A Star Is Born (1976)

I finally watched the 1976 version of A Star is Born on Netflix. I was a teen when it came out and Streisand & Kristofferson were about as far from Rock and Roll as I could imagine at the time, so I had no interest in seeing it (for decades). But since it wasn't going to cost me anything, and since I have a love of the "so bad it's good" genre of film--especially when it's a big budget studio movie--I decided to give it a chance. The movie was both better and worse than I'd expected. The acting and filming of it was better than expected (as I alluded to before, I had REALLY low expectations). But the SONGS! The songs were SO MUCH WORSE than I could have ever imagined! Kristofferson is apparently supposed to be a Dylan-like figure, but his "deep" tunes are like bad junior high poetry. And they are very poorly suited to his limited vocal talents. They would have done much better to just let the man sing his own classics his own way. Thousands of people are filling stadia to see this guy? Ha. And Streisand's songs are just as ludicrous, filled with stupid lyrics sung to equally idiotically childish tunes. Their dumbness levels rival songs from old Elvis movies like "Do the Clam," except they are not catchy and fun. The only good song is the Oscar winning "Evergreen." If you're into MOR ballads. Anyway, it just boggles the mind that these tunes got the go-ahead. BUT if it didn't have the horrible songs, would the movie be "so bad it's good"? Nah, it'd just be another lame movie, probably.

I was fully expecting to dislike this version of A Star Is Born, since I'd already seen the 1954 version and loved it. I'd also already seen the 1937 original, and while it wasn't as good as the remake, I still appreciated it. My mom said she couldn't stand the 1976 version, and we usually have pretty similar taste, especially when it comes to musicals. Surprise, surprise, I loved it.The reason I was able to enjoy A Star Is Born so much is because I pretended it was a completely different movie. If you've seen either of the two earlier versions and expect a traditional remake, you'll probably hate it. John Gregory Dunne, Joan Didion, and Frank Pierson may have based their concept on a previous story, but they've written a completely different script. So, for the purpose of telling you my thoughts on the film, I won't compare it at all to the Judy Garland version.Kris Kristofferson might be the only person in the world who can pull off a bearded, '70s look while still coming across as hygienic. It doesn't make sense that I think he's wildly attractive, since I usually hate that look, but I was in heaven with the amount of eye candy in this movie. Perfectly cast as a popular rock star, he starts the movie past his peak. He drinks, snorts cocaine, forgets his lyrics onstage, and performs outrageous, life-threatening stunts. He chances upon Barbra Streisand singing in a nightclub and is so impressed with her talent, he propels her to stardom. And of course, they fall in love.I really am surprised by how much I liked this movie, since so much of it isn't usually my cup of tea. The 1970s isn't my favorite decade, and I usually find the clothes and hairstyles irritating. With exception to two of the plentiful songs in the movie, I didn't really like the music. Barbra Streisand's character has plenty of bite to her, which I don't usually find sympathetic. Somehow, putting all the elements together worked beautifully. Somehow, it made total sense that Barbra gave Kris attitude when they were first getting to know each other. I won't be buying the soundtrack, but Barbra's vocal talent was extremely impressive; it was very understandable that audiences in the film were wowed by her. Both leads put their whole hearts into their performances, and even though this was the third time I'd seen the story, I still cried during each of their "big scenes". If you know the story, you know which ones they are. I'd always thought of Kris as just a good-looking singer, but I was surprised by how much dramatics he poured into his scenes. Barbra is always a good performer, and in her romantic one-on-one scenes, she's tender and vulnerable. She's been paired up with a very long list of good-looking leading men-Robert Redford, Ryan O'Neal, Jeff Bridges, Omar Sharif, Nick Nolte, and young Mandy Patinkin-and I've never seen her with greater, sweeter, lovelier chemistry than with Kris Kristofferson. The way they look at each other is so beautiful, like how Jack Carson looked at Doris Day in Romance on the High Seas. If you like the Oscar-winning song "Evergreen", you'll love the scene in the movie when they sing it together.My advice is to either watch this version first or forget you've seen any other version when you rent it. He's gorgeous, she's in her perm-prime, and if you like '70s rock, you'll really love it.

This film is my number one guilty pleasure as far as movies go. Yes, the critics were right about everything: Streisand's pop songs sound more like her usual, Broadway show-stoppers; Streisand's character's instant stardom is contrived, to say the least; Kris is an excellent songwriter, but he, uh, can't sing a note (yet he didn't write any of the songs in the film); and (getting a little mean here) even with a beard, Kristofferson is prettier than Babs. So why have I seen this film at least 100 times? Well, it was extremely entertaining despite it's many clichés and the other things I've sited. The music is also good, as cheesy as Babs' songs are and as poorly sung as Kris' are. I'm apparently not alone--in 1976, only Rocky made more money at the box office (not bad for an R-Rated movie in a year that had many great films, such as Taxi Driver, Network, All the President's Men and The Omen, The Bad News Bears, to list a few. Very dated today, but I still want to watch it again.

Really an amazing pile of pap! A predictable, slow moving, soul destroying, mind numbing movie to which, slitting your own wrists with a rusty bread knife seems... well, almost necessary.The acting is over done for the thin dialogue, every scene is at least twice as long as it needs to be, the intricate details of how this career is collapsing or that career is rising is just far too dreary and mundane for words. The music would be good if you didn't have to sit through the movie, but really, three good songs is not enough reward for the effort required to watch the movie.Watching this film I prayed to God for narcolepsy or for someone to shoot me.Never, ever, ever again.