Rating: 
Summary: a star forever
Review: i had heard of this movie long before i actually got to see it. actually, i had heard more of the awful Barbara Streisand version, and i was a bit surprised to hear it was a remake of the Garland film. I've seen many classics and learned a lot about movies since then, and when i happened across this version in a video store one day, i took it home. Needless to say, the entire production took my breath away. i have always been a Garland fan, her talent staggers me. as i watched the drama unfold, i was in awe of her mastery, not just her superb singing, which, i might add, never sounded better. why this lady didn't win the academy award that year is a complete mystery. the song numbers are incredible, from "the man that got away" to "born in a trunk", but they never seem to overwhelm the production. James Mason is wonderful as Norman Maine, and fully deserving of the best actor nomination he received for the role. This movie is true film classic, and it's wonderful that many cut scenes were spliced back in, although sadly, some scenes were never found. This is one movie worth seeing.
Rating:
Summary: Just imagine......
Review: What else can be said? It is a classic, no argument here. However, there are two points I would like to make regarding the overall production.Let me preface these by saying that I'm a Garland addict from the womb. My favorite Garland M-G-M film is still "The Clock." For once, Judy was NOT an exasperated farm girl/shop girl/girl next door! She actually could act her age in a part! Wow, what an idea!! For "A Star Is Born," try to imagine the film WITHOUT the almost unending Edens/Gershe chunk of extravaganza that they plopped right in the middle of the film. If you bypass that inane production number, you have as perfect a dramatic love story as you will ever find. Try it with the DVD and see the impact it has on keeping you within the growing love story. Personally, had I been at Warner's when they chopped this masterpiece, that number would have been the ONE thing to go and its departure would not have fractured the story line the way their editing did. Another point. "The Man That Got Away." The best song in the entire film and they used it as basically a throwaway number too early in the film. I have always wondered why they didn't give that song a more important place in the film. Not at the end, that would have been melodrama to the extreme. Maybe somewhere in the film at a point when you begin to see that the relationship has made a wrong turn, or perhaps just before that moment. It would have had a stronger impact. Anyway, it is still worth the price of purchase and will go on and on as yet another fine example of this woman's incredible talent which she was so willing to share with her audience. It amazes me still that after all these years she sells! What an incredible legacy! Buy it, folks! When it's Garland, you're always guaranteed a good show!
Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest
Review: This film belongs in the library of any serious collector. It is a beautiful love story involvong two people whose mutual dependency on each other deepens as the story progresses. Much of the credit for a job well done of course goes to the films director George Cukor. Judy Garland returns to the screen after a prolonged absence, and reaches her peak both dramatically and vocally. A pinacle I don't believe she ever achieved again. Her musical interpretations are a credit to George Gershwin and Harold Arlen James Mason, in his portrayal of an alcoholic movie star, gives a sterling performance. He is always aware of his tendency toward self destruction."I destroy everything I touch," he warns Vickie. Comparing this performance to his portrayal of Brutus in Shakespeares' "Julius Ceasar" indeed shows a wide dramatic talent. All the supporting players turn in solid performances with Charles Bickford as Oliver the studio head and friend to Vickie and Norman, Jack Carson as the studio Mr Fixit and Tommy Noonan as the friend in need. Truly a movie that is not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: A Star is born
Review: A Star is born tells the story of Ester Blodgette (Judy Garland)a talented singer who is singing with the Glenn Miller Orchestra when the film opens. She is seen and admired by alchoholic actor Norman Maine (James Mason) who falls for her, and gets her a job at his studio. And while her career is starting to live in a big big way, his starts to die out. This movie is actually two stories and is so divided. One on one tape on on the other. In the first tape we get the story of the rise of Ester Boldgette to stardom and in the second the love story and the destruction of Norman Maine. Quite touching, no sugar coating, pure tears through and through.
Rating:
Summary: Unfair Comment
Review: I finally received my DVD of "A Star Is Born" yesterday. I actually promised to watch this DVD with my friend this weekend. However, I could not resist but to watch it right a way. I don't think I need to say much about how great this movie is. Whoever watched this movie know. The top-notch singing, dancing and acting. One of the viewer commented that Judy was not suitable to play as a "young" woman in this movie, she looked plum, and she did not deserve an Oscar blah blah blah.... I think that is totally unfair. First of all, the role (Esther) of Judy Garland is not a young woman. Esther was a woman who has experienced a lot and became a singer until she finally met James Mason. As for looking plum, Judy herself knew that. That's why she made fun of herself several times in the movie. In one of the scene where she performed alone for her husband, she said "Here come the big fat close up." And the movie told us that, Esther (Or should I say Judy) became famous because of her talent, not her look. Judy deserved an Oscar or not is no long important for those who love Judy so much. To us, Judy is and always is the winner.
