Star Is Born (Blu-ray) (1954)

Editor's Note A STAR IS BORN was conceived as a comeback vehicle for Judy Garland, who gives a fascinating and heartrending performance in perhaps the finest work of her career. This film was director George Cukor's first musical and first color picture; the tale of a doomed Hollywood couple, it was a remake of the 1937 William Wellman movie with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. Garland plays young singer Esther, who saves Norman Maine (James Mason), a famous star, from making a fool of himself onstage. Maine is an alcoholic whose career is on the wane but who manages, nonetheless, to acknowledge Esther's talent and help her jump-start a career in Hollywood. But as her star rises and his declines, Maine's misery grows. Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin provided Garland with songs that would become standards in her concert repertoire, including "The Man That Got Away," which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Song. A STAR IS BORN is also based on the earlier Cukor picture WHAT PRICE HOLLYWOOD?

	Charles Bickford
	Irving Bacon
	Tommy Noonan
	James Mason
	Jack Carson
	Lucy Marlow
	Judy Garland
	Amanda Blake
	Moss Hart - Screenwriter
	Ira Gershwin - Lyricist
	Sam Leavitt - Director of Photography
	Gene Allen - Production Designer
	Sidney Luft - Producer
	Harold Arlen - Composer
	Charles Lang - Sound
	Folmar Blangsted - Editor
	George Cukor - Director

First remake of the classic that was one of Judy Garland's greatest hits, and director George Cukor's first color picture, this musical includes Garland's well-known songs "The Man That Got Away" and "Born In a Trunk." The film garnered six Academy Award nominations, including Best Actress and Actor for Garland and James Mason. USA Today
"...Arguably director George Cukor's greatest movie..." 09/22/2000 p.10E

Sight and Sound
"...[Garland's] personal struggles imbue her performance as the successful partner of a failing alcoholic actor with an unnervingly raw edge..." 04/03/2003 p.61

Total Film
"[A]n accurate take on Hollywood histrionics..." 02/01/2004 p.121

Premiere
3 stars out of 4 -- "A bona-fide classic in the old Hollywood tradition. It's got glitz, glamour, boisterous musical numbers, and a tragic undertone." 06/21/2010