUPERSTAR" RETURNS? TODD HAYNES'S CLASSIC (AND CONTROVERSIAL) KAREN CARPENTER BIOPIC IS BACK ON VIEW AFTER YEARS IN LEGAL LIMBO

HARRY KNOWLES:
SUPERSTAR: THE KAREN CARPENTER STORY (1987), dir: Todd Haynes—Before the internet gave rise to the underground film phenomenon, this illegally circulated masterpiece about singer Karen Carpenter’s struggle with eating disorders, become a cult classic thanks to independently owned video stores and a largely untapped network of film lovers who would not be denied a great movie just because of a silly think like music clearances. More to the topic, the film wonderfully frames Carpenter’s sad story of a celebrity at the top of her game who is the architect of her own destruction (with the help of body issues propagated by, among other things, Barbie dolls). A haunting work from a director who has proven that he’s the real deal with later works like FAR FROM HEAVEN