A Star Is Born
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Actor: Charles Bickford, Jack Carson, James Mason, Judy Garland, Tommy NoonanBrand: GARLAND,JUDY
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 154 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-09-19
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of A Star Is Born
DVD Review: Could use a new edition, but this DVD is superb.
Summary: 4 Stars
DVD was in its infancy in 1999, and at that time, Warner Bros. was still not the greatest studio at releasing good DVD editions of their classic films. However, with the premiere DVD release of the 1954 musical remake of A Star Is Born, Warner Bros. started on the right track.
The film is famous for its amazing dramatic and musical performances by the legendary Judy Garland, in her first movie since being fired by MGM in 1950 after making Summer Stock, as the rising star Esther Blodgett (under the stage name of Vicki Lester); its incredible Cinemascope and Technicolor cinematography; and a stellar performance by James Mason as falling star Norman Maine. What the film is just as famous for, and possibly even MORE famous for, is Warner Bros.' editing of it after theater owners complained about the length, as well as Judy Garland's Oscar loss and the film's 1983 restoration. The film premiered at 181 minutes and was hailed as a trimphant return and tour-de-force performance by Judy. After being butchered to 154 minutes in which entire scenes and musical numbers were reviewed, many felt the film made absolutely no sense and it ended its run with a whimper. Judy Garland was nominated for an Oscar for her performance, but lost to Grace Kelly in what Groucho Marx famously called "the greatest robbery since Brinks."
In 1983, film historian Ron Haver did something few, if anyone, had ever attempted - a reconstruction of a film that had been brutally edited after initial release. The film was A Star Is Born, and after several years of searching for elements, Ron Haver was able to restore the movie to just 5 minutes under its original length. The restoration team used whatever they had to in order to make the restoration work - home movies taken on set, whatever deleted footage could be found, even production stills during a stretch of several minutes in between Norman Maine's offer to get a screen test for Esther and the studio makeup scene where none of the footage could be found. Although the use of stills may seem jarring to some people, you must understand that these scenes are absolutely necessary to the development of the narrative. In the cut version, it was simply Norman offering Esther a screen test and then she gets it. Here, we get to see how she struggles and the jobs she takes in order to break into show business, the way most stars in the real world have to do it. Fortunately, the stills aren't used constantly throughout the film, which allows for a much easier viewing experience than if all of the deleted scenes had required reconstruction with still photos. This reconstruction, which George Cukor sadly passed away the day before its first screening, finally allows for a more cohesive narrative and, joyfully, two additional numbers by Judy.
This DVD is absolutely superb for an early single-disc Warner Bros. release. The DVDS boasts a new digitally refreshed transfer with a remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. The video and audio quality are absolutely superb, although new restoration processes could revitalize the video quality even further if Warner Bros. decided to do a new DVD release of this film. The video is presented in its original Cinemascope widescreen theatrical aspect ratio, animorphically enhanced for widescreen TVs.
As with many early DVDs, especially by Warner Bros., this DVD is a DVD-15, or a flipper disc with a DVD-9 (dual-layer) on one side and a DVD-5 (single-layer) on the other side. The DVD-9 side contains the movie, naturally. The DVD-5 side contains the bonus features. What's here is amazing to have - newsreel footage of the premiere and post-premiere party, the kinescope of the NBC broadcast of the Hollywood premiere, three alternate takes of The Man That Got Away, When My Sugar Walks Down The Street, which was deleted from the Born In A Trunk sequence, and theatrical trailers for all three film versions of A Star Is Born - it's interesting to note that all three trailers are anamorphically enhanced - including the 1937, which is given black bars on the side to fit within the 16:9 frame without cropping.
What's NOT here, sadly, is a documentary on the making of the film or at least something on the restoration. Someone who doesn't know much about the history of the film might not understand why there's several minutes of the movie which are mostly shown with still photos instead of film footage, or why some of the footage that IS in the film, such as the scene where Esther is a carhop at a drive-in, is so grainy, dirty, and fuzzy.
