A Star Is Born (1954)

[Dr Strangelove]

Originally Posted by Nika

I found a nice review with screencomparisons

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-r...rn_blu-ray.htm

looks impressive!

Yeah but it looks like horizontally stretched.

[QuasidodoJr]

Picked this up from Joseph-Beth Booksellers, today. I had a $5 gift card which lowered it even more, but they already had it priced normally at $26.98.

Not bad. Not bad at all!

[Nika]

Originally Posted by Dr Strangelove

Yeah but it looks like horizontally stretched.

I really don't see it. I watched it this weekend and I was blown away by the beauty of this blu-ray. Didnt notice it being stretched and I watched it on a 77" screen.

[The Mad Kiwi]

I just watched this this weekend and was blown away by how gorgeous the restoration was. Obviously some scenes are better than others, but at its best, it was amazing. The "You Took Advantage of Me" portion from "Born in a Trunk" particularly stands out in my mind. It almost looks like a 2010 film.

While the archival features included are great, I'm sorely disappointed that this release has no John Fricke commentary and/or a "making of" documentary. If The Pirate can get both, why can't A Star is Born? ASiB has the most interesting backstory of any Judy Garland film save for The Wizard of Oz. The closest we get are the intros and the digibook.

[masoud90]

Wow! I'm actually JUST watching the movie on Netflix.com!

[The Duke]

Originally Posted by Ken Brown

Ah, sorry about that. The sentence was meant to convey two pieces of information, but somewhere in the review-editing process I mismanaged the phrasing. I fixed the sentence so it shouldn't cause any confusion now. Please let me know if you notice any other problems

Excellent, well detail review, Ken. I just got my copy yesterday and watched it last night and checked the review to understand why in a few areas of the film the dialog continues but the image is only a studio still for a few seconds. As I suspected, those are some of the scenes Warner had cut and they couldn't be restored. Nice they were able to save the audio, and the studio stills are nice, so it works well.

Originally Posted by goofystitch

I ordered my set from Amazon and it's missing disc 2. Do I have to exchange it through them? Or is there a way to contact Warner and have them send it to me, since it is their packaging error? I emailed them on Tuesday when I got mine and haven't heard back. Anybody have a number?

No, even though it's a packaging problem and not Amazon's fault, the retailers handle the return - so you need to contact Amazon. Use the "report a problem" link in your order summary, request a replacement, and they'll send you a replacement and give 30 days to return the defective one. You can chose to print a prepaid return shipping label from Amazon or send it back yourself & have them credit back your postage cost.

The studios only handle returns when there's a massive defect & a recall, like with the audio out of sync on Saving Private Ryan.

[Maggot]

I'm logged in, but unable to post a review? Anybody else having this issue?

[artim1]

Just got my copy of this classic...what a great looking disc! However, the audio is off by just enough so its noticeable. Has anyone who has the BD digibook version had any problems with sync on this title?

[dougotte]

Originally Posted by artim1

Just got my copy of this classic...what a great looking disc! However, the audio is off by just enough so its noticeable. Has anyone who has the BD digibook version had any problems with sync on this title?

I didn't notice any sync issues. Is it throughout the movie, or only during the musical numbers? Maybe it was just the lip-synching during the songs that was slightly off?

Doug

[artim1]

It's noticeable with the dialogue as well; I used Amazon's video on demand feature to watch some of the film before, and of course it was spot on audio. In fact, watching the streaming version was remarkable in that Garland's lip synching was just incredible.

The BD arrived the day after, so I was able to compare the two. And the sync on the disc is just off by a bit--but distracts from the experience. So will probably return the disc to Amazon and see if another has the same problem.

[Zoodles95]

I just got this Digibook in the mail and it looks darn impressive! I know what I will be doing one evening this weekend. Looking forward to watching this.

[MEB]

I received 'A Star is Born' from Amazon today. Unfortunately, they shipped it in a flimsy padded envelope via USPS. All four corners of the Digibook were damaged to some extent. Amazon is replacing it.

However, I don't believe the corners got damaged during shipping. While that HAS happened before with Amazon's use of those flimsy padded envelopes, in this case I think the damage was done to the corners before the Digibook ever left Amazon's warehouse. Why do I say that? Well, just look at this photo!




This is the first time I've ever received something from Amazon with a price sticker on it! And, more curious, THE PRICE STICKER IS UNDER THE SHRINK-WRAP!

I know it's hard to tell from the photo but, trust me, that sticker is attached directly to the face of the Digibook and the shrink-wrap was applied over the top!

