Search - A Star Is Born on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1954 DVD Release: 09/19/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 56 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Drama, Musical, Musical Drama, Marriage Drama, Showbiz Drama See Also: A Star Is Born [Special Edition Collector's Box]

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, All Movie Guide

Judy Garland - Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester
James Mason - Norman Maine
Jack Carson - Matt Libby
Charles Bickford - Oliver Niles
Tommy Noonan - Danny McGuire

The DVD of George Cukor's classic 1954 version of A Star Is Born features not only the footage that was restored to the film in 1983, but a host of extra features that makes it the ultimate experience of this movie. The widescreen anamorphic transfer and Dolby Digital Surround Sound showcase the film's masterly performances and direction, as well as Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin's songs. The disc's extra footage adds more insight into just how much talent was involved in A Star Is Born: the three alternate versions of "The Man That Got Away" -- each of which Judy Garland performed in one take -- and the deleted song "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" give a satisfying, substantial feel to the film's presentation; it's easy to see how difficult it must have been to keep the original version at a three-hour length. Television and newsreel coverage of the film's premiere and post-premiere party is a unique and charming extra, and production notes and trailers from the 1937, 1954, and 1976 versions of this tragic Hollywood tale reaffirm how A Star Is Born manages to be timely and timeless all at once. Short of the impossible -- such as commentaries from the stars and director or a fully restored version -- this disc provides the most complete version of this enduring masterpiece. ~ Heather Phares, All Movie Guide