Team Experience is revisiting nine Judy Garland movies for her Centennial. Here's Cláudio Alves on the star's first Oscar nomination.
A Star Is Born is Hollywood's favorite legend about itself, a mythic middle point between propaganda and self-critique filmed four different times from the 1930s to the 2010s. Five, if one considers George Cukor's What Price Hollywood? since that was likely the basis for the '37 version. Though flexible, the story remains mostly unchanged throughout its interpretations. Norman Maine, an alcoholic star on the decline, meets Esther Blodgett and immediately falls in love, with the woman and her undeniable talent. Opening doors for her in the entertainment industry, he watches as she's rebaptized Vicki Lester and rises to the top, far surpassing him. After their wedding and an awards night, whereupon Norman ruins Vicki's moment, she considers giving up her career to take care of him. Realizing this, he kills himself,...
A Star Is Born is Hollywood's favorite legend about itself, a mythic middle point between propaganda and self-critique filmed four different times from the 1930s to the 2010s. Five, if one considers George Cukor's What Price Hollywood? since that was likely the basis for the '37 version. Though flexible, the story remains mostly unchanged throughout its interpretations. Norman Maine, an alcoholic star on the decline, meets Esther Blodgett and immediately falls in love, with the woman and her undeniable talent. Opening doors for her in the entertainment industry, he watches as she's rebaptized Vicki Lester and rises to the top, far surpassing him. After their wedding and an awards night, whereupon Norman ruins Vicki's moment, she considers giving up her career to take care of him. Realizing this, he kills himself,...
- 6/8/2022
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
The three musical remakes of a “A Star is Born” have regretfully overshadowed William A. Wellman’s 1937 original version. But a new 4K restoration from the original nitrate three-strip Technicolor camera negative is a revelation vividly illustrating that the first version of the heartbreaking tale of the up-and-coming actress marrying a fading star losing his battle with alcoholism is a masterpiece. As exhilarating as the musical versions with Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and Lady Gaga belting out such tunes as “The Man Who Got Away,” “Evergreen” and “Shallow,” the original proves that sometimes simpler is better.
Warner Archive recently released the Blu-ray of this new restoration and the TCM Classic Film Festival presents its theatrical premiere on April 21. Produced by David O. Selznick, who was the executive producer of an earlier version of the Hollywood story, 1932’s “What Price Hollywood?,” the 1937 drama was one of the first three-strip Technicolor films produced by Hollywood.
Warner Archive recently released the Blu-ray of this new restoration and the TCM Classic Film Festival presents its theatrical premiere on April 21. Produced by David O. Selznick, who was the executive producer of an earlier version of the Hollywood story, 1932’s “What Price Hollywood?,” the 1937 drama was one of the first three-strip Technicolor films produced by Hollywood.
- 4/20/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
They’ve hit us with three remakes of this one, one about another actress and two about music stars — maybe the next will be about a TikTok star. Thanks to an unexpected full digital restoration from original Technicolor elements, this 1937 original once again plays like a winner. Silent legend Janet Gaynor is Esther Blodgett, soon to become the famous Vicki Lester. Fredric March gives one of his best performances as a matinee idol running his career into the ground with drink. David O. Selznick’s classy production takes some cynical jabs at The Biz yet characterizes Adolph Menjou’s producer as an all-wise, all-forgiving saint. The Wac adds great extras in full HD — a swing musical short and a sarcastic Merrie Melodie cartoon that spoofs the main feature.
A Star is Born (1937)
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1937 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 111 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date March 29, 2022 / 21.99
Starring: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March,...
A Star is Born (1937)
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1937 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 111 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date March 29, 2022 / 21.99
Starring: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March,...
- 3/19/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
” His work is beginning to interfere with his drinking.”
Janet Gaynor and Frederick March in A Star Is Born (1937)-Restored Edition will be available on Blu-ray March 29th from Warner Archive. It can be ordered at the Warner Archive store Here
Producer David O. Selznick turned his attention to Hollywood with this 1937 original classic directed by William A. Wellman. Its Academy Award-winning screenplay co-written by Dorothy Parker tells the story of hopeful, young would-be actress Esther Blodgett (Academy Award winner Janet Gaynor) whose career is launched by movie star Norman Maine (Academy Award winner Fredric March), who also wins the young actress’ heart. Esther becomes leading lady Vicki Lester and Mrs. Norman Maine, but as Maine’s career flounders, he sinks into an abyss of alcoholism. Esther chooses to sacrifice her stardom to care for her husband, but he will not allow Esther to abandon her dreams for him. Remade three times in years ahead,...
