A Star Is Born [Deluxe Edition] [2 Discs] [DigiBook] [Blu-ray]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The 1954 musical remake of A Star is Born could have been titled A Star is Reborn, in that it represented the triumphal return to the screen of Judy Garland after a four-year absence. The remake adheres closely to the plotline of the 1937 original: An alcoholic film star, on his last professional legs, gives a career boost to a unknown aspiring actress. The two marry, whereupon her fame and fortune rises while his spirals sharply downward. Unable to accept this, the male star crawls deeper into the bottle. The wife tearfully decides to give up her own career to care for her husband. To spare her this fate, the husband chivalrously commits suicide. His wife is inconsolable at first, but is urged to go "on with the show" in memory of her late husband. In the original, Janet Gaynor played Esther Blodgett, who with no training or contacts came to Hollywood hoping for stardom. The remake, scripted by Moss Hart, is a shade more realistic: Garland's Esther, though far removed from fame, is a working professional singer/dancer when first we meet her. Both Gaynor and Garland are transformed from "Esther Blodgett" to "Vicki Lester" after being screen-tested, though Gaynor goes on to star in fluffy costume dramas while Garland more logically headlines big-budget musicals. The 1937 Star is Born costarred Fredric March as Norman Maine, Esther/Vicki's sponsor-cum-spouse. March patterned his performance after the tragic John Barrymore, reining in his emotions in favor of pure technique; James Mason's interpretation is more original, more emotional, and far more effective (who can forget the scene where Norman sobbingly overhears Vicki planning to give up her career for his sake?) As the studio's long-suffering publicist, the 1937 version's Lionel Stander is more abrasive and unpleasant than the 1954 version's introspective, intellectual Jack Carson; on the other hand, Adolphe Menjou and Charles Bickford are fairly evenly matched in the role of the studio head. Several important omissions are made in the remake. The 1937 Star is Born included Esther's indomitable old grandma (May Robson), a helpful assistant director (Andy Devine) and a soft-hearted landlord (Edgar Kennedy); all three characters are missing from the 1954 version, though elements of each can be found in the "best friend/severest critic" character played by Tommy Noonan. Wisely, both versions end with the grieving Vicki Lester coming out of her shell at a public gathering, greeting the audience with a proud, defiant "Good evening, everybody. This is Mrs. Norman Maine". Though directors William Wellman (1937 version) and George Cukor (1954 version) handle this finale in their own distinctive manners, the end result is equally effective emotionally. What truly sets the 1954 A Star is Born apart from other films of its ilk is its magnificent musical score by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin. The songs include The Man Who Got Away (brilliantly performed by Garland in one long take, sans dubbing), It's a New World, Somewhere There's a Someone, I Was Born in a Trunk, Lose That Long Face and Gotta Have Me Go With You. When originally previewed in 1954, the film ran well over three hours, thanks to the lengthy-and thoroughly disposable-Born in a Trunk number, added to the film as an afterthought without the approval or participation of director George Cukor. The Warner Bros. executives trimmed the film to 154 minutes, eliminating three top-rank musical numbers and several crucial expository sequences (including Norman's proposal to Vicki). At the instigation of the late film historian Ronald Haver, the full version was painstakingly restored in 1983, with outtakes and still photos bridging the "lost" footage. Though nominated in several categories, A Star is Born was left empty-handed at Academy Award time, an oversight that caused outrage then and still rankles Judy Garland fans to this day (Footnote: Judy Garland had previously played Vicki Lester in a 1942 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the original A Star is Born). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 2
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Aspect Ratio: 2.55:1
• Subtitle: Fre/Spa
• Features:
  • Deleted scenes and alternate filmings of four musical numbers and one dramatic sequence
  • Over an hour of rare recording session music and a vintage radio show
  • Plus, hollywood premiere telecast and newsreel
  • 1954 Studio exhibitor reel and expanded post-premiere coconut grove party footage
  • Trailers of all three a star is born versions and more!