Rating:
Summary: "Star" is shining on DVD
Review: The much awaited DVD release of "A Star is Born" is finally here. The release was delayed several months, and those of us who tryly love this film hoped that the delay meant that a complete print of the uncut original roadshow film had somehow been located. We have been grateful with the reconstruction, although stills had to be used where footage was not available. Someone must have this footage, as the film was in general release when the cuts were made. Even so, it is so great to see it in DVD and in widescreen. Warners treatment of their musicals is usually pretty shabby, and it took them a LONG time to release "Star" on DVD and widescreen. it seems that every other movie in their catalog was released EXCEPT "Star". The ghost of Jack Warner in action? He hated the film and Judy and Sid Luft as well.
Rating:
Summary: A magnificent comeback vehicle.
Review: Everyone has already given the movie enough superlatives to last into the next century, so I'll just mention some significant tidbits: The restored film gives more details to the intricate and ugly side of the lead character's hustle into the acting business. Because Esther and Norman lose contact with each other (after he's rushed into a location film shoot while hung-over), we finally see Esther work for her supper; after quitting the band she must economize by moving to a cheap boarding house, ghost sing on TV commercials, and moonlight as a drive-in waitress. Also restored is a scene of a drive to a film premiere (which ends up with our nervous heroine hurling her lunch), and perhaps the finest new scene: a soundstage marriage proposal reeking of wit and charm. And, of course, the DVD presentation shows the movie in its proper Cinemascope format- necessary for moments like Ms. Garland's stunning, single-take performance of "The Man That Got Away," and the long monologue between her and studio head Charles Bickford (which really shows off her acting chops). Check it out.
Rating:
Summary: As Indispensable as Oz.
Review: Any fan of Garland or of the original downsized version of the film will join me in celebrating this restored, panoramic version as well as the enhanced quality and convenience of the DVD. Those viewers coming to the film for the first time may be less impressed by the restored footage--some of it reconstructed from still photographs--that brings the film to its 3-hour length. Having gotten hooked on the film in its shortened theatrical release, I would have no problem with younger, less patient viewers starting with that version, available in older VHS copies. Frequently overlooked in evaluations of this "Star" is the virtuosity, complexity, and richness of James Mason's performance. In fact, numerous viewings have convinced me it's every bit as striking as Garland's. Judy supplies the singing and dancing spark, but Mason's subtle facial expressions expose the inner recesses of a soul that's as capable of unconditional love as suicidal despair. Indeed, there's a "feminine" register to his self-destructive, compulsive characterization (Cukor's influence?) that allows us to see through his persona to the "real," off-screen Judy Garland. Not that Garland is ever less than real herself. It's practically scary to think that this is the same actress who played Dorothy only 15 years earlier, and yet it's impossible to overlook that connection. And it's downright infuriating to see Barbara Streisand attempting a reprise of the role some twenty years later. Her version, which plays like a self-promotional trailer for her ambitions to attain mega-super-rock-star status, might strike us as having "camp" value were it not so apparent she intends us to take the film as seriously as she does. But "A Star Is Born" is as much about the power of cinema as of celebrity and fame. Only a powerful film such as George Cukor's can do the subject justice.
Rating:
Summary: James Mason Is The Real Lead Character
Review: Judy Garland's character, Esther/Vicki, is too perfect a person for us to find deep resonance with her as she shoots to the top of the movie heap with the help of her husband, played by James Mason. The totally satisfying, complex character is Mason's Norman Maine. He is a formerly top movie star on his way down in the throes of alcohol and too many enemies made from his own abusive conduct in the Hollywood star system. He finds momentary surcease from his problems when he meets and marries Esther/Vicki but soon the demons bedevil him again, never to let him go. He is absolutely fabulous and I wonder that more viewers don't point to this as his absolute best film role. Garland's star turn in this film is in the many musical numbers, where she is stunning. Those numbers prevent the film from slipping into bathos, which solely focusing on Norman Maine's decline would have accomplished. I have seen both the unrestored and the restored versions of this film. This DVD is the restored one and the only version to see. The DVD also contains outtakes of the hit number, "The Man Who Got Away," which became a signature song for Garland for the rest of her life. The best version is the one put into the movie. I've often wondered what this movie would have been like had Garland taken the role she was meant to play, that of a female Norman Maine set on a course of self destruction that no one and nothing can stop. I would have loved to have seen her do that role but perhaps it was too close to reality for her to attempt it.
Rating:
Summary: A showcase of Judy Garland's Talent
Review: "A Star is Born" showcased everything Judy Garland was about.Her Acting,Dancing,and the greatest singer ever born.This movie was the most costly film of its time,but was a hit."Born in a Trunk" sequence is a masterpiece.Its so modern for 1954.What a thrill this movie must have been for all of Judy's fans after being away from the screen for years.I bought the restored video that came out in the 80's.Its great to see parts of the film you've never seen before,but it ruins the movie.Most of this takes place in the middle .I would rather have the original video.
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