Janet Gaynor and Frederick March in A Star Is Born (1937)-Restored Edition will be available on Blu-ray March 29th from Warner Archive. It can be ordered at the Warner Archive store Here
Producer David O. Selznick turned his attention to Hollywood with this 1937 original classic directed by William A. Wellman. Its Academy Award-winning screenplay co-written by Dorothy Parker tells the story of hopeful, young would-be actress Esther Blodgett (Academy Award winner Janet Gaynor) whose career is launched by movie star Norman Maine (Academy Award winner Fredric March), who also wins the young actress’ heart. Esther becomes leading lady Vicki Lester and Mrs. Norman Maine, but as Maine’s career flounders, he sinks into an abyss of alcoholism. Esther chooses to sacrifice her stardom to care for her husband, but he will not allow Esther to abandon her dreams for him. Remade three times in years ahead,...
- 3/7/2022
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Every Academy Awards season provides a little slice of history, but more Oscar records could fall with Tuesday’s announcement of the nominations. Here are some of the landmarks that could conceivably be reached:
• If Kenneth Branagh is nominated for both Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for “Belfast,” he’ll break the record for nominations in the largest number of different categories. Branagh has previously been nominated in five different categories: Best Actor (“Henry V”), Best Supporting Actor (“My Week With Marilyn”), Best Director (“Henry V”), Best Adapted Screenplay (“Hamlet”) and Best Live Action Short (“Swan Song”). George Clooney, Alfonso Cuarón and Walt Disney have all been nominated in six different categories.
• If Jane Campion is nominated for Best Director for “The Power of the Dog,” she’ll become the first woman ever nominated twice in the category. (She was previously nominated for 1993’s “The Piano.”)
• If “The Power of the Dog,...
• If Kenneth Branagh is nominated for both Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for “Belfast,” he’ll break the record for nominations in the largest number of different categories. Branagh has previously been nominated in five different categories: Best Actor (“Henry V”), Best Supporting Actor (“My Week With Marilyn”), Best Director (“Henry V”), Best Adapted Screenplay (“Hamlet”) and Best Live Action Short (“Swan Song”). George Clooney, Alfonso Cuarón and Walt Disney have all been nominated in six different categories.
• If Jane Campion is nominated for Best Director for “The Power of the Dog,” she’ll become the first woman ever nominated twice in the category. (She was previously nominated for 1993’s “The Piano.”)
• If “The Power of the Dog,...
- 2/7/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
1. “A Star is Born” (1954)
Why Should I Watch? If the Lady Gaga-starring remake from 2018 did anything, it was to show us the power of the “Star is Born” narrative – and if you’re going to watch any of them why not watch the best? Judy Garland stars in her what-should-have-been Oscar-winning role as Esther Blodgett, a woman whose rise to fame comes at the expense of her husband, Norman Main (played by James Mason). Outside of this being a career best for both Garland and Mason, the movie has an added power if you know anything about Garland’s history. The scene wherein Esther details her feelings about Norman’s alcoholism is a gut punch every time, especially as it’s easy to hear it as Garland talking about herself. Laugh, sing, and cry with “A Star is Born” on March 2.
2. “North By Northwest” (1959)
Why Should I Watch? One...
Why Should I Watch? If the Lady Gaga-starring remake from 2018 did anything, it was to show us the power of the “Star is Born” narrative – and if you’re going to watch any of them why not watch the best? Judy Garland stars in her what-should-have-been Oscar-winning role as Esther Blodgett, a woman whose rise to fame comes at the expense of her husband, Norman Main (played by James Mason). Outside of this being a career best for both Garland and Mason, the movie has an added power if you know anything about Garland’s history. The scene wherein Esther details her feelings about Norman’s alcoholism is a gut punch every time, especially as it’s easy to hear it as Garland talking about herself. Laugh, sing, and cry with “A Star is Born” on March 2.
2. “North By Northwest” (1959)
Why Should I Watch? One...
- 3/2/2021
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
While longer Best Actress-nominated performances are rarer than ones contending for Best Actor, there has been a significant amount of them over 92 years. Indeed, 44 have surpassed 90 minutes of screen time, and the overall longest nominated performance of all time comes from this category. Here is a look at the 10 longest ever nominated for the award:
10. Rosalind Russell (“Auntie Mame”)
1 hour, 48 minutes, 23 seconds (75.59% of the film)
Over the course of 16 years, Russell competed for the Best Actress Oscar four times, and her final bid was for playing an eccentric socialite who is tasked with raising her nephew. All four of her nominations were for relatively long performances, averaging one hour, 30 minutes, and 42 seconds and over 71%. She never won, and lost in 1959 to Susan Hayward, who was on her fifth and final nomination for her one-hour, 15-minute, and 26-second performance in “I Want to Live!”.
9. Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”)
1 hour, 49 minutes, 55 seconds (83.87% of...
10. Rosalind Russell (“Auntie Mame”)
1 hour, 48 minutes, 23 seconds (75.59% of the film)
Over the course of 16 years, Russell competed for the Best Actress Oscar four times, and her final bid was for playing an eccentric socialite who is tasked with raising her nephew. All four of her nominations were for relatively long performances, averaging one hour, 30 minutes, and 42 seconds and over 71%. She never won, and lost in 1959 to Susan Hayward, who was on her fifth and final nomination for her one-hour, 15-minute, and 26-second performance in “I Want to Live!”.
9. Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”)
1 hour, 49 minutes, 55 seconds (83.87% of...
- 1/31/2021
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
One of the last Best Actress Oscar contenders hoping to sing her way into the field of five nominees is Andra Day in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” The Grammy-nominated songstress could become the latest big-screen newcomer to land an Oscar nomination, but she wouldn’t be the first to be recognized for lighting up the screen as the jazz legend known as Lady Day. Diana Ross famously made her film debut with an Oscar-nominated portrayal of Holiday in “Lady Sings the Blues” (1972). Should Day get a nom as well, it would mark the fifth time one character has produced multiple Best Actress nominations for different films.
Ross’ performance earned her a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer, but she would go on to lose the Oscar to another diva, Liza Minnelli in “Cabaret.” “Lady Sings the Blues” was a traditional biopic about Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth...
Ross’ performance earned her a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer, but she would go on to lose the Oscar to another diva, Liza Minnelli in “Cabaret.” “Lady Sings the Blues” was a traditional biopic about Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth...
- 1/30/2021
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
We weren’t surprised that Bradley Cooper‘s remake of “A Star is Born” lost seven of its eight races at the Academy Awards. After all, there is an Oscar curse on this classic tale of Hollywood. The first three versions of “A Star is Born” earned 17 nominations but won just two. The original 1937 film claimed the screenplay award while the 1976 musical remake won Best Original Song (“Evergreen”) for its leading lady, Barbra Streisand. She was the first female composer to win this Oscar; Lady Gaga became the 11th when she won for “Shallow.”
Let’s take a closer look to see how each of the four films fared at the Oscars.
2018 version
Cooper cast Lady Gaga in her first starring role. Reviews for the film were ecstatic praising the first-time helmer and his leading lady. It was the early frontrunner to sweep the Oscars and earned bids from 12 of...
Let’s take a closer look to see how each of the four films fared at the Oscars.
2018 version
Cooper cast Lady Gaga in her first starring role. Reviews for the film were ecstatic praising the first-time helmer and his leading lady. It was the early frontrunner to sweep the Oscars and earned bids from 12 of...
- 2/25/2019
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Bradley Cooper‘s remake of “A Star is Born” has reaped bids with 12 of the 13 guilds that hand out awards but has yet to win with any of the six heard from so far. Cooper was widely expected to take home the Best First-Time Director prize at the DGA Awards on Feb. 2 but he lost that race to Bo Burnham (“Eighth Grade”). Is this losing streak a sign of things to come at the Academy Awards where it contends in eight categories?
