A Star Is Born (1954)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

There have been three versions of A Star Is Born, and a fourth is coming out this fall. It's a daunting task to figure out which one to watch first, but I'll help you out: watch the 1954 version first. The 1937 one isn't nearly as fantastic, the 1976 is incredibly different, and the 2018 one doesn't look like it'll be very good. The only exception to my recommendation is if you hate Judy Garland. She has several extremely lengthy-and pretty irritating-songs and if her voice gets on your nerves, you might want to watch the 1937 one instead. I don't have a problem with Judy, but even I keep my remote control handy during those scenes so I can fast-forward. The only good song to come out of A Star Is Born is the iconic "The Man That Got Away," so don't speed through that one. It's a classic Judy Garland spastic, emotional performance.James Mason starts the movie drunk off his adorable fanny. He's an actor whose off-screen behavior has wrecked his career, and during the Academy Awards ceremony at the start of the film, he makes an absolute fool of himself on national television. Judy Garland, an unknown singer at the time, sings a song at the Oscars and helps James maintain a hangnail of dignity. Once he hears her sing "The Man That Got Away" at a nearby nightclub, he sees her star quality and tries to help boost her career. And, since it's James Mason and he's ridiculously handsome, they fall in love.In case you're wondering why Judy Garland was also nominated for an Oscar in 1955, since all I've said she does is sing a bunch of songs, most of which even I fast-forward through, let me explain. In a movie, usually the person with the substance problem is given the only choice scenes, but in A Star Is Born, the woman who loves him is given just as many dramatic scenes. There's a famous scene, affectionately referred to as "the dressing room scene", in which Judy Garland tearfully describes to Charles Bickford how difficult it is to love someone who can't help but destroy himself. It's a very powerful scene, and one of the most famous monologues in classic screen history, because of the real-life undertones behind her lines. Believe me, she absolutely deserved her nomination.It's really too bad that this movie came out the same year as The Country Girl. Both movies center around a washed-up alcoholic actor, and both movies feature exceptional acting from the pair of leads. If it weren't for Bing Crosby's once in a lifetime performance, I would have given the 1954 Oscar to James Mason, hands down. His heartbreaking, harrowing performance makes me cry every time I watch it. It's not often a male actor at that time period felt comfortable sobbing in a closeup, and James Mason trusted the camera with his vulnerability as he's never done before. I know there are a lot of Brando fans out there, but do me a favor and rent The Country Girl, A Star is Born, and On the Waterfront during the same weekend. If you still think Marlon Brando's performance should have beat out the other two, then you and I have different tastes and count yourself on the side of The Academy. DLM warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. During one of the songs about two-thirds into the movie, there's a strobe light for about ten seconds, and it will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

I saw this yesterday at the Regent Street Cinema.I had no idea that it was the reconstructed version that they were showing,if i had know then i am not sure that i would have gone.To me the problem was that every time the drama seemed to gain momentum it was stopped in its tracks by yet another interminable musical number by Judy Garland.In fact it went on that i had to leave before the end to deal with more pressing matters.I have to say that Judy Garland did not look in good shape at times.It was rather difficult to understand why she would ever fall for someone so obnoxious as Norman Maine.Also it has to be said that the portrayal by Charles Bickford made him look more like Mother Theresa than the real article such as Jack Warner.Given the fact that this film cost over $5million and made a loss it is little surprise that Graland made so few films after this or that she failed to win an Oscar.She had rubbed enough people up the wrong way and was never likely to win a popularity contest.

Goodish drama, but massively padded. Central story is interesting, though has a large air of inevitability and predictability about it. Biggest negative, however, is the massive amount of padding in the movie: many scenes seem overly drawn out or plain unnecessary. The biggest culprits are the musical numbers (though I may be biased: I am not a fan of musicals at all). Not only do they make the movie excessive in duration, but ruin the momentum of the plot.The movie could easily have been a tight 90-110 minute drama, instead of the 3-hour odyssey it is, simply by editing some scenes and leaving out the musical numbers (OK, not all - some are useful as means to demonstrate Vicki Lester's talent).Decent performances. James Mason's was the standout, especially as he only appears for the dramatic scenes - no musical fluff from him. Plus he clearly has the greatest gravitas and pure acting ability of all the performers. Judy Garland is OK, but mostly there for her singing.

This film has a lot of history and baggage, to be sure. Judy Garland had been dropped from "The Barkleys of Broadway" (which resulted in the happy reunion of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire in their only Technicolor movie) and "Annie Get Your Gun" and she and her fans were hopeful that "A Star Is Born" would be her big comeback vehicle. I recently viewed the movie on Blu-ray, not having seen it before, and I have to say that I was not overwhelmed by any of it. In fact, I found a good bit of it annoying. It was too long and should have been cut, though that should have been done by George Cukor, not the studio. I know that the Judy-Garland-can-do-no-wrong crowd won't like this, but she was, in my opinion, a bit too old and a bit too plump for the part and in all of her musical numbers, she is just trying so hard to knock it out of the park, the result is performances that are too over-the-top and frantic. Everything about this film seems bloated, dated, and just boring. The insertion of stills to fill in for missing footage is distracting, too. It would have been better to have done as they did with the recent "South Pacific" release and offered two versions--the complete, "restored" roadshow version, with the stills and extra footage, and the shortened version. In sum: this is a curiosity item and not without interest, but not the masterpiece that many would claim. If you are looking for a showcase of Judy's mature singing talent, this may be your cup of tea. Otherwise, forget it.