A Star Is Born Restoration Saga

Kristy 2022-02-02 08:08:15

If you had the opportunity to watch the 1954 Warner Bros. movie "A Star is Born," maybe you would be confused about 40 minutes into the film, when the normal picture was gone, replaced by a few Zhang Fanhuang's photo, but the problem is that the voice is still right. I saw that some netizens commented on a certain website that this is an early Hollywood experiment, but it is not the case. So, what is all this about? From 181 to 154 "A Star Is Born" originated in the early 1930s when producer David Selznick ("Gone with the Wind") wanted to make a serious drama about Hollywood behind the scenes, directed by Janet Gaynor ("Sunrise") and Frederick March ("Dr. Avatar") are about the love story between an actress and an alcoholic ex-star. The film was a huge hit when it was released, and it also won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and a Special Honorable Mention (for Cinematographer). On December 28, 1942, Judy Garen ("The Wizard of Oz") performed a radio drama version of "A Star Is Born" with Frederick Marchant. Judy Garland loved the story so much that several times A remake was proposed to MGM, but neither was accepted. In the early 1950s, Judy Garron retired for four years due to alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental breakdown. She divorced her husband, Vincent Minnelli ("An American in Paris"), and was fired from MGM. After her, Judy Garen married Sid Luft. Sid Luft soon signed a contract with Warners, asking Judy Garen to star in three films for Warners. In early 1953, the two sides reached an agreement to remake the 1937 version of "A Star Is Born." The film is directed by George Cook (known as "the director who knows the most about women's plays", who won the Oscar for best director for "My Fair Lady"), composer Harold Arlen and lyricist Ira Gershwin wrote a number of episodes for the film. Unlike the original, this remake is a plot + song and dance genre. This is Cook's first time directing a song and dance film, and it is also his first Special Arts color widescreen film. The film's lead actor was originally supposed to be Cary Grant ("North by Northwest"), but at the time he was busy traveling with his wife, so he turned it off (he also dropped "Roman Holiday" and "Dragon and Phoenix"). "), Cook also proposed to cast Humphrey Bogart ("The Spy") and Frank Sinatra ("Eleven Arhats") to play the leading roles, but DuWarner's boss Jack Warner rejected it. Eventually, James Mason ("A Tree of Pears and Begonias") landed the role. The film was expected to cost $2 million, but due to Jodie Garron's volatile mood, George Cook's perfectionism and problems with CinemaScope's widescreen technology (Jack Warner announced a month after filming that the film would use CinemaScope widescreen) The film was shot in screen format, so the previous month’s film was scrapped), the film’s original three-month shooting period was extended to seven months, and the cost soared to $5 million. On September 29, 1954, "A Star Is Born" held a grand premiere. The film was well received by film critics, but the theater manager complained that the film was too long and hoped that it would be reduced from the 181-minute version of the premiere. to 154 minutes so they can expand from three to five screenings a day. Jack Warner listened to the theater manager and, without notifying George Cook, had the film cut to 154 minutes. Cook was helpless after hearing the news, and since then, the three-hour original "A Star Is Born" no longer exists. Which were cut out and "A Star Is Born" was cut into a 154-minute version, but it didn't do well at the box office. Judy Garen gave birth to her third child on March 29, 1955. And the next day, March 30, is the Oscars ceremony, in other words, she can't attend at all. At this time, the media agreed that she would win the award, because she had won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, so the TV station sent a live broadcast team to guard the hospital, so as to directly shoot Judy Garen in the hospital when the award was announced. Celebration picture. But when the presenter read out "The Queen is Grace Kelly", the live broadcast team silently withdrew without saying hello. This award was a huge blow to Judy Garron, she did not make a movie for the next seven years, and after entering the 1960s, she also starred in only three movies and dubbed one movie, June 22, 1969 , Judy Garen died in England at the age of 47. In 1971, a man named Ronald Haver changed the fate of "A Star Is Born". He did a George Cook film retrospective at the American Film Institute and asked him if he could see the full version of "A Star Is Born". Cook spread his hands and said: I don't have a copy of all the films I directed , I only kept the entire script and stills. Ronald Haver asked the American Film Institute to borrow a full 181-minute version of "A Star Is Born" from Warners, but got the answer: We only have a 154-minute version. Ronald in 1973 Haver moved to the Los Angeles Museum of Art, and he wanted to show "A Star Is Born," so he asked Cook to borrow the script and stills and make a booklet showing which passages had been cut. The most important cut of the film is after the opening 40 minutes. In the cut version, after hearing the singing of the heroine, the actor persuades her to quit the band and promises to give her a chance to audition. The heroine decides to follow the hero and fade out. Then came the fade in: she was preparing for her audition. In the full version, nine scenes were cut from Norman's suggestion to the audition. Among them: the heroine says goodbye to the band the next day, the hero forgets her hotel name and phone number, the two reunite and fade out. In addition, the male protagonist drove the female protagonist to the premiere and so on. When George Cook saw the booklet, he just said: It's beautifully done. Obviously he didn't want to face the major loss of his film career, and he didn't show up for that night's screening. But the booklet piqued the interest of Warners, and Rudi Fehr of Warners led a group of people rummaging through the library for a while, but found nothing. Ronald Haver asked Warners if he could find him himself, but Warners declined his request. Not long after, Ronald Haver got a