A Star Is Born (1976)
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- 2 min read
It all comes down to the music in the 1976 remake of A STAR IS BORN starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.
This was one of Barbra's first efforts as producer/actress and she and then boyfriend (and hairdresser) Jon Peters throw it all at the screen in their version of the oft-told story of a rising and a falling star in love.
Kristofferson oozes rock star charisma as John Norman Howard, hit maker, alcoholic and wild man. After a drunken, angry concert one night, he stumbles into a local bar and sees Esther Hoffman (Streisand) and immediately falls for her.
They soon become a couple and as he fosters her career, she rises quickly to stardom, while he descends deeper into his self destructive addictions.
It was surprising to me how good these two are together in the film, they have real chemistry. Kristofferson is much better than I remembered him being in the role and brings real authenticity (and some real upper range straining) to the concert scenes.
There are some pretty goofy, dated scenes, understandable after FIFTY years, but the film holds up better than expected, especially during the songs.
Streisand is a huge movie star for a reason and when her Esther is on stage singing her first surprise concert, in the studio singing huge hit EVERGREEN or in the film's final moments, she takes the film to another level. The scene with her recording Evergreen in the studio was filmed in one take, live. She's fantastic.
Barbra famously wanted Elvis to play the Kristofferson role in the film. It would have been his first movie since 1969 and an amazing comeback. Presley was very interested, but his manager Colonel Parker famously turned it down because Streisand didn't come to him first. It's fascinating to think how this role could have turned Elvis's career in a different trajectory than the one that lead to his death the following year.
About 25 minutes into the film, Esther and John helicopter into a massive outdoor concert, which was staged at ASU Sun Devil Stadium, providing us some surreal moments of seeing the stadium in it's mid seventies form, packed with 47,000 fans. My brother Mark actually attended the all-day concert that was staged starring Peter Frampton, Santana and Montrose, gathering the crowd you see in the film. Phoenix natives will also see plenty of scenes shot at Gammage and at the old Ramada Inn down on Van Buren. Look for a young Gary Busey as John's road manager.
Film sound trivia buffs: this 1976 film was the very first to be in Dolby Surround sound, before this movie there were never separate tracks that placed sound behind the audience. In the new Anniversary edition BLU RAY with DTS master audio, the songs sound better than ever.
A STAR IS BORN is definitely a vanity vehicle for Streisand, but when she takes center stage, she makes the film sing to a very enjoyable A-.
It was surpassed in 2018 by the far superior Bradley Cooper/ Lady Gaga version that brillianty brought the story to another generation.
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