It could well be. There is an Oscar curse on this classic tale of Hollywood. In all, the first three versions of “A Star is Born” earned 17 nominations but won just two. The original 1937 film claimed the screenplay award while the 1976 musical remake won Best Original Song (“Evergreen”) for its leading lady, Barbra Streisand. She was the first female composer to win this Oscar; Lady Gaga would be...
It could well be. There is an Oscar curse on this classic tale of Hollywood. In all, the first three versions of “A Star is Born” earned 17 nominations but won just two. The original 1937 film claimed the screenplay award while the 1976 musical remake won Best Original Song (“Evergreen”) for its leading lady, Barbra Streisand. She was the first female composer to win this Oscar; Lady Gaga would be...
- 2/4/2019
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Bradley Cooper‘s remake of “A Star is Born” underperformed at Sunday’s Golden Globes winning just one of its five races: Lady Gaga shared in the prize for Best Original Song (“Shallow”). Could these shocking losses be a sign of things to come at the Oscars? Is there a curse on this classic tale of Hollywood?
Let’s take a look back at the results of how each of the first three versions of “A Star is Born” fared at the Academy Awards. Between them, they reaped 17 nominations but won just two. The original 1937 edition claimed the screenplay award while the 1976 musical remake won Best Original Song (“Evergreen”) for its star, Barbra Streisand. She was the first female composer to win this Oscar; Lady Gaga would be the 11th.
1937 version
This was a straight drama and was a loose retelling of the 1932 flick “What Price Hollywood.” It starred two...
Let’s take a look back at the results of how each of the first three versions of “A Star is Born” fared at the Academy Awards. Between them, they reaped 17 nominations but won just two. The original 1937 edition claimed the screenplay award while the 1976 musical remake won Best Original Song (“Evergreen”) for its star, Barbra Streisand. She was the first female composer to win this Oscar; Lady Gaga would be the 11th.
1937 version
This was a straight drama and was a loose retelling of the 1932 flick “What Price Hollywood.” It starred two...
- 1/7/2019
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
[Editor’s note: The following post contains spoilers for “A Star Is Born.”]
Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” ends as all iterations of the classic love story end: The male star takes his own life so the skyrocketing career of the woman he loves won’t suffer from his personal issues. Cooper stuck to the basic template originally used by William A. Wellman and his co-screenwriters for the 1937 version of “A Star Is Born,” but the director originally intended to be much more faithful to the first movie, starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March.
As part of Variety’s Lady Gaga cover story, Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich revealed the first script he read for Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” ended the same way Wellman’s original did. The 1937 film ends with March’s Norman Maine taking his life by drowning himself in the Pacific Ocean. The new film, written by Cooper, Eric Roth,...
Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” ends as all iterations of the classic love story end: The male star takes his own life so the skyrocketing career of the woman he loves won’t suffer from his personal issues. Cooper stuck to the basic template originally used by William A. Wellman and his co-screenwriters for the 1937 version of “A Star Is Born,” but the director originally intended to be much more faithful to the first movie, starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March.
As part of Variety’s Lady Gaga cover story, Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich revealed the first script he read for Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” ended the same way Wellman’s original did. The 1937 film ends with March’s Norman Maine taking his life by drowning himself in the Pacific Ocean. The new film, written by Cooper, Eric Roth,...
- 11/14/2018
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
It is criminal to think that Judy Garland’s lone Best Actress Oscar nomination was for 1954’s “A Star Is Born.” She was on the comeback trail at the time, having been released from her MGM contract four years before. Her embodiment of rising star Esther Blodgett opposite James Mason, nominated as washed-up actor Norman Maine, was considered the apex of her career. When the Oscar went to Grace Kelly in the mostly now-forgotten “The Country Girl,” no less than Groucho Marx called it, “the biggest robbery since Brink’s.”
Why did Garland lose? Tom O’Neil, the Jockey-in-Chief of Gold Derby, tipped me off. She didn’t have a cathartic final song that followed her declaration to the crowd, as she mourned her husband, that she was “Mrs. Norman Maine.” In contrast, Barbra Streisand, whose 1976 version is a pale imitation, at least knew to include a final ballad — “With...
