Seasoned musician Jackson Maine discovers — and falls in love with — struggling artist Ally. She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer until Jackson coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally’s career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jackson fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.
Plot: In A Star Is Born, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga fuse their considerable talents to depict the raw and passionate tale of Jack and Ally, two artistic souls coming together, on stage and in life. Theirs is a complex journey through the beauty and heartbreak of a relationship struggling to survive.
Director: Bradley Cooper
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Runtime: 135 min
Rotten Tomatoes Consensus: With appealing leads, deft direction, and an affecting love story, A Star Is Born is a remake done right — and a reminder that some stories can be just as effective in the retelling.
Online Ratings:
- Rotten Tomatoes 90%
- IMDB 7.8
- Metacritic 88
“Must own for all the fans!”
Review:
This new edition of the film features 12 minutes of extended performances, intimate jam sessions and a few new scenes. Where exactly? You will get extended performances of “Black Eyes,” “Alibi,” and Ally’s a cappella performance of “Shallow.” The never-before-seen footage is of Ally singing “Is That Alright?” to Jack at their wedding, Jack singing “Too Far Gone,” in his studio, plus Jack and Ally writing a new song together entitled “Clover.” The real question is… are these sequences needed and can you tell the difference?
The answer is both yes and no.
Some of these scenes really don’t add too much to the overall story, but a few of these extended looks do make this edition worth the purchase. First, everybody loves the “Shallow” parking lot scene and this added length really gives you a feel on how the song becomes the main growing point of the film. Who doesn’t like hearing more of those “Shallow” vibes? This continues with the making of “Clover” when Ally and Jackson are laying around an empty amphitheater, (you know the scene that was in promotional images but not in the movie) — the intimate scene has the sun is setting over the palm trees on an empty stage (with just a guitar) as they create the track. It really adds to their relationship and I don’t understand why this was cut from the movie at all.
Lastly, the original version of the movie doesn’t include the song “Is That Alright?” at all, but the soundtrack did — so where did it come from? In this new scene, Ally sings the song to Jackson at their wedding reception along with her vows. It’s more of a full circle with the song, placement and reason for it in the first place. Another no brainer.
The question at hand — is this Encore edition worth the purchase? If you’re a big time fan of this film, saw it a few times in the theater or have watched it a bunch of times at home, love the soundtrack and story… yes you will need this in your life. Some of these scenes add more depth to the story, who wouldn’t want more of that? If you find yourself somewhere in the middle questioning another pickup, this isn’t for you. Outside of that, this will be a hot-movie item on Black Friday to pick up and give to friends and family that love the film.
That’s my two cents on this new addition, make sure you check out my 4K Review on the original film while your at it. UHD does this disc right.
Here is my previous conclusion, which still holds true: This is a top notch movie that was undoubtably one of the greatest films released last year. The music, acting, directing and everything in between was way above par — that’s why it’s was so heavy in Academy Award nominations across the board. Once you’re in the final stages of the 135 minute film, that last scene of the movie brings everything together beautifully. The scene drops from Ally in full orchestrated mode to just her and Jackson (singing a capella) at the piano — back to Ally — then fade to black. It is truly a timeless movie and the 4K UHD brings everything the format has to offer. This is a must own, no exceptions.
Cheers,
Matt.
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