So, obviously, this particular copy sat on some retailer's shelf somewhere, the corners getting all dinged up from frequent handling, and then it ended up in Amazon's warehouse.

I certainly hope the replacement copy is truly "new"!

Mark

[Donat96]

Originally Posted by MEB

I received 'A Star is Born' from Amazon today. Unfortunately, they shipped it in a flimsy padded envelope via USPS. All four corners of the Digibook were damaged to some extent. Amazon is replacing it.

However, I don't believe the corners got damaged during shipping. While that HAS happened before with Amazon's use of those flimsy padded envelopes, in this case I think the damage was done to the corners before the Digibook ever left Amazon's warehouse. Why do I say that? Well, just look at this photo!

[Show spoiler]

This is the first time I've ever received something from Amazon with a price sticker on it! And, more curious, THE PRICE STICKER IS UNDER THE SHRINK-WRAP!

I know it's hard to tell from the photo but, trust me, that sticker is attached directly to the face of the Digibook and the shrink-wrap was applied over the top!

So, obviously, this particular copy sat on some retailer's shelf somewhere, the corners getting all dinged up from frequent handling, and then it ended up in Amazon's warehouse.

I certainly hope the replacement copy is truly "new"!

Mark

That looks like a Barnes and Noble price sticker. Wow. How did that even happen?
Maybe someone got a damaged copy from BN and then for some reason returned it to Amazon after buying a copy there?
That is very weird.

[MEB]

The replacement 'A Star is Born' just arrived via UPS from Amazon. In a manilla envelope. And, of course, the Digibook is damaged. The upper left corner of the book is crunched badly. I just got off of the phone with Amazon and they are going to attempt to persuade the warehouse to ship the second replacement in a box instead of a manilla envelope.

I hope EVERYONE is returning the Digibooks when they arrive damaged. The more money it costs Amazon to reship the items the sooner they might actually do something to change the way they ship Digibooks.

Mark

[Donat96]

Originally Posted by MEB

The replacement 'A Star is Born' just arrived via UPS from Amazon. In a manilla envelope. And, of course, the Digibook is damaged. The upper left corner of the book is crunched badly. I just got off of the phone with Amazon and they are going to attempt to persuade the warehouse to ship the second replacement in a box instead of a manilla envelope.

I hope EVERYONE is returning the Digibooks when they arrive damaged. The more money it costs Amazon to reship the items the sooner they might actually do something to change the way they ship Digibooks.

Mark

I ordered a few digibooks the other day from them, but it was a group of 3 along with another box set of movies so hopefully it comes in a cardboard box, but I will be sure to return them if they're damaged from coming in a padded envelope or something like that. Good luck on getting a good replacement this time.

[growler]

Just watched the digibook version. I'm posting to caution people who didn't read all the reviews & all the comments carefully.

There are some LONG scenes MISSING in the 1st half of the film. Not just a few seconds here & there. There IS dialog & they show production stills during these missing scenes. So you will follow the story but is DOES pull you out of the movie.

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by growler

There are some LONG scenes MISSING in the 1st half of the film. Not just a few seconds here & there. There IS dialog & they show production stills during these missing scenes. So you will follow the story but is DOES pull you out of the movie.

I agree, such things do pull you out of a film. I appreciate the completion aspect that producers/restorers are going for with this approach but a theatrical/released cut should always be made available. I'm looking esp at Greed when I say this...whenever it should finally come out.

[Scottie]

Speaking of this film, I purchased this digibook from WBShop about a month ago with 8 or 9 other films and this one is still back ordered -_-

[charlieray1]

Originally Posted by growler

Just watched the digibook version. I'm posting to caution people who didn't read all the reviews & all the comments carefully.

There are some LONG scenes MISSING in the 1st half of the film. Not just a few seconds here & there. There IS dialog & they show production stills during these missing scenes. So you will follow the story but is DOES pull you out of the movie.

I really didn't have a problem with it.

Considering that the footage doesn't exist anymore, I think they covered those missing scenes well. I also think that it's far better than just a heavily edited version that leaves those scenes out entirely.

[growler]

Originally Posted by charlieray1

I really didn't have a problem with it.

Considering that the footage doesn't exist anymore, I think they covered those missing scenes well. I also think that it's far better than just a heavily edited version that leaves those scenes out entirely.

I also think the studio did the best that they could to restore this classic film.
I just wanted to warn the many who will be unaware & caught by surprise when the movie essentially stops & switches to the stills. I wish they had included a theatrical version as well.