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Actor - 1954 (James Mason)
•     Nominated Best Actress - 1954 (Judy Garland)
•     Nominated Best Color Art Direction - 1954 (George James Hopkins, Irene Sharaff, Malcolm C. Bert, Gene Allen)
•     Nominated Best Color Costume Design - 1954 (Mary Ann Nyberg, Jean Louis, Irene Sharaff)
•     Nominated Best Musical Score - 1954 (Ray Heindorf)
•     Nominated Best Song - 1954 (Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1954 (George Cukor)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comed - 1954 (James Mason)
•     Won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Com - 1954 (Judy Garland)

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1954

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Judy Garland - Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester
       James Mason - Norman Maine
       Jack Carson - Matt Libby
       Charles Bickford - Oliver Niles
       Tommy Noonan - Danny McGuire
       Lucy Marlow - Lola Lavery
       Amanda Blake - Susan Ettinger
       Irving Bacon - Graves
       Hazel Shermet - Libby's Secretary
       James Brown - Glenn Williams
       Lotus Robb - Miss Markham
       Willis B. Bouchey - Director
       Wilton Graff - Master of Ceremonies--Last Scene
       Joseph Mell - Studio Employee
       Emerson Treacy - Justice of the Peace
       Chick Chandler - Man in Car
       Louis Jean Heydt - Director
       Frank Puglia - Bruno
       Nadene Ashdown - Esther at age 6
       Eric Wilton - Valet
       Rex Evans - Master of Ceremonies
       Henry Kulky - Cuddles
       Joan Shawlee - Announcer
       John Saxon - Premiere Movie Usher
       Strother Martin
       Dub Taylor - Driver
       Jack Harmon - 1st Dancer
       Percy Helton - Charley
       Leonard Penn
       Phil Arnold
       Richard Webb - Wallace
       Samuel Colt - Men at Race Track
       Olin Howard - Charley
       Bess Flowers
       Mae Marsh - Party Guest
       Grady Sutton - Carver
       Kathryn Card - Landlady
       Laurindo Almeida - Guitarist
       Charles Halton
       Pat O'Malley
       Rudolph Anders
       Charles Watts - Harrison
       Tristram Coffin - Director
       Stuart Holmes - Spectator
       Grandon Rhodes - Producer
       Frank Ferguson - Judge

• Director:

  George Cukor

• Producer:

  Sidney Luft

• Screenwriter:

  Moss Hart

• Play Author:

  Alan Campbell

• Screen Story:

  Robert Carson

• Play Author:

  Robert Carson

• Cinematographer:

  Sam Leavitt

• Composer (Music Score):

  Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin, Ray Heindorf

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Ray Heindorf

• Editor:

  Folmar Blangsted, Craig Holt

• Production Designer:

  Irene Sharaff, Gene Allen

• Art Director:

  Malcolm C. Bert

• Associate Producer:

  Vern Alves

• Set Designer:

  George James Hopkins

• Costume Designer:

  Jean Louis, Irene Sharaff, Michael Woulfe, Mary Ann Nyberg

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  David Forrest, Charles Lang

• Makeup:

  Gordon Bau

• Special Effects:

  H.F. Koenekamp

• Choreography:

  Richard Barstow

• Still Photographer:

  Bob Willoughby

REVIEW:

• The 1954 A Star is Born had better music than the 1937 original, but that's about all that viewers may agree on in assessing one version against the other. On the downside, the music added about an hour to the running time. The film was re-cut and shortened by studio executives after release. Despite the efforts of restoration experts, there are today no complete prints of the original release version. Judy Garland benefits from the increased emphasis on her character, and the film is far more of a star vehicle for her than was the original for Janet Gaynor. To make room for the songs, several supporting characters from the 1937 version were eliminated. The result is a film that, despite the increased length, has less story-telling richness, though the deficiency is compensated by Garland's superb performance. The film was not among the Oscar nominees for Best Picture, though it did receive six other nominations, including for Garland, James Mason, and "The Man That Got Away" as Best Song. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi