A Star Is Born is a 1976 American musical romantic drama film directed by Frank Pierson, written by Pierson, John Gregory Dunne, and Joan Didion. It stars Barbra Streisand as an unknown singer and Kris Kristofferson as an established rock and roll star. The two fall in love, only to find her career ascending while his goes into decline.
The film is a remake of the 1937 film with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, notably adapted in 1954 as a musical starring Judy Garland and James Mason; and subsequently again in 2018 with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. It features songs written by Streisand, Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher, with underscore by Roger Kellaway.
A Star Is Born premiered at the Mann Village Theater on December 18, 1976, with a wide release by Warner Bros. the following day. A huge box office success, grossing $80 million on a $6 million budget in North America, it emerged as the second highest-grossing of the year. Reviews praised its performances and musical score, but criticized the screenplay and runtime. At the 49th Academy Awards, the film was nominated in three categories and won Best Original Song for its love theme "Evergreen".
Plot
John Norman Howard, a talented but self-destructive rock star, arrives late and intoxicated to his concert, performs a few songs, and abruptly leaves, much to the disappointment of his fans. His driver subsequently drives him to a bar where struggling singer Esther Hoffman performs as the lead singer in her trio The Oreos. John is approached by an aggressive bar patron who starts a fight after John refuses to perform on demand, and Esther, caught up in the ensuing chaos, helps him escape through a rear exit, and the pair then flee the scene in his limousine.
At Esther's home, she invites him to return for breakfast in the morning. Over the pepperoni pizza John had brought himself, she reluctantly agrees to follow him to one of his concerts, and they both arrive by helicopter. After a brief performance of stage, John rides a fan's motorbike around the stage, snags a cable, and crashes off the stage and into the crowd. He is taken away by ambulance and his entourage flee by helicopter, leaving a furious Esther stranded.
Shortly after the incident, while John is resting beside his swimming pool at home, he fires his gun at intrusive radio DJ Bebe Jesus who vows to blacklist his music. John subsequently visits the radio station carrying a case of Jack Daniel's as a peace offering which Bebe Jesus rejects, publicly denouncing John as an alcoholic. On his way out, John spots Esther recording a jingle with The Oreos, and he takes her to his mansion where he spray paints her name on his wall, and share an evening of intimacy and music.
At his next concert, John invites Esther onto the stage with other two Oreos as backing singers, and she gradually wins over the crowd. Several music executives show interest, but Esther only cares about marrying John. He initially dissuades her, arguing they lack compatibility, but she insists, and the couple marry before moving to his Southwest ranch. Esther proposes that they tour together, but John's manager suggests she embarks on a solo career which rapidly flourishes, eventually surpassing her husband's fame. John attempts to restart his own career but discovers that the band have rebranded without him.
Esther, who has been nominated for a Grammy, wins the award for Best Female Performance. During her acceptance speech, an intoxicated John disrupts the ceremony, although she nevertheless defends him. His attempts to revive his career prove unsuccessful, prompting him to consider becoming a music executive upon realising that he is past his prime. At their LA mansion, Esther returns from touring to find John in bed with Quentin, a journalist assigned to interview her. After Quentin leaves, the couple argue, but ultimately reaffirm their love and return to the ranch in an attempt to recapture their earlier happiness.
John wakes early one morning and tells Esther he is going to collect Brian at the airport. He drunk drives in his convertible, playing his biggest hit, but after losing interest he listens to one of Esther's songs instead. As he moves increasingly fast, he loses control and is instantly killed. Esther runs towards John's dead body in tears and asks herself what she is supposed to do without him. Back at the LA mansion, Esther hears a recording of John's voice early songwriting sessions which a mover is unable to turn off. She cries inside the now empty house, branding John a liar and lamenting that he was never meant to leave her.
At a memorial concert for John, Esther walks onstage, introduced as Esther Hoffman-Howard, and the audience raises candles as a tribute to her late husband. Esther sings the song John wrote for her, "With One More Look at You", and then transitions into his hit "Watch Closely Now", done in her own style. On the last beat of the song, Esther spreads her arms wide and looks up to the heavens.
Cast
Production Directed by Frank Pierson, the film updates the original story and screenplay of William A. Wellman and Robert Carson with additional contributions by Pierson, John Gregory Dunne, and Joan Didion. Gary Busey and Sally Kirkland appear in the film in supporting roles. Singers Venetta Fields and Clydie King play Esther's backing vocalists, and Tony Orlando and Kristofferson's then-wife Rita Coolidge appear briefly as themselves as the presenters of Esther's Grammy.
The two previous A Star is Born films portrayed the behind-the-scenes world of Hollywood filmmaking. However, this version adapted the story to the music business. For example, while the 1937 and 1954 films each portrayed the lead female character winning an Academy Award, this version (and the later 2018 version) depicts the heroine winning a Grammy Award instead.
