This film earns my appreciation for several reasons. One, it's very different from the usual film musicals of the period; Singin' in the Rain and The Band Wagon come to mind. Musicals such as these have their merit in their own right, but ASIB (as fans refer to it) is a much more serious film, dealing with success versus failure, love and marriage, sincerity versus the false glamour of Hollywood, and even suicide. Such hard, "cold" topics were rarely seen in films of the 1950s, and even less so in musicals.
Secondly, the music is fantastic. Songs like "A New World", "Someone at Last", and of course "The Man That Got Away" do not readily leave your memory -- they're catchy, well-written, and a joy to listen to. Not to mention the hair-raising, goosebump-inducing notes Judy cries out in "Born in a Trunk" (I - DAAAAAAAA - HOOOOOO!) If you do not get chills when hearing that, you have no soul.
Lastly, the film is just beautiful, especially the cinematography. Sure it has little skips and continuity mistakes, but what film doesn't? Gone With the Wind has hundreds! And Judy?
Well, Judy is just Judy. Perfection.
All of these factors come together perfectly, and despite containing some serious topics, A Star is Born remains a magical and captivating film and even the history and its restoration in 1983 support this.
While listening to the soundtrack of the memorable film a few days ago, I got to thinking about the restoration, and how a documentary has never been made about the history, production, and resurfacing of the missing material. Brainstorming and thought work began to come into play, and an idea sprouted in my mind.
In the meantime, as Judy would say, sing the day away!!
Secondly, the music is fantastic. Songs like "A New World", "Someone at Last", and of course "The Man That Got Away" do not readily leave your memory -- they're catchy, well-written, and a joy to listen to. Not to mention the hair-raising, goosebump-inducing notes Judy cries out in "Born in a Trunk" (I - DAAAAAAAA - HOOOOOO!) If you do not get chills when hearing that, you have no soul.
Lastly, the film is just beautiful, especially the cinematography. Sure it has little skips and continuity mistakes, but what film doesn't? Gone With the Wind has hundreds! And Judy?Well, Judy is just Judy. Perfection.
All of these factors come together perfectly, and despite containing some serious topics, A Star is Born remains a magical and captivating film and even the history and its restoration in 1983 support this.
While listening to the soundtrack of the memorable film a few days ago, I got to thinking about the restoration, and how a documentary has never been made about the history, production, and resurfacing of the missing material. Brainstorming and thought work began to come into play, and an idea sprouted in my mind.
Suppose I make a documentary in honor of this movie?
For the last few days I've been sorting out the content of the feature, and I've already started making the video itself, and at this point, I am realizing just how hard and expansive it really is!! I'm hoping to get my hands on a copy of Ron Haver's book on the 1983 restoration, but I'm a bit scant on money right now. Christmas, maybe?
Anyhow, this will be my big "Judy project" for the year -- I'm hoping to make this as thorough and as professional as possible, and I want it to be accurate and enjoyable for fellow fans out there! If all goes well and YouTube doesn't get copyright happy, I'll try to post it up and share with everyone. If not, well ... we'll figure something out.In the meantime, as Judy would say, sing the day away!!
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