Warner Bros. Pictures
I previously reviewed A Star is Born upon its theatrical release and I was curious to see how the film would translate to the small screen. Having first experienced the film in a Dolby Cinema was an overwhelming sensory experience. Probably the sharpest image I’ve ever seen (and that includes IMAX) and a stunning audio presentation that puts you right in the middle of the concert performances. The presentation made the film epic in scope and it was going to be difficult to match that experience at home.
If you’re one of the few who still hasn’t seen the Oscar-nominated film, the story at its most basic is a boy-meet-girl story. Country rock singer Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper), at the height of his popularity but on the verge of losing it all to booze, drugs and hearing loss, stumbles into a bar (a drag bar!) just as Ally (Lady Gaga) is about to take to the stage. Ally is not a drag queen, but its the only bar where she is accepted and appreciated for who she is. She stuns Jackson with her rendition of ‘La Vie en Rose’ and the two strike up a fast friendship the becomes an even faster romance. With Ally now under Jackson’s wing, her rise is almost meteoric while his star begins to dim due to the jealousy that he refuses to admit is impacting his life and their relationship. He pretends everything is okay for her benefit, but her rise eclipsing him begins to take a terrible toll.
This is the third remake of this story and right up there with the first remake from the 1950s that starred Judy Garland and James Mason. While the big screen gives the concert performances a wallop, it doesn’t diminish the intimacy of the relationship between Jackson and Ally, Ally and her father, or Jackson and his brother. Now with the home video release in stunning 4K, the relationships become even more intimate, totally drawing the viewer into the lives of the characters. And with a Dolby Atmos sound system attached, the concert scenes are just as impactful as they were in the Dolby Cinema. The 4K transfer is sharp and clear, properly duplicating the film’s theatrical presentation with excellent color balance — and no color bleeding in the neon drenched bar — and deep black levels. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack (not the default on the disk, but should be) nicely separates the voices from the music, keeping them clear and never drowned out unless they’re supposed to be by the applause and cheers of the crowd. This is definitely a reference quality 4K presentation of the film, and if you aren’t sold on 4K yet find someplace that will demo this for you, particularly the ‘Shallow’ performance. It’s epic and intimate at the same time.
The 4K package also includes a Blu-ray with a collection of extras. There are no extras on the 4K disk save for ‘Musical Moments’ (which isn’t really something that takes up space), giving the film all the room it needs to breathe and hold the highest quality possible.
The extras on the Blu-ray include:
- The Road to Stardom: Making A Star is Born (30:02)
- Jam Sessions and Rarities – A collection of rehearsal performances.
- Music Videos for ‘Shallow’, ‘Always Remember Us This Way’, ‘Look What I Found’, and ‘I’ll Never Love Again’.
- Musical Moments which is basically chapter marks for each of the movie’s musical numbers that will take you directly to each one without scanning through the movie.
It’s not really a lot for a film that was such a hit at the box office but I have to give a special mention to the main extra, ‘The Road to Stardom: Making A Star is Born’. This 30-minute look at the making of the movie is one of the best I’ve seen, compressing the entire three-year process of getting the movie made down to that short time but never feeling that anything was left out. It’s notable for having participation from Cooper and Gaga who discuss their meeting about the film and the entire process of making it, with input from the musicians (Mark Ronson and Lukas Nelson), and cast members Sam Elliott, Andrew Dice Clay and Anthony Ramos as they gather in perhaps Cooper’s home (Dave Chappelle and Rafi Gavron also participate via pre-taped segments). Listening to this group talk about making the movie, you can feel their passion for the project and their love and respect for each other, at times getting quite emotional reliving the experience. The short also includes personal footage of Cooper and Gaga’s first attempt at singing together at her piano, and a moment from the cast table read where Gaga sings a portion of ‘Shallow’ acapella. It’s a very in depth, intense and emotional experience and I found myself moved to tears a couple of times. An excellent piece of filmmaking that compliments the film perfectly, and makes this worth the purchase if the movie itself isn’t enough. Perhaps if the voting members of the motion picture academy had seen this making of, they wouldn’t have egregiously snubbed Bradley Cooper for a Best Director nomination.
Overall, Warner Home Video’s 4K presentation of A Star is Born is one for the record books. Highly recommended. The film is now available on 4K, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment generously provided Hotchka with a 4K Blu-ray version of the film for reviewing purposes.
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