call from Warners editor Dave Strohmaier, who said he had seen the 181-minute version of the mixtape, but no negatives were found. Spotted In November 1981, Ronald Haver hosted a tribute screening to lyricist Ira Gershwin at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which featured an episode from "A Star Is Born" sung by Judy Garen "The Man That Got Away." Ronald Haver specifically emphasized that in the current abridged version, both of Ira Gershwin's songs have been removed. After the screening, Fay Kanin, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, told Ronald Haver, "I'm an old friend of Cook's. If only there was a full version of "A Star Is Born". Fay Kanin is also a member of the American Film Institute's Committee on Film Preservation. "A Star Is Born" seems to be an excellent example of the importance of old film preservation. Fay Kanin personally called Warners President Robert Daly to provide Ronald Haver secured a license to enter any of Warner's film libraries. In the spring of 1982, the treasure hunt began. Ronald Haver came to Warner's library, but found nothing, and then returned to Special Arts headquarters in Los Angeles, where the job list showed that Special Arts had developed 150 full-length copies in four-track stereo for first-run screenings. Since the film was edited later, the two film cassettes labeled 3A and 3B were reduced to a new film cassette numbered 3AB, and the film cassettes 4A, 5A, 6B, 9A, and 9B also showed that they had been cut by scissors. , these cut films were packed in 10 film boxes and sent back to Warner. Another 150 copies were developed for the second run, but these were already short runs. The problem now is figuring out where those 150 first-run copies are going. Ronald Haver reviewed the existing internal materials of the University of California and Warner Company, as well as the distribution records of Warner Company kept at Princeton University, and found that in 1954, the Warner Editing Department issued a unified notice to distributors all over the world. Make the appropriate edits as instructed, then return the cut film to Warner. If these materials are not in Warner, it means that they really do not exist. Ronald Haver, with the help of Warner's post-production manager Fred Talmage, began the long search again. They first went to the warehouse of the sound effect department, which is where the editor Dave Strohmaier said they found the tapes. In this quarter-acre underground warehouse, after a patient search, they finally found the legendary "A Star" The Birth of "The Birth of "The Mixed Track Tape, there are a total of 23 cassettes, open one of the cassettes, it reads: 3A! Putting it on the machine, it was the scene where the heroine bid farewell to the band. Never found the full version of the soundtrack, only half won the battle, the next thing you need to do is find the graphics to match. Fred Talmage introduced Don Adler, who has worked in Warner's warehouse for 30 years. Ronald Haver asked what to do with the film boxes that were sent back from Special Arts. Don Adler replied: At that time, the shelf life of waste film was generally half a year. , and then throw it away. Sure, someone might have saved these things, but not very hopeful. According to Don Haver sat down on the ground with his head down for a while, now the situation is like this: 1. 3A and 3B are never found 4. The 154-minute stereo sound track is available. 5. The well-preserved 154-minute copy from Special Arts can be used. No one loves the movie more than Ronald Haver. Ronald Haver The Birth of a Star" is repaired. According to the original script, the deleted paragraphs can be added to the picture one by one according to the original intention. The pictures that cannot be found can only be replaced by stills. Stills are used in many movies, such as "Tiger and Leopard Xiaobawang". and Raging Bull, but were never used in a restored film. Special effects expert Robert Swarthe told Ronald Haver that adding stills to the film was possible, but it was expensive, costing about $25,000. If someone gives the money, they can do it. Fay Kanin first got George Cook's consent and then asked Warner's Robert Daly for money. Robert Daly is interested, but dare not make a decision lightly. He approved a budget of $5,000 to do a trial. Ronald Haver led the work of animator Lisze Bechtold Blyth, editor Craig Holt and others. After 5 weeks, the finished product is finished. Fay Kanin arranged a preview, and unfortunately George Cook passed away the day before the preview (January 24, 1983) without a chance to see the finished product. Robert Daly was very satisfied after seeing the test film and passed the budget for the restoration of the entire film. On July 7, 1983, the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Warner Bros. jointly screened a restored version of "A Star Is Born". This restored version was 176 minutes long, and the completely missing segments were replaced by stills, with a total length of 11 minutes. Thirty years have passed since the full version of the film premiered. And that Ronald Haver, who was destined to save the full version, also accomplished the most important thing in his life. Ronald Born on January 14, 1939, Haver has been a huge movie fan since he was a child. In 1988, he published the book A Star Is Born: Inside the Making of the 1954 Movie and the 1983 Restoration. The book details his storied search for "A Star Is Born" film. In 1993, Ronald Haver died. If you are a disc fan, you can find the extras "You Must Remember It: A Tribute to "North Africa" ​​on the Blu-ray or DVD of "Gone with the Wind", "Gone with the Wind" on the Blu-ray or DVD. He is seen in "Making a Legend". 