When director
George Cukor made A Star is Born in 1954, it was his first musical and first
full-color feature. The remake of 1937 classic was an undertaking which would
reach epic scales. He knew that the film was too long at 181 minutes, and
suggested to the studio that he could shave about twenty minutes if needed.
Instead, the studio decided to release the film in its entirety. Had they
simply allowed Cukor to make the cuts himself, film history might have been
changed. Instead, after a poor opening, the studio rushed an editing job of the
film which cut 30-minutes out of the film. Many blame this decision as the
cause of Judy Garland’s loss at the 1955 Academy Award ceremony.
In the early 80s
much of the footage from the original cut was restored. Although there is still
five minutes missing, and some of the scenes are dialogue and production
photos, but no footage remains of the scene. This Deluxe Edition DVD includes
the restored version of the film, split onto two parts on a double-sided disc.
There is also a second disc with over four hours of special features. A Star is
Born is a film with a fan base that remains over fifty years later, and the
previously unseen deleted scenes and alternate shots/sequences won’t disappoint
fans.
The story
follows the rise to success of Esther Blodgett (Garland Garland
Entertainment Value:
7.5/10
Quality of Filmmaking:
8/10
Historical
Significance: 9/10
Disc Features: 7/10
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