'A Star is Born' is coming June 22

[Landy]

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1552...sborn1954.html

[cheez avenger]

I was reading up on some of the details--this thing was struck from a 6k transfer.

[Arkadin]

Warner continues to trounce the other major studios as far releasing quality restored older classics.
If it was a softball game it would have been stopped long ago by the "mercy" rule.
Paramount does have "The African Queen" coming next month, but that is a release that was in the planning well before bd even existed I believe.
I have yet to see any evidence that Paramount is planning any other restorations on similar classic titles.
Universal supposedly has "Psycho" coming this year, but other than that they seem completely MIA and DOA as far as their older classics on bd.
Same with Sony which just happens to own one of the best old collections in the Columbia studio holdings.
"Hey Sony did you hear, Columbia made some great movies in the 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's"?

[Arkadin]

always nice to know what the release contains--


Special features include:
Introduction
Ten additional and alternate takes
Film effects reel
Vintage featurettes:
A Report by Jack L. Warner
Huge Premiere Hails A Star Is Born Newsreel Montage
A Star Is Born Premiere in Cinemascope
Pantages Premiere TV Special
1956 WB cartoon: A Star is Bored
Trailers:
A Star Is Born (1937)
A Star Is Born (1954)
A Star Is Born (1976)
Audio Vault (audio only):
Two outtakes
Dec. 28, 1942 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast with Judy Garland and Walter Pidgeon)
Judy Garland Radio Interview
Born in a Trunk
Someone At Last – Rehearsal
Someone At Last
My Melancholy Baby
Black Bottom
Swanee
Famously reconstructed in the early eighties under the leadership of late film historian Ronald Haver, MPI has meticulously preserved and restored Haver's 176-minute version of A Star Is Born to its original luster, bringing back the brilliant, saturated colors and crisp picture. Using cutting edge digital restoration tools, MPI removed heavy chemical staining that affected several portions of the film and utilized an ultra-resolution recombine process to correct the heavily damaged sections. Without this painstaking preservation, the fragile negative stock in which the film was created would surely be near extinction.

"Our colleagues at MPI have not only done a phenomenal job in restoring the impeccable visual style of this great motion picture, but through their work, they have also ensured the survival of this cinematic treasure," said George Feltenstein, senior vice president, theatrical catalog marketing, Warner Home Video. "The unparalleled superiority of Blu-ray combined with one of the best musical dramas ever made, come together to create an unforgettable home entertainment experience that is now preserved for the ages."

A timeless story, sophisticated in the way it conveys its controversial themes, particularly considering the period of time in which it was made, A Star Is Born brought together a cadre of extraordinary talent to portray this evocative contemplation of show business. The film became such a major part of American cinematic heritage that the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

more info
http://www.tcm.com/movienews/index/?cid=297182

[cheez avenger]

Woah, they weren't fucking around when they said it would contain special features, were they.

[dbacksfan]

This is one AMAZING film! The pinnacle of Garland's career, and one of the greatest screen performances of the era. (When she lost the Best Actress Oscar to Grace Kelly, Groucho Marx sent her a telegram saying, "This is the biggest robbery since Brink's!" And he was right!!) The reconstruction is so well done. This should look spectacular!! Can't wait!!

[dmarvin]

This is a blind buy for me. Love classic musicals, love Judy Garland.

[dbacksfan]

This is a blind buy for me. Love classic musicals, love Judy Garland.

Excellent taste, my man!

[Daveland]

I am assuming that the remaining "lost" footage has not been found to be included in this bluray? So far no mention of it being reinstated.

Dave

[aquaman]

So will this be the film restored version like the last restoration, with photos placed with music and dialog to make the missing pieces? I saw it recently on FIOS as a HD presentation.

[dbacksfan]

I am assuming that the remaining "lost" footage has not been found to be included in this bluray? So far no mention of it being reinstated.

Unfortunately, the remaining dialogue footage has not yet been found. Gotta believe it's still out there somewhere, and someday we'll get to see the complete, uncut version.

[dbacksfan]

So will this be the film restored version like the last restoration, with photos placed with music and dialog to make the missing pieces? I saw it recently on FIOS as a HD presentation.

This will indeed be the exact same restoration that has been in circulation since 1983, with photos inserted over the soundtrack where visuals do not exist.

[Daveland]

It's my understanding that the entire dialogue track has been found, but that the visuals are what's missing; Haver trimmed some of the newly found dialogue bits because they didn't make much sense without the accompanying visuals.

This film would be an excellent candidate for a CGI restoration of the missing parts.

[dbacksfan]

It's my understanding that the entire dialogue track has been found, but that the visuals are what's missing; Haver trimmed some of the newly found dialogue bits because they didn't make much sense without the accompanying visuals.

You are right; the entire soundtrack has been found, although about five minutes have been trimmed from it because not enough stills could be found to fill out its entire length.

What I meant in my previous post was that the actual film footage of those dialogue scenes (what you refered to as the remaining lost footage) had not yet been "found," although I believe there has to be at least one surviving complete print out there somewhere, and hopefully someday it will see the light of day.

[Daveland]

Ever since (and even before) Haver's book, there has been talk about a lone collector who has a complete print but has been afraid to go public with it. When I saw that this movie was coming out on blu-ray, I was hopeful that finally that print had seen the light of day.