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A Star Is Born (1976) DVD Review
A Star Is Born (1976) DVD Credits:
A Star Is Born (1976) Directed by:
Frank Pierson
A Star Is Born (1976) Written by:
John Gregory Dunne, Joan Didion, Frank Pierson
A Star Is Born (1976) Cast:
Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson, Gary Busey, Oliver Clark, Sally Kirkland, Paul Mazursky
A Star Is Born (1976) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
A Star Is Born (1976) DVD Release Date:
28th November 2006
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A Star Is Born (1976) Synopsis:

This film actually began with the idea of remaking A Star Is Born with the then-hot couple James Taylor and Carly Simon. Eventually, it evolved into this vanity production for Barbra Streisand, with Kris Kristofferson as the designated stud muffin. The story remains the same: A superstar on the decline meets a young singer on the way up. They marry as their career trajectories intersect, and his eventual demise is meant as a sacrifice to further boost her career by ridding her of the burden of him. Kristofferson's rock & roll numbers are decidedly lousy--Hollywood's idea of rock music--and Streisand looks good and always sounds fine (she won an Oscar for cowriting the song "Evergreen"). But you can feel her heavy hand guiding every shot; she seems to serve as puppet master for director Frank Pierson, framing every image of herself for maximum glow.

A Star Is Born (1976) DVD Review:

Remakes may plague the box office these days, but it has been a nuisance for nearly the entire existence of cinema. The first version of A Star is Born was made in 1937 and it was made again in 1954 starring Judy Garland. When Barbara Streisand decided to remake this classic for the second time she took it upon herself to change the story to fit her abilities. Although the first two films had followed the relationship between a declining movie star and one just rising in popularity, Streisand changed it to musicians, seemingly to showcase her new hit song. Even Kris Kristofferson is unable to save this cheaply melodramatic film in which Streisand tries desperately to appear far more hip than she is capable of.

When a huge rock star (Kristofferson) who is losing interest in anything other than drugs and alcohol stumbles into a dive club after a show, he catches a hip singing act (Streisand). Not only is she talented, but she also doesn’t take any crap from him despite his celebrity, so she catches his eye. He asks her on a date, takes her to a concert, and they begin a relationship. As he dates her she has many opportunities opened to her and before long she is far more successful than he ever was. This causes problems in their relationship and in her career, but she loves him and endures the drama. Fans of Streisand are more likely to endure the drama as well if thy enjoy her music, otherwise it would be much more advisable to watch either one of the other versions.

The DVD release of the classic cornball seventies melodrama comes with a trailer gallery, deleted scenes and wardrobe tests, but the highlight is the commentary by Streisand. She is in the spotlight in the commentary, just as she seems to prefer, and the stories are inconsistently entertaining. Mostly it is the same as the rest of the DVD; if you like Streisand then that is your only chance for liking anything on the DVD

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A Star Is Born (1976) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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