A Star is Born

Movie Name: A Star is Born
Year of Release: 1976
Director: Frank Pierson
Starring: Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson, Gary Busey, Paul Mazursky, Joan Linville, Sally Kirkland, Oliver Clark, Marta Heflin, Clydie King, Venetta Fields
Genre: Drama, Romance
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 2
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Synopsis and Review:

Director Frank Pierson made a name for himself as a writer, winning an Academy Award for his brilliant screenplay for Sydney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon". "A Star is Born" was his proper second directorial effort, and was in fact the third version of the story originally conceived by William Wellman and Robert Carson, which had already been made into films, the first version premiering in 1937 with Janet Gaynor and the second version premiering in 1954 with Judy Garland. This version focuses on the story of troublesome John Norman Howard, a volatile rock star who is experiencing all sorts of problems with alcohol and drugs. In one of his outings to clubs, he accidentally discovers Esther Hoffman, a talented yet unknown singer. They soon become involved in a romantic relationship, with John also bringing Esther to the limelight in his concerts, while also introducing her to people in the music business. As Esther's credibility and popularity increases, John's fade more and more, since no one wants to deal with his substance abuse issues and erratic behavior. He and Esther eventually marry and decide to build a house in a somewhat isolated area, but as Esther's career soars, John's hopes of jumpstarting his, go nowhere. Their relationship becomes riddled with friction as these events continue to unfold.

Watching this version of "A Star is Born", mostly serves to highlight how George Cukor's version of the same material was so good, the same going for the recent version shepherded by Bradley Cooper. This version authored by Frank Pierson, though a huge commercial success upon its release, lacks any subtlety and nuance from a character perspective, with both leads having little to no dimension throughout the entire film. Both Esther and John Howard, are portrayed as uni-dimensional characters, with Esther being the somewhat aspirational young professional who loves the iconic and older rock star, whereas him is essentially the self destructive charismatic artist, haunted by some ghosts of his own. Why these characters are the way they are, we never really get much insight into, there's not much of a journey here to actually digest and understand. The film mostly focuses on the relationship between these two characters, as Esther becomes increasingly more popular, and John fades into the background, even though the reasoning for these events is never entirely established. The film manages to be effective in how it captures the live music universe of the 70s, but it never really manages to have much a point of view when it comes to its characters. Kris Kristofferson imbues his character with energy, but lacks subtlety and substance when it comes to making his conflicts effective. Barbra Streisand never really conveys this notion of a struggling artist, of someone who comes from nothing and finds herself wining awards and selling out stadiums. Somehow in this adaptation of the story, the journey that the previous films illustrated so iconically (also demonstrated in Bradley Cooper's version), is missing, making this particular version feel almost as a vanity project, more so than an authentic adaptation of a classic story. The presence of the late Paul Mazursky is always welcomed, but the film is a mediocre retelling of a classic story.