A Star Is Born YIFY
I enjoyed this 70's remake of the marvellous Judy Garland / James Mason classic from the 50's (itself a remake, film snobs) more than I expected without accepting that one isolated minute in it was better than its counterpart in the predecessor. A rocky update of the story is a decent idea and in fact lends itself well to the story-line and if the execution is a bit clunky and now dated, that's both pardonable and understandable.Things I liked - well let's start with Kris Kristofferson who, with the more difficult part, certainly convinces as a hell-raising rock star, fuelled by drugs and alcohol, aware of tastes and fashions passing him by but with enough perception to see Streisand's Esther as the future. It's fun trying to pick out rock prototypes for his John Norman Howard character - I'm between Jim Morrison and Leon Russell myself, the latter married at the time ironically to sultry singer Rita Coolidge who herself gets a brief cameo appearance, while Howard's behaviour at Streisand's little night club where he "discovers" her recalls an infamous out of control episode in the "lost weekend" period in John Lennon's life, if memory serves. A pity they couldn't have trusted the writer of classics like "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and "Me And Bobby McGee" to contribute some of his own songs to the soundtrack and certainly his signature song here "Watch Closely Now" gets done to death.I also quite enjoyed the soundtrack. I'm no fan of La Diva Streisand's singing or indeed acting but at least in her vocals she exercises some restraint and delivers a surprising variety of material demonstrating at least some versatility on her part, from the title-theme ballad "Evergreen", (the gorgeous music to which was, surprisingly enough written by her), light Labelle-type funk of "I Believe in Love" and the big torch ballad "The Woman in the Moon" which while beneath Judy's "The Man That Got Away", covers the same territory in a still acceptable way.Things not to like - Streisand herself does a reasonable job and initially tones down her trademark "kooky" and "sensitive" personae a bit but you never really believe in her as a real person. Unfortunately as the film progresses so does her profile and we get embarrassingly lame scenes with the couple coo-ing at each other in various locations including a candle-surrounded bath scene, Streisand overacting furiously as she argues with a cassette-tape of Howard's voice after he's done his James Dean-type exit from the planet and worst of all that single long shot of her singing the finale medley, which is when you appreciate that yes, it's just another Barbie vanity exercise after all (especially when you see her name down as executive producer).The dialogue is pretty rock-star cliché throughout and some of the situations come across very second-hand too (Howard snorting up before every show, his assaults on a critical dee-jay, Streisand's MOR music somehow wowing a crowd of rock 'n' rollers at a benefit gig) and of course the familiarity with the story reduces the surprise element of some of the plot developments.All told though, long as it was, there were far worse films than this made in the 70's. By the way, what a pity they never released the version of "Evergreen" with Kristofferson harmonising on the middle section - it works a treat and adds to an already very pretty melody.
A Star Is Born YIFY
"A Star is Born" is one of the most frequently remade films in Hollywood history. Soon after the first version, "What Price Hollywood?" debuted, they made a very famous version with Janet Gaynor. And, then there was a even more famous version with Judy Garland, a TV movie version with Robert Montgomery and, recently, the Lady Gaga version! I've seen all but the TV version (since it appears to be unavailable) but clearly among the theatrical versions, this Barbra Streisand/Kris Kristofferson version is the worst...by far. My recommendation is that you see one of these other versions instead!The story is familiar---Esther is a talented up and coming singer who marries a rich and famous star who is set on a path to self-destruction. They marry. He buys the farm...she goes on to greatness without him. The end.Unlike the previous versions, where the husband was an actor, in this one the anti-hero lead (Kristofferson) is a rock singer...something that was carried over to the recent version. I was surprised by this because Kristofferson was really terrible playing a rock star. It didn't suit his style of singing in the least...and he simply sounded terrible. So terrible, in fact, that you wonder WHY anyone would come to see his concerts....and here he miraculously fills stadiums. Had they had him singing more folksy-country music (his forte) it would have worked much better.And, speaking of this, Streisand also is WAY out of her element. The woman has a gorgeous voice, no doubt about that. But the film begins with her as the singer for a group sadly called 'The Oreos' (with two black backup singers!)...and the song "Queen Bee" is just god-awful, as Streisand tries to sing like she was from the hood!! Later, fortunately, she sings a few lovely songs and "Evergreen" was truly mesmerizing to hear....and it's not surprising the song won an Oscar. Much of it, however, was pretty bad.So is it any good? Not especially. Kristofferson's character was FAR more annoying and horrible than the Norman Main from earlier versions--to the point of being 100% obnoxious and unlikable. Because of that, there was very little chemistry between the leads that made any sense. You wondered how she ever came to love him...he was THAT horrible! It definitely should have been toned down significantly and he came off like a giant, spoiled baby who no one could have loved.Overall, an overlong film with little to recommend it. I strongly suspect it's score of 6.1 is more indicative of the love of Streisand by her fans as opposed to the quality and watchability of the movie. A chore to finish this one, that's for sure!
