A Star is Born Movie Review

I finally got to see A Star is Born with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. You may or may not know but this is the third remake.  I have seen them all. Here my brief thoughts for each of these films.

The 1937 A Star is Born.  This is sadly not a musical. It shows the struggle of life during the 30s. It showed the sadness of Hollywood. It isn't a musical. It is technicolor. The characters were thought out and made you feel for each one, but at times it was boring.

Janet Gaynor played Esther Victoria Blodgett- aka Vicki Lester.
Fredric March played Norman Main

Logline: A young woman comes to Hollywood with dreams of stardom, but achieves them only with the help of an alcoholic leading man whose best days are behind him.

The 1954 A Star is Born with Judy Garland is my favorite version. Why? Who doesn't love Judy Garland's voice? The music was beautiful, but then anything Judy sings is amazing. Judy puts so much heart and emotion into her character.  This version doesn't have any sex, nudity, and swearing.  I think this is one reason why I love this movie because I still felt how much Vicki (Judy Garland) and Norman Maine (James Mason) love each other without seeing all the sex and nudity.  The pacing was so much better than the other versions. It didn't feel like it was dragging. The musical numbers were grand and very visually beautiful.  The ending was a lot better as well. Spoil alert - He dies by drowning in the ocean and you see the newspaper with the title of "Accidental Drowning". 

Logline: A film star helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career on a downward spiral. 

The 1976 A Star is Born I feel is so boring.  Sorry, Barbara Streisand.  She sang great. Some of my favorite songs from this version are Evergreen and I believe in love.   The storyline was extremely slow and I didn't care about either of the characters. I believe it is because I didn't see the chemistry between Esther Hoffman (Barbara Streisand) and John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson). I have tried so many times to watch the whole movie but just can't do it.

Logline- A has-been rock star falls in love with a young, up-and-coming songstress

The 2018 A Star is Born however would have been a flop without Lady Gaga. The music was incredible. I never knew Bradley Cooper could sing. All the songs moved the story forward  However the movie itself wasn't the greatest.  It had too many sex scenes and bathroom scenes as well as starring into each other eyes for too long. If they trimmed some of those things it would have flowed better. Ally (Lady Gaga) and Jack (Bradley Cooper) had depth and background. Unlike the other three, A Star is Born you felt emotions towards both of them. Jack (Bradley Cooper) wasn't abusive.  The writer helped you understand why Jack was the way he was. It was also kinder to mental health problems. It is explained having a drug and alcholol problem is a disease where the other movies don't do that. They make it seem like the person is just a mental case.  Not only did I feel sorry for Ally (Lady Gaga) but I also felt sorry for Jack (Bradley Cooper).  I also love how they put a Judy Garland song in the film. 

Logline: A musician helps a young singer find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral. 

I would give:

A Star is Born 1937 version 3 out 5 stars. 

A Star is Born 1954 version a 5 out of 5 stars

A Star is Born 1976 version a 2 out of 5 stars. 

A Star is Born 2018 version a 4 out of 5 stars.