Sing out, Louise...

I saw the 1954 version of A Star Is Born starring Miss Judy Garland last night for the first time. I had heard of the behind-the-scenes drama this movie caused at the time and felt it was high time that I'm let me in on the commotion. Like you have to twist my arm to see a Judy Garland movie anyway.

The story is one of Hollywood's most enduring legends. Judy, a very old 28, is tossed aside as a Hollywood has-been due to her emotional and chemical ups and downs. After signle-handedly creating the one-woman show as we know it today, she was ready (after 4 years) to make her big Hollywood comeback. The vehicle was the George Cukor directed musical re-make of A Star Is Born.

After a overly long production schedule and a budget that I don't think anyone ever considered adhering to, one of Hollywood's greatest movies was created. Critical and popular praise were heaped upon the movie and it was sure to deliver Judy her comeback, not to mention a long-awaited Oscar.

But a greedy studio-system that chopped the movie in half to fit in more showings a day, and the rising star of Grace Kelly who beat Judy for looking pretty without make-up on screen, robbed Judy of her recognition and her chance at success once again.

In 1983 a group of film buffs tried to restore the film to its original vision as best as possible, finding as many deletaed scences and audio tracks as possible. AS the legend goes, this restoration finally brought the film back to its glory and served as the standard for future restorations to come.

Well flashforward to 2004 when I received my Dvd in the mail of this ultimate edition in the mail from Mr. Netflix. Here I'm thinking a little Techni-Color and a couple of audio filters would have put the film back together faster than you can say Humpty-Dumpty.

Twenty minutes into the movie, I get sepia-colored still photographs of what should have been on the cutting room floor and terrible audio tracks of rehersal tapes. Think The Kid Stays In The Pictures without any warning or talent or regard for the medium of film. It's an incredibly jarring and frustrating technique and I can't figure out whose fault it was, the studio who originally destroyed the materials and chopped up the film to begin with or the restoration crew who were so interested in their own supposed brilliance and wanted to prove their months of digging were not for naught. Either way the first half of the movie was filled with strange laughable pictures that served more to mock the movie than recreate it.

But despite these odd inclusions, there were a few added scenes that make the restoration worth it and the picture as a whole succeed. I can see why this is hailed as Judy's greatest role. Think Gone With The Wind goes to Hollywood. My Fair Lady without the unhappy ending. Funny Girl but with more scotch! Love it!