A Star Is Born

Beautiful restoration
The historical 1937 film A STAR IS BORN has remained a classic for many many years. This film's merits are many, I need not comment on them, but will make a comment on the cast. While the entire cast is outstanding, the real standout is Janet Gaynor who portrays Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester in such a way that you can connect with her and feel her sincerity on a level that you cannot with Judy Garland in the 1954 version (and the less said about the 1970s Barbra Streisand version the better). The rest of the performances in this film are super.

This film, produced by the late great David O. Selznick and released through United Artists, is currently in the public domain and many of the numerous DVDs/VHSs of such films are of deplorable picture and sound quality. Fortunately, it is not so on this DVD release from Image. The colors are extremely bold and vibrant. There are some age-related artifacts present and graininess is visible in a number of places, however this has...

WHERE IS THE UCLA RESTORED PRINT???
As with other fans of this classic film, I am greatly disappointed that KINO'S latest offering is not much of an improvement over previous KINO DVD releases of the film. While the IMAGE/KINO DVDs in 1998 and 2004 were at that time a marked improvement over the myriad of public domain travesties, the elements utilized for this release are only marginally better, despite the HD processing. This is also particularly disappointing when the film's fan base is aware that a restored print (by UCLA) exists.

According to a March, 2010 blog-post by NY POST film critic Lou Lumenick, he said, "Daniel Selznick, son of producer David O. Selznick, told me two years ago that WHV was doing a high-definition transfer of a UCLA restoration of the 1937 original, which has long languished in public-domain hell." Lumenick also quoted a Warner rep as saying, "When we looked at the master of the '37 'A Star is Born,' we realized that it really needed, more importantly, deserved a special...

Another "Rolls-Royce" from Selznick
Much has been written about this 1937 film in regard to its story, characters etc. The word "classic" tends to be over-used but it IS a true "classic": the drama and the comedy haven't dated one bit. My main interest in this particular movie however is that it was the first Hollywood film with a contemporary plot to be filmed in the relatively new three-strip Technicolor process. Producer David Selznick's business partner Jock Whitney, a millionaire from New York who was interested in motion pictures, had a stake in the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation. This film was used as part of a showcase for the stunning new process. It is a Technicolor Timecapsule of 1930s Hollywood. Before I purchased this DVD copy of the film (King Video/Image Entertainment), every other version I'd seen (on VHS) was from a positively awful old print, with faded colour and no sharpness or contrast. I am pleased to say the DVD quality is very good, with pleasant colour. The source...

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