A Few Words About While we wait for A few words about...™ A Star is Born (2018) -- in 4k UHD Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[battlebeast]

Saw the new version... I hope Bradley Cooper wins the Oscar. And Gaga was fantastic! She should be nominated, too.

Loved it!

 

[Joel Arndt]

I could not disagree more. Every one of the numbers has been woven into the fabric of the film with a specific purpose in mind. Whether it's a "meet cute," a number to demonstrate why Norman has faith in Esther's talent, the very lengthy "Born in a Trunk" to display her versatility to demonstrate why Esther became a big star so fast (and if An American in Paris can have its eighteen-minute ballet, Judy should certainly be allowed her own showcase), the proposal caught over the recording mics, and supremely to juxtipose ironically Vicki's movie character's carefree personality with Esther's tortured soul dealing with her husband's deterioration while she "smiles through tears." "It's a New World" might be the only one I might think could have been cut though it's the most delicate and soulful of the film's six numbers.

Totally agree Matt and totally disagree with Colin. I would say even It's a New World pushes the plot along as that's what Esther sings to Norman on the first night of their honeymoon and Lose That Long Face is especially poignant juxtaposed against the gut-wrenching scene in the dressing room where Esther talks to Oliver about Norman and her crumbling marriage. Somewhere There's a Someone (done in an effort to lift Norman's spirits) is a great parody of the ballet and dream sequences that were so popular in the 1950s. In a way, it's a spoof of Born in a Trunk. Anyway, still looking forward to seeing the latest incarnation with Cooper and Gaga. I'm a fan of both.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Totally agree Matt and totally disagree with Colin.

Hey, I have Noel Coward on my side, so ha ha!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Hey, I have Noel Coward on my side, so ha ha!

Now that's a podcast I'd listen to

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Now that's a podcast I'd listen to

Raise Noel from the dead and I'm in!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Raise Noel from the dead and I'm in!

I defer to your expertise in that area

 

[JohnMor]

Of course this version has to be better since Gaga’s voice is built for rock and Streisand’s not at all- never was- and hence she’s not believable as a rock star regardless of script etc. However she must be given credit for changing the premise to rock as she was the one of the film’s producers.

Streisand didn’t play a rock star in the film. She played a pop star. Far more Carly Simon or Linda Ronstadt than Janis Joplin or Grace Slick.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Streisand didn’t play a rock star in the film. She played a pop star. Far more Carly Simon or Linda Ronstadt than Janis Joplin or Grace Slick.

Yeah, but the movie tries to convince us she appealed to a rock audience, such as in the scene where she dazzles a rowdy crowd of rock fans...

 

[JohnMor]

Interesting video comparing and contrasting all the versions (save for What Price Hollywood).

 

[PMF]

[...]"Born in a Trunk", started brilliantly but by the time it was over and we had endured montage after montage and repetition after repetition, I found myself wishing that dear enchanting Judy was at the bottom of the sea."
"The Noel Coward Diaries, edited by Graham Payne, 1982 Little, Brown & Co."[...]

"Mutiny on the Bounty" re-makes are now two behind "A Star is Born";
so, maybe Hollywood ought to take its cues from the law firm of Cooper, Cukor & Coward.
The next version should be a musical, with the mutinous crew singing their uprising number of "Anchors and Cankers";
followed by Captain Bligh's counter-point lament of "Born in a Sea-Chest".
Oh, and let's not forget, we're also gonna need a major Tahitian number, as well.
How about "Bountiful Breadfruits and Brando's"?
I'll get back to you as further ideas develop.

 

[bujaki]

"Mutiny on the Bounty" re-makes are now two behind "A Star is Born";
so, maybe Hollywood ought to take its cues from the law firm of Cooper, Cukor & Coward.
The next version should be a musical, with the mutinous crew singing their uprising number of "Anchors and Cankers";
followed by Captain Bligh's counter-point lament of "Born in a Sea-Chest".
Oh, and let's not forget, we're also gonna need a major Tahitian number, as well.
How about "Bountiful Breadfruits and Brando's"?
I'll get back to you as further ideas develop.

Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Marlon Brando and Mel Gibson: all as Mr Christian. That's four versions. I believe the Flynn version is lost (may be wrong).

 

[PMF]

Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Marlon Brando and Mel Gibson: all as Mr Christian. That's four versions. I believe the Flynn version is lost (may be wrong).

Betcha I would've known about that 4th version if it hadn't been lost.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled program of "A Star is Born".

 

[titch]

No - I won't be adding this to my 4K collection. It peaked right when Gaga and Cooper did their first duet and then after the first hour or so the songs stopped coming. I don't see myself watching this more than once, despite the good performances. I only ever watched 12 Years A Slave once too.

 

[PMF]

I always felt that "New York, New York" was sort of a variation to George Cukor's "A Star is Born".
Both Judy and Liza have their epic numbers of "Born in a Trunk" and "Happy Endings".
And both films involve a show-biz marriage that falls apart, due to the rise of one and descent of the other.
Does anyone know if there was a possible a tip of the hat from Scorsese to Cukor in any manner, shape or form?

 

[JohnMor]

m

I always felt that "New York, New York" was sort of a variation to George Cukor's "A Star is Born".
Both Judy and Liza have their epic numbers of "Born in a Trunk" and "Happy Endings".
And both films involve a show-biz marriage that falls apart, due to the rise of one and descent of the other.
Does anyone know if there was a possible a tip of the hat from Scorsese to Cukor in any manner, shape or form?

I’m sure there was probably some of that. But he said he took his inspiration from several sources, notably Doris Day’s marriage to saxophonist George Weidler in the 1940’s which ended because he saw her star rising and said he didn’t want to be “Mr. Doris Day.” Scorsese also said he looked hard at Day’s early Warner Bros. Michael Curtiz musical My Dream is Yours, which is a slight fictionalization of Day’s career story to that time. He said he also looked at MDIY in terms of its production design.

 

[bestactor]

What Price Hollywood? is definitely the original prototype! Long ago revival film houses in the DC area (before AFI) did a great job of educating audiences in film history and would show all 3 (before Streisand's). My question is will there ever be any more footage to complete the 1954 restoration?

 

[Noel Aguirre]

Streisand didn’t play a rock star in the film. She played a pop star. Far more Carly Simon or Linda Ronstadt than Janis Joplin or Grace Slick.

Those were rock concerts in the film not pop concerts. And Kris played a Rock Star not a pop star. All Babs’ ideas

 

[JohnMor]

Those were rock concerts in the film not pop concerts. And Kris played a Rock Star not a pop star. All Babs’ ideas

For Kris’ character, not Barbra’s. She wrote and sang “Evergreen” and “Lost Inside of You.” Hardly rock songs. While wearing pantsuits. She sang his rock song at the end as a tribute to him, but she never performed rock songs in the movie. She was never depicted as a rock performer. In fact, there is dialogue in the movie about how Speedway was not the proper band to back her to properly show her off for her first record and how the arrangements weren’t “classical” enough to her liking.

And it wasn’t Barbra’s idea. The script was written for the rock milieu by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne several years before Jon Peters read it and brought it to Barbra. If anything Barbra made her less rock-ish and more pop-ish than was initially envisioned.

 

[Rob W]

Streisand obviously played a pop star in the film and was never presented as a rock star. That's why her character resists when John Norman drags her onstage at one of his concerts - she knows that's not her audience but he is so in love with her talent and voice that he wants to show her off.
Reportedly Streisand, like her character, was extremely nervous about the reaction she would get from the rock crowd when the scene was shot but all reports are that she won them over with her voice and talent.

 

[usrunnr]

I saw the 76 ASIB at Grauman's in Hollywood. I don't know what they projected, but i was bored to death by it, and the music was loud and awful. Well, maybe not That song.