6k Restoration On September 19, 2000, Warner Bros. released the DVD of "A Star Is Born" based on the 1983 restoration. This DVD feature film in non-anamorphic widescreen format features a newly remixed 5.1 Dolby soundtrack and features footage from the premiere, an alternate version of "The Man That Got Away", and test footage as well as the 1937 original and 1976 Trailer for the remake. On June 22, 2010, Warner Bros. released the Blu-ray version of A Star Is Born. The biggest feature of this Blu-ray version is that all the positive films have been completely restored using 6K scanning. This is also Warner's first 6K high-resolution restoration movie. Warner's MPI company was responsible for the restoration work, restoring the aspect ratio to the original 2.55:1 widescreen format, and mixing the new dts 5.1 soundtrack. In terms of tidbits, in addition to the 40-page picture book, there is also a separate D5 disc, which contains related tidbits similar to the 2000 edition: Ronald Haver has no chance to see his hard work made into HD Blu-ray, if you read this Story, if you are moved by the actions of those who love movies, then please buy the Blu-ray of "A Star Is Born" and support the restoration of old movies with practical actions. More importantly, this story tells us: movies are fragile, something is lost, it can never be found, especially for those Chinese movies that are silent in the warehouse. See the full version at: Tribute", "Gone with the Wind" Blu-ray or DVD in the extras "Making a Legend" to see him. 6k Restoration On September 19, 2000, Warner Bros. released the DVD of "A Star Is Born" based on the 1983 restoration. This DVD feature film in non-anamorphic widescreen format features a newly remixed 5.1 Dolby soundtrack and features footage from the premiere, an alternate version of "The Man That Got Away", and test footage as well as the 1937 original and 1976 Trailer for the remake. On June 22, 2010, Warner Bros. released the Blu-ray version of A Star Is Born. The biggest feature of this Blu-ray version is that all the positive films have been completely restored using 6K scanning. This is also Warner's first 6K high-resolution restoration movie. Warner's MPI company was responsible for the restoration work, restoring the aspect ratio to the original 2.55:1 widescreen format, and mixing the new dts 5.1 soundtrack. In terms of tidbits, in addition to the 40-page picture book, there is also a separate D5 disc, which contains related tidbits similar to the 2000 edition: Ronald Haver has no chance to see his hard work made into HD Blu-ray, if you read this Story, if you are moved by the actions of those who love movies, then please buy the Blu-ray of "A Star Is Born" and support the restoration of old movies with practical actions. More importantly, this story tells us: movies are fragile, something is lost, it can never be found, especially for those Chinese movies that are silent in the warehouse. See the full version at: Tribute", "Gone with the Wind" Blu-ray or DVD in the extras "Making a Legend" to see him. 6k Restoration On September 19, 2000, Warner Bros. released the DVD of "A Star Is Born" based on the 1983 restoration. This DVD feature film in non-anamorphic widescreen format features a newly remixed 5.1 Dolby soundtrack and features footage from the premiere, an alternate version of "The Man That Got Away", and test footage as well as the 1937 original and 1976 Trailer for the remake. On June 22, 2010, Warner Bros. released the Blu-ray version of A Star Is Born. The biggest feature of this Blu-ray version is that all the positive films have been completely restored using 6K scanning. This is also Warner's first 6K high-resolution restoration movie. Warner's MPI company was responsible for the restoration work, restoring the aspect ratio to the original 2.55:1 widescreen format, and mixing the new dts 5.1 soundtrack. In terms of tidbits, in addition to the 40-page picture book, there is also a separate D5 disc, which contains related tidbits similar to the 2000 edition: Ronald Haver has no chance to see his hard work made into HD Blu-ray, if you read this Story, if you are moved by the actions of those who love movies, then please buy the Blu-ray of "A Star Is Born" and support the restoration of old movies with practical actions. More importantly, this story tells us: movies are fragile, something is lost, it can never be found, especially for those Chinese movies that are silent in the warehouse. See the full version at: Another version of the movie as well as preview footage and trailers for the 1937 original and the 1976 remake. On June 22, 2010, Warner Bros. released the Blu-ray version of A Star Is Born. The biggest feature of this Blu-ray version is that all the positive films have been completely restored using 6K scanning. This is also Warner's first 6K high-resolution restoration movie. Warner's MPI company was responsible for the restoration work, restoring the aspect ratio to the original 2.55:1 widescreen format, and mixing the new dts 5.1 soundtrack. In terms of tidbits, in addition to the 40-page picture book, there is also a separate D5 disc, which contains related tidbits similar to the 2000 edition: Ronald Haver has no chance to see his hard work made into HD Blu-ray, if you read this Story, if you are moved by the actions of those who love movies, then please buy the Blu-ray of "A Star Is Born" and support the restoration of old movies with practical actions. More importantly, this story tells us: movies are fragile, something is lost, it can never be found, especially for those Chinese movies that are silent in the warehouse. See the full version at: Another version of the movie as well as preview footage and trailers for the 1937 original and the 1976 remake. On June 22, 2010, Warner Bros. released the Blu-ray version of A Star Is Born. The biggest feature of this Blu-ray version is that all the positive films have been completely restored using 6K scanning. This is also Warner's first 6K high-resolution restoration movie. Warner's MPI company was responsible for the restoration work, restoring the aspect ratio to the original 2.55:1 widescreen format, and mixing the new dts 5.1 soundtrack. In terms of tidbits, in addition to the 40-page picture book, there is also a separate D5 disc, which contains related tidbits similar to the 2000 edition: Ronald Haver has no chance to see his hard work made into HD Blu-ray, if you read this Story, if you are moved by the actions of those who love movies, then please buy the Blu-ray of "A Star Is Born" and support the restoration of old movies with practical actions. More importantly, this story tells us: movies are fragile, something is lost, it can never be found, especially for those Chinese movies that are silent in the warehouse. See the full version at:http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_53867c1d0100koj8.html

