A Star Is Born

Rating:
Summary: JUDY WAS DISGRACEFULLY ROBBED OF HER OSCAR!!
Review: If anyone truly deserved the Oscar for the Best Actress of 1954 it was our beloved Judy!! This movie was a labor of love for her. She set out to prove that she was not washed up as everyone said she was and that she could still deliver, despite all the turmoil and dysfunction of her life, brought about by selfish, evil, money-hungry people (including her own mother).

One views her magnificent performance with awe and realizes that SHE WAS the GREATEST ENTERTAINER of the 20th Century, beloved by all and not just an icon for gay people (which by the way I am not...I'm just a fan and love her like everyone else, gay or straight).

But that's besides the point. When one looks at her competition for the Oscar that year.....Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones, Grace Kelly in The Country Girl, Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina, and Jane Wyman in Magnificent Obsession...who can honestly say that anyone of these other actresses stood above Judy's multi-faceted performance! Judy was the rare talent who could do anything and was a genius! Grace Kelly winning the Oscar over her was just appalling!! There was no contest. Garland deserved and should have won! I my mind she did.

As for the movie itself, besides Garland, James Mason gives an equally moving Oscar Deserving performance himself as tortured Norman Maine. Teaming him with Judy was pure magic.

The songs, the cinematography.....all the production values are magnificent.

The DVD (The RESTORED VERSION) is the tops!! The colors are vibrant and I defy anyone not to get chills up their spine when Judy sings "The Man that Got Away" or shed a tear when she accepts her Oscar (in the movie) and says..."I am Mrs. Norman Maine".

What a movie!! And what a legacy and tribute to the greatest entertainer of the 20th century...Miss Judy Garland!

Rating:
Summary: 50 years after its premiere, still the BEST version of STAR
Review: A STAR IS BORN had its world premiere just over 50 years ago on September 29, 1954. The 181 film opened in a road-show engagement that was greeted with audience cheers and critical raves. Not technically a "musical" as all of the songs are "performance" songs rather than plot songs, but featuring a full score written (mostly) by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin.

The film was designed as a starring vehicle for Judy Garland. Garland's last film was SUMMER STOCK for M-g-M in 1950 and it had not been a big success. Her studio fired her. She divorced Vincente Minnelli. She went through a series of personal and professonal problems including suicide attempts, comebacks, and tabloid headlines. By the time A STAR IS BORN began filming she was a 30-year old has-been and about to score one of her biggest screen triumphs. Still, the execs at Warner Brothers were nervous. And they were not to be proven wrong: Day after day with the high priced help waiting on the set, Judy sulked in her dressing room.

And yet, the final result was worth it! For if Judy was feeling insecure during the production, she did her absolute best once the cameras were rolling, belting out songs that were like nothing M-g-M had ever given her. And this is not to take anything away from her co-stars: James Mason, Charles Bickford, Jack Carson and especially Tommy Noonan as her friend and confidante. This was a major release in the fall of 1954. It had prestige.

It also had exhibitors complaining about the length and when the grosses dipped the second week Warner Bros panicked. A decision was made to cut 27 minutes from all subsequent prints. The exisiting 181 minute prints played out their engagements, then were sent to the studio to be edited to conform to the "new" version. Not one single complete print was kept!

In 1982, Ron Haver undertook a massive reconstruction. He had the complete audio sountrack, the two missing musical numbers and some of the footage for a 9 1/2 minute dramatic sequence in the first half of the film. Using stills to cover the missing shots, for about 3 1/2 minutes, he re-assembled the film as close as possible to what had been seen at the premiere. The film was re-released in the summer of 1983 to great acclaim and it is that version presented on this DVD.

The restored sequences are as follows:

From 40:11 to 50:50 - a series of scenes detailing Norman's being sent off on location while Esther toils at a variety of acting and singing jobs. They reunite, and he makes good on his promise to get her a screen test. Of this sequence, approximately 2/3 uses stock footage and alternate takes and the remainder ...about 3 minutes ... is covered by stills.

From 1:07:01 to 1:0817 - a short scene showing Norman and Ester driving to the premiere of Esther's first film. For a short segment of dialogue no footage survived and stills are used for approximately 30 seconds.

From 1:27:42 - 1:32:40 - a soundtsgae sequence showing Esther recording the song "Here's What I'm here For" is restored complete.

From 2:09:30 to 2:13:53 - A musical seuqence with Esther on the set filming "Lose That Long face" is restored complete.

From 2:18:10 to 2:18:52 - following Esther's dramatic dressing room scene with studio boss Charles Bickford, she returns to the set to do one more partial take of "Lose That Long Face." Ths sequence is restored complete.

The source for this DVD is a beautiful pristine print with gorgeous technicolor. The stereo sound is good, though showing some deterioration. The bonus material is fascnating: alternate takes of "The Man That Got Away"; coverage of the film's premiere; some audio segments that were slightly abreviated for the restoration; and one short musical sequences that was deleted from the "Born in a Trunk" montage.

We can hold out hope that someday a complete print may surface, but meanwhile Haver's restoration remains compelling viewing from start to finish.