The first version of this film in 1932 (What Price Hollywood) was 88 minutes long, the 1937 version was 111 minutes long, but this Warner Brothers 1954 version clocks in at over two and a half hours! The story is basically the same as the 1937 version - Heavily drinking and often absentee on the set movie star Norman Maine (James Mason) discovers, promotes, and falls in love with Esther Blodgett (Judy Garland), renamed to Vicki Lester by the studio. Norman and Vicki get married, Vicki's star rises, Norman's star falls to the point that people call him Mr. Lester. They completely forget who he is. He turns more and more to the bottle. Complications ensue. Except this time, since Judy Garland plays Vicki, there are lots of production numbers featuring her singing, with Vicki being a singing actress. So the original story has to fit in between numbers, because this is not an MGM musical. The songs are not part of the story and I don't think they are even that memorable.Warner Brothers was never really a studio that specialized in musicals, although they did have their hits throughout their history. This was just not one of them in my humble and probably unpopular opinion. I think that Garland and James Mason as Norman Maine and Vicki Lester are good together. I believe them as a couple. But just at age 32, time and addiction have taken a toll on Garland's appearance where I just don't buy her as the fresh young face.And there are a couple of weird turns the film takes. For example, Jack Warner never said a nice thing about L. B. Mayer or MGM in his life. The two studios took digs at one another's productions over the years. Yet at one point Judy as Vicki is supposed to be working on "An American In Paris" and she is basically giving it a plug in the dialogue of the script. The film had been released three years ago at MGM. What exactly was Jack Warner doing? There has to be a story there.Jack Carson gives fine support as the publicity agent who throughout his career so far has played the jerk, but you get a subtle taste of meanness here in his performance that is quite authentic. He'll perfect that meanness three years later in "The Tattered Dress". Charles Bickford is the studio head who is stuck between the money guys back east and his personal attachment to his stars. Bickford is a guy who really evolved over the years - cut loose from MGM in the early 30s he went from being a lead in B films to being a fine supporting player in A list films, then transitioned to television.I'm sure lots of people will disagree, but I just found myself looking at my watch during most of the musical numbers, waiting for the dramatic portion to start playing out again.
Marked by a pervasive sense of melancholy, the 1954 musical version of the familiar Hollywood warhorse will forever be remembered as Judy Garland's most acclaimed work in films. Even though she would go on to a handful of films in the early 1960's, this was her last leading role in a major Hollywood production, an ironic point since she plays an emerging movie star on the rise. True, she doesn't look her best in the film, but her fulsome talent is on full, heart-wrenching display as Esther Blodgett, an obscure but thriving band singer who becomes movie star Vicki Lester thanks to Norman Maine, an alcoholic has-been movie star in career free-fall. Their love story and the opposing trajectories of their careers are tracked meticulously by Moss Hart's shrewdly observed screenplay and George Cukor's sensitive direction.The double-sided 2000 DVD provides the 176-minute restored version, which is just five minutes less than what was shown at the original premiere. Until 1983, the half-hour of footage excised after the premiere was thought lost, but film historian Ron Haver found much of it and supervised an extraordinary restoration effort that includes a necessary albeit brief use of production stills to match up with the complete soundtrack. Even with such technicalities, the resulting film is even more of a landmark musical drama, emotionally resonant in spite of certain pacing issues with the storyline. Cukor's approach is probably more leisurely than the relatively hard-boiled material requires since he includes so many establishing and lengthy shots, but his direction shows his legendary sensitivity toward actors.While he comes across a bit too robust as a fading matinée idol, James Mason vigorously captures Norman's scornful pride and self-pity. He may lack Fredric March's innate sense of vulnerability in the original, but Mason makes the character's inner torment more palpable. As for Garland, she brings so much of her own history to Esther/Vicki that her scenes feel alive with her vibrant, masochistic personality. She is aided immeasurably by the masterful songs of Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin, most significantly her torchy rendition of "The Man That Got Away", as perfect a musical movie moment as has been ever produced. While her work in the fifteen-minute "Born in the Trunk" sequence is impressive, it is really later in the film when she soars, in particular, when she segues from the tap-happy "Lose That Long Face" into a breakdown scene in her dressing room with sympathetic studio head Oliver Niles portrayed with his typically stentorian fervor by Charles Bickford.The print condition and sound quality on the DVD are superb. There are also some fascinating extras on the B-side starting with three alternative takes on "The Man That Got Away", each distinctive in presentation with costume and lighting changes, a must for Garland fans. Also included is a very brief deleted number within the "Born in the Trunk" sequence", "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street". Three vintage pieces have been gathered - a brief newsreel piece of the premiere, a four-minute clip of the Coconut Grove premiere party held after the premiere, and most interestingly, a half-hour kinescope akin to the current-day red carpet pre-shows with an amazing parade of period stars expressing little more than good wishes on their way to the theater. Lastly, the theatrical trailers for all three versions of "A Star Is Born" are also included. 041b061a72