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Extended Reading
  • Rico 2022-03-27 09:01:21

    Immortal Judy Garland.

  • Orie 2022-04-22 07:01:55

    2013.09.03 I like the concept of connecting the plot with photos in the movie, and I like the echoes of the last 10 minutes~[The one I can't watch all the time, probably because I think Judy Garland when I grow up is really ugly...and James I've only seen one Lolita movie starring Mason, so I'm preconceived, so when I see him, I'll think that this is not the stepfather Humbert who is not good enough....... So sorry, I really don't like this one~

A Star Is Born quotes

  • Norman Maine: Of course you're scared! We all are! What makes you think you wouldn't be?

  • Vicki Lester: He's in a sanitarium. He really wants to stop drinking, Oliver. He's trying very hard. I know he is. What is it? What is it that makes him want to destroy himself? You've known him longer than anyone else. Tell me what it is. Please. I don't care but just tell me.

    Oliver Niles: Don't you think I've tried through the years to know why, to help him? I don't know, Esther. I don't know what the answer is.

    Vicki Lester: Well, I've got to find the answer. You don't know what it's like to watch somebody you love just crumble away bit by bit and day by day in front of your eyes and stand there helpless. Love isn't enough. I thought it was. I thought I was the answer for Norman. But love isn't enough for him. And I'm afraid of what's beginning to happen within me... because... sometimes I hate him. I hate his promises to stop and then the watching and waiting to see it begin again. I hate to go home to him at night and listen to his lies. My heart goes out to him because he tries - he does try. But I hate him for failing. I hate me, too. I hate me cause I've failed, too. I have. I don't know what's going to happen to us, Oliver. No matter how much you love somebody... how do you live out the days?