Why did Garland lose? Tom O’Neil, the Jockey-in-Chief of Gold Derby, tipped me off. She didn’t have a cathartic final song that followed her declaration to the crowd, as she mourned her husband, that she was “Mrs. Norman Maine.” In contrast, Barbra Streisand, whose 1976 version is a pale imitation, at least knew to include a final ballad — “With...
- 11/1/2018
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
It is criminal to think that Judy Garland’s lone Best Actress Oscar nomination was for 1954’s “A Star Is Born.” She was on the comeback trail at the time, having been released from her MGM contract four years before. Her embodiment of rising star Esther Blodgett opposite James Mason, nominated as washed-up actor Norman Maine, was considered the apex of her career. When the Oscar went to Grace Kelly in the mostly now-forgotten “The Country Girl,” no less than Groucho Marx called it, “the biggest robbery since Brink’s.”
Why did Garland lose? Tom O’Neil, the Jockey-in-Chief of Gold Derby, tipped me off. She didn’t have a cathartic final song that followed her declaration to the crowd, as she mourned her husband, that she was “Mrs. Norman Maine.” In contrast, Barbra Streisand, whose 1976 version is a pale imitation, at least knew to include a final ballad — “With...
Why did Garland lose? Tom O’Neil, the Jockey-in-Chief of Gold Derby, tipped me off. She didn’t have a cathartic final song that followed her declaration to the crowd, as she mourned her husband, that she was “Mrs. Norman Maine.” In contrast, Barbra Streisand, whose 1976 version is a pale imitation, at least knew to include a final ballad — “With...
- 10/31/2018
- by Susan Wloszczyna, Misty Holland and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Frank Pierson's 1976 A Star Is BornLate in the night, early into their tumultuous romance, Kris Kristofferson’s John Norman Howard rescues Barbra Streisand’s Esther Hoffman from a crowd of fans and sycophants she’s just floored with a breath-taking rendition of "The Woman in The Moon" and "I Believe in Love." It’s a pivotal juncture that marks Esther’s ascent to fame, her star finally welcomed into the entertainment industry. Hands on the wheel of a roaring Ferrari, Kristofferson gives Streisand a proud smile, then looks at the city’s skyline and drives away: “it’s all yours baby, everything you want—your own piece of the American Dream.”Frank Pierson’s is the first version of A Star is Born to make explicit reference to the myth that underpins an eight-decades-old series of remakes. To be sure, the American Dream lingers all throughout the first two installments,...
- 10/18/2018
- MUBI
Stop us if you’ve heard this one several times before: There’s this gentleman who’s in the business of show. He’s famous, established, king of his hill, top of his respective heap — could be the moving pictures, could be good ol’ arena rock & roll. Once upon a time, fame was enough to sustain him. Now, he just wants to disappear down a bottle or a pill-popping bender. But this Great Man, he still has an eye from fresh talent, so when he sees a young female performer — one with the goods,...
- 10/8/2018
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Hollywood’s allure, insatiable ambition, and the price of fame are at the center of one of the most oft-told stories in show-biz history: “A Star Is Born.” The latest edition, with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, is the fourth to be made, and the third to be music-centric. Variety has already written many articles about that one, which is released today — read Owen Gleiberman’s review here — but how do the previous renditions stack up?
1937
Producer David O. Selznick’s original rendering won Oscars for its cinematography and its original story. While the story was written by director William A. Wellman and novelist Robert Carson, many of its sharpest and most cutting lines are believed to have been penned by famed writer Dorothy Parker and husband Alan Campbell (who were nominated in a separate Oscar category but didn’t win).
Janet Gaynor played Esther Blodgett-turned-Vicki Lester, a starry-eyed...
1937
Producer David O. Selznick’s original rendering won Oscars for its cinematography and its original story. While the story was written by director William A. Wellman and novelist Robert Carson, many of its sharpest and most cutting lines are believed to have been penned by famed writer Dorothy Parker and husband Alan Campbell (who were nominated in a separate Oscar category but didn’t win).
Janet Gaynor played Esther Blodgett-turned-Vicki Lester, a starry-eyed...
- 10/5/2018
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
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