Monday, June 24, 2019

A Star is Born 1976


  John Norman Howard has seen his top rated career begin to take a slide.  He has done too many years of concerts, gone through too many managers and life on the road has taken its toll.  He’s tired of the monotony and traveling all the time.  He meets a very talented singer Esther Hoffman.  She’s none of the things he is!!  She’s fresh, innocent, pure and not worn out.  John shows Esther the way to stardom and he lets his own career stagnate.  They begin to fall in love and her success makes his decline more evident.
     There was quite a splash when this film was released but it received terrible reviews?  The soundtrack was a smash hit and Barbra and Kris have good chemistry together.  Barbra is at the top of her game in her singing and her voice is rich, confident and her live performances are classics.  Kris is more vulnerable in his role.  The plot is very close to the same as the 2018 release.  The songs are different, the time period is different and I don’t think this film is as good as the 2018 film.  3* (This movie is OK)  

139 min, Drama directed by Frank Pierson with Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson, Gary Busey, Oliver Clark, Venetta Fields, Clydie King Marta Heflin, M.G. Kelly, Sally Kirkland, Uncle Rudy, Paul Mazursky, Stephen Bruton, Sammy Lee Creason, Cleve Dupin.

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10, Roger Ebert 2 ½*, Metacritic 59 out of 100 with 9 critics 4.7 out of 10 with 11 user scores, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 1382 reviews.

Special Note:  I watched this film on a newer release DVD from 2005.  Filmed on Empire Ranch, Sonoita; Music Hall Tucson Community Center; Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe; Pima County Courthouse, Tucson; Old Tucson; Downtown Tucson; Grady Gammage Auditorium, Tempe; Sonita, Tucson, Tempe, Arizona.  Warner Brothers Burbank Studios, Burbank, California.

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