A Star Is Born was co-produced by Streisand and her then-partner Jon Peters for Barwood Films and Warner Bros., with Peters credited as producer and Streisand as executive producer. They wanted Elvis Presley for the male lead, and met with Elvis to discuss the film. He was interested in taking the part, thinking it would revive his film career, but his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, insisted Elvis have top billing and asked for a substantial sum of money for the role, even though he had not had an acting role since 1969, and it was unknown what kind of box office draw he would be. This effectively ended Elvis's involvement with the project. Parker also did not want to have Elvis portrayed as having a show business career in decline, because this was far from the truth, with Elvis playing to packed auditoriums wherever he toured in the States. Among the other actors considered for the male lead were Neil Diamond and Marlon Brando. Diamond, who knew Streisand and had attended high school with her at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, had to decline due to his extensive concert commitments, and Kristofferson got the part of John Norman Howard.
Kristofferson denied modelling his character on Jim Morrison saying: "That's a good idea but it's not true. I don't think I ever met Morrison. A lot of people said we looked alike – shirts off, beards – but that washed-up rock star was more about me."Bell, Max: "Q&A: Kris Kristofferson"; Classic Rock #148, August 2010, p. 34
The film cost around $6 million to produce. Its soundtrack album was an international success, reaching number 1 in many countries and selling nearly 15 million copies worldwide. It featured the ballad "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)", which became one of the biggest hits of Streisand's career, spending three weeks at number one in the United States, and peaking at number three in the United Kingdom.
The filming locations included many in Arizona, such as downtown Tucson, Tucson Community Center, Sonoita, and Tempe,Filming locations for A Star Is Born Internet Movie Database including Sun Devil Stadium. Streisand's wardrobe was selected from her own personal clothing—the film credit reads: "Miss Streisand's clothes from... her closet". The film was choreographed by David Winters, who worked closely with Streisand to perfect the movie's dancing sequences.David Winters – Awards – IMDb
Reception Box office
A Star Is Born entered general release in the United States on December 19, 1976. It grossed $80 million at the U.S. box office, making it the 2nd highest-grossing film of 1976.
Critical reception Contemporary reviews
A Star Is Born was initially released to mixed-to-negative reviews. Many critics felt that Streisand's fame overshadowed both Kristofferson and their respective performances. Roger Ebert gave the film two and a half stars out of four, writing in his review: "There is, to begin with, no denying Barbra Streisand's enormous talent. At the end of A Star Is Born the camera stays on her for one unbroken shot of seven or eight minutes, and she sings her heart out, and we concede that she's one of the great stars of the movies, one of the elemental presences...I thought Miss Streisand was distractingly miscast in the role, and yet I forgave her everything when she sang."
Gene Siskel also gave the film two and a half stars, calling it "a lumbering love story made palatable by Streisand's superb singing."Siskel, Gene (December 27, 1976). "'Star' is a battle royal of titans in a two-note script". Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 6.
Variety was positive, calling Streisand's performance "her finest screen work to date, while Kristofferson's portrayal of her failing benefactor realizes all the promise first shown five years ago in Cisco Pike. Peters' production is outstanding, and Pierson's direction is brilliant.""A Star Is Born". Variety. December 22, 1976. 20.
Vincent Canby of The New York Times called the film "a transistorized remake, louder than ever, but very small in terms of its being about anything whatsoever." He also noted that Kristofferson "walks through the film looking very bored."Canby, Vincent (December 27, 1976). "Film: Streisand Soups Up a Classic". The New York Times. 56.
Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "The treatment of Streisand is so ceaselessly close up and reverential from the start that there really seems nowhere to go but further up, and little of the mutuality of need that is essential to a love, or a love story...A half-hour in, I wrote 'a star is boring' in my notes, and was not later persuaded I'd been wrong."Champlin, Charles (December 21, 1976). "Barbra Stars in 'Star'". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 1, 12.
Gary Arnold of The Washington Post suggested that the film "should be retitled 'A Star is Embalmed' or 'A Star is Entombed' or simply 'A Star is Lost'...One loses sight of the ostensible dramatic tragedy, because the real tragedy appears to be Streisand's misuse of her talent."Arnold, Gary (December 25, 1976). "A Born-Again Failure". The Washington Post. p. C1, C5.
Geoff Brown of The Monthly Film Bulletin faulted the film for "Streisand's failure to convince as a rock star, even when singing the docile brand of rock supplied here. Luckily, Kris Kristofferson makes a far better impression. His eyes have the proper faraway look that betokens a mind besotted either with booze or love, and he drifts toward his destiny with none of James Mason's fireworks but with a great deal of quiet charm."
In the Mad issue #193, dated September 1977, the movie was parodied in the "Rock of Aged Department" section as "A Star's A Bomb."
21st-century reviews