Since this DVD's release in 1999, Warner Bros. has gone from being a so-so DVD factory to a company that has finally come to appreciate the immense catalogue of classic film titles that they can release on DVD, and therefore have released the finest DVD editions of some of the greatest movies of all time. With this in mind, I think it's high time Warner Bros. revisited this film with a brand new DVD release - preferably a 3-Disc Special Edition. Disc 1 could contain a brand new digital transfer from newly restored film elements and outdo the already sparkling transfer from the 1999 DVD release. An audio commentary by John Fricke, which could touch on the making and 1983 restoration, would be a nice touch as well. Disc 2 could contain all of the bonus materials from the flipside of the 1999 DVD, plus a new documentary on the making and restoration of the film. And, as a great bonus, disc 3 could contain a freshened-up version of the original 1937 version of the film. While Warner Bros. probably wouldn't undertake a massive digital overhaul of the film just so it could be a bonus on the 1954 movie's DVD, they could at least freshen it up from a 35MM nitrate negative. Since the movie's in the public domain, Warner Bros. could do this easily AND in better quality than any other DVD release available, except maybe for the Image Entertainment release, which is supposedly remastered from the 35MM nitrate elements.
Meanwhile, since Warner Bros. has yet to announce any plans for a new DVD of A Star Is Born, this DVD version will do very nicely. The film, for the most part, looks absolutely excellent, with vibrant color and very little dirt, grain, scratches, etc. The audio is superb, and the bonus materials presented here are completely outstanding. I wholeheartedly recommend this DVD to fans of the film, Judy Garland and James Mason fans, and fans of classic films. Despite necessary shortcomings in the reconstruction, it's a must-see film. In addition, if you enjoyed the songs from this film, you simply MUST own the 2004 expanded reissue of the film's soundtrack album. The CD is a revelation for those who've owned previous soundtrack editions. The new CD contains much of, if not all of the film's score, including deleted portions, as well as complete songs, including the never-before-heard extended intro to The Man That Got Away, as well as some new gems - When My Sugar Walks Down The Street and the complete audio for The Trinidad Coconut Oil Shampoo Commercial. The CD, like the film, is pieced together from multiple existing elements, such as the film's stereo soundtrack, the mono recordings of the film's score, the mono soundtrack album masters, and even a worn acetate playback disc for the shampoo commercial. If you love the film, Judy, or just classic soundtracks in general, the CD is also a must-own.
Description of A Star Is Born
A Star is Born marked Judy Garland's return to movies after a four-year absence, director George Cukor's first musical and first color film, and a showcase for great Harold Arden/Ira Gershwin songs in state-of-the-art stereo. One of the most beloved show-business stories of all time, it represents a career peak for many involved. Garland is singer Esther Blodgett, an undeniable talent on the rise. She catches the eye of Norman Maine (James Mason), an alcoholic actor in career decline. Their intense love transforms them both. Only one will survive Hollywood's slings and arrows. Shortened in response to exhibitor complaints after its premiers, the movie underwent one rebirth in 1983 when film historian Ronald Haver found almost all the cut sequences and supervised a reconstruction to near its original length. Its new rebirth is this breathtaking digital surround stereo track and incorporating picture and musical material recently found in the vaults. Star always had a shine to it. Now watch it sparkle as never before."This is Mrs. Norman Maine": Could these be the most heartbreaking words Judy Garland ever uttered? George Cukor directed and Moss Hart wrote this film, a musical remake of the 1937 original. The story is a show-biz classic: He (James Mason) is a major movie star who is past his prime and on the way down; she (Garland) is an aspiring singer who, with his help, becomes a bigger star than he was. Their marriage becomes a seesaw of success and failure, as he slowly drinks himself to death out of bitterness at the fickleness of fame, until his bad behavior begins to threaten the career of his long-suffering and loving wife. Mason and Garland are both terrific, with her singing "The Man That Got Away" among others. Remade in a 1976 Barbra Streisand vanity production. --Marshall Fine
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