A Star Is Born

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Rob G So I just completed a marathon of all 4 “A Star is Born” movies. Here is my assessment of each in oder from Best to Least good. In all 4, a young, talented woman is discovered by an older, declining male star. They fall in love, marry, and her career rises while his falls due to addiction. Tragedy strikes when he dies by suicide, prompting her emotional tribute at the end. 2018 – The best version starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Deals with the modern music industry. The music is really good in this one. Not sure I really buy the chemistry of the two actors. Cooper plays his role as a complete mess really well. 1954 – This could have been the best had it now been for some minor flaws. Stars Judy Garland and James Mason. Very good production and both actors do a great job. Seems overly long and the musical numbers are dated by today’s standard. Had they not committed so much to the musical numbers, I would have rated it the best version. Also, minor annoyance comes from having the longer restored scenes added as some of the video is lost and replaced with still photos while the audio continues which is very annoying. 1937 – Stars Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. This is the shorter of the group. They could have made it longer and developed the characters more but, hey, it was 1937. 1976 – Stars Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. Kristofferson does a good job in his role. However, I wish they had got a really Outlaw Country or Rock artist to portray the female lead. Streisand’s music just doesn’t cut it for what they were trying to pull off. As a result, it’s a little hard to watch. Also, does he commit suicide in the end or just have an accident? Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/21/25 Full Review Dani G Classic 1930's Hollywood film. The original that has been remade several times; that alone speaks it was some kind of important thing Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/25 Full Review Jithin K I've seen the modern Bollywood version, Aashiqui 2 from 2013 and and the modern Hollywood version from 2018 before, so I was already pretty familiar with what's gonna happen in this movie and maybe it helped me enjoy this more in some ways. This first version of A Star is Born is about actors instead of singers unlike most of the remakes, but it seems that this is a partial ripoff of What Price Hollywood?, which came out in 1932 which I couldn't find anywhere online. With the use of Technicolor in the 30s, I expected it to be a bit more flashy but it had enough moments of Hollywood grandness of the time to justify it. I was very surprised to see that there were many specific dialogues that are retained in what should've been the vastly different unofficial Bollywood version too. It really shows the impact this made even after all this time. But some aspects of addiction, even though modern films have a better way of showing the changes, just from the writing perspective, did a much better job in conveying the exact moments that affect people. Other than the famous ending shot and line, my favourite shot is when Norman Maine stands alone in the crowd of people who all have misjudged him. In so many ways this felt very raw that it went on showing so many of the realities of the time without too much exposition even when it holds a belief of magic that can be found in life. As a whole, it does feel very 30s in its execution. Maybe it's due to the time period but it felt like this script could've been made into a masterpiece with a truly great director of that time. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/24 Full Review Alec B The satire is pretty light, but you really wouldn't expect a hard hitting take-down of Hollywood from a Selznick production. Compared with the two remakes that followed, this one is actually the funniest (no doubt due to Dorothy Parker's involvement with the screenplay) and its that coupled with the performances of Gaynor and March that makes the whole thing worthwhile. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/05/24 Full Review Georgan G My favorite version of this film. All the characters are well written & acted. The best is Gaynor & March but several of the minor parts are excellent, too. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Love this old 1937 version of a star is born. Yes I recommended James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas January 27, 2023. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews

A Star Is Born

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