A Star is Born

DVD Features:

• Region 1; USA & Canada
• Snap Case
• Letterbox - 1.85
• Widescreen - 1.85
• Audio:

 Dolby Digital 5.1 - English

• Additional Release Material:

 Film Highlights
 Deleted Musical Number:
     1. "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street"
 Bonus Footage: Post-Premiere Party Highlights at the Coconut Grove
 Isolated Audio Track: September 29, 1954 Hollywood Premiere Network Telecast
 Alternate Scenes: THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY (3)
 Trailers:
     1. Original Theatrical Trailer
     2. Original Theatrical - 1937 Version
     3. Original Theatrical - 1976 Version

• Interactive Features:

 Interactive Menus
 Scene Access

• Text/Photo Galleries:

 Production Notes
 Biographies: Cast

Description by OLDIES.com:

A Star Is Born marked Judy Garland's return to movies after a four-year absence, director George Cukor's first musical and first color film, and a showcase for great Harold Arlen/Ira Gershwin songs in state-of-the-art stereo. Garland is singer Esther Blodgett, an undeniable talent on the rise. She catches the eye of Norman Maine (James Mason), an alcoholic actor in career decline. Their intense love transforms them both. Only one will survive Hollywood's slings and arrows.

Shortened after its premiere, the movie underwent one rebirth in 1983 when film historian Ronald Haver found almost all the cut sequences and supervised a reconstruction to near its original length. Its new rebirth is this digital transfer from a refurbished element, with revitalized digital audio and incorporating picture and musical material recently uncovered. Star always had a shine to it. Now watch it sparkle as never before.

Product Description:

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?

Plot Synopsis:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Essential Cinema | Love Story | Rags To Riches | Recommended | Self-Discovery | Tear Jerker | Theatrical Release

Production Notes:

• Theatrical release: September 29, 1954.
• The film was budgeted at $2.5 million but ran to $6 million.
• A STAR IS BORN was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2000.
• Cukor's model for use of color in the film was John Huston's MOULIN ROUGE.
• Cukor wanted Cary Grant to do the part of Norman Maine, an alcoholic actor whose career is declining. Cukor turned down Bogart, Brando, and Montgomery Clift.
• The Catholic Legion of Decency gave the film a Class B rating.
• A STAR IS BORN was remade for the third time in 1976 starring Barbra Streisand
  and Kris Kristofferson, directed by Frank Pierson.