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Post by hi224 on Mar 3, 2019 19:41:21 GMT
It was a role that was superfluous, to what some of the audience would have been aware of about the story. I can't comment on the first 2 versions, as I haven't seen them, but in the 76' version, none of this family stuff cropped up if I recall for Kristofferson's character. Elliot is also around 30yrs Cooper's senior. It was casting for sensational effect only. ... I concur. I do not recall such a role in the 1954 version, but it is the kind of character and relationship that smacks of "old Hollywood" melodrama—the slightly mysterious older brother whose presence haunts the protagonist. In a sense, it is something out of an old Western, thus making the casting of Elliott all the more predictable (if ironically appropriate). That said, I believe that the film's greater flaw is the excessive sentimentalizing and foreshadowing regarding the climactic development. I didnt feel that at all, i actually felt they didnt go far at all in giving us insight into his brother, he needed 1-2 extra scenes. Also was it just me or did you feel Chappelles character was s bit of a douche.
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Post by joekiddlouischama on Mar 6, 2019 8:44:18 GMT
... I concur. I do not recall such a role in the 1954 version, but it is the kind of character and relationship that smacks of "old Hollywood" melodrama—the slightly mysterious older brother whose presence haunts the protagonist. In a sense, it is something out of an old Western, thus making the casting of Elliott all the more predictable (if ironically appropriate). That said, I believe that the film's greater flaw is the excessive sentimentalizing and foreshadowing regarding the climactic development. I didnt feel that at all, i actually felt they didnt go far at all in giving us insight into his brother, he needed 1-2 extra scenes. Also was it just me or did you feel Chappelles character was s bit of a douche. Now that you mention it, the Chappelle character came out of nowhere and, without further or prior development, he seemed a bit hokey. On Oscar weekend, I viewed A Star Is Born for a third time. My assessment was the same as during my second screening ("pretty good/good"), but I now possess some more specific thoughts about why the film—while successful overall—fails to function optimally and how it could have proved that much better and far more fascinating. I will post those comments in the next few days, but for now, I will note that there is an encore edition of A Star Is Born out in some theaters—a version with approximately twelve additional minutes, including some new scenes. I am going to see it soon, and I wonder if the new scenes include more with the Chappelle and Elliott characters. Frankly, I agree that the movie could have used a couple more scenes with the Elliott character, and in that case, his presence would have seemed less sensationalistic.
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Post by Morgana on Mar 8, 2019 7:38:33 GMT
Absolutely enjoyed the movie however it has a vast amount of flaws as well. The conflicts felt forced and a tad contrived as well to me at least perhaps. I thought the direction was a bit tepid and flat as well to be honest, nothing was framed very interestingly. The characterizations were a tad aloof and very inconsistent as well. Ally at the start seems more no nonsense no bullshit, then adversely is able to put up with Normans BS throughout the movie. Norman seems to have disdain as well as illustrated when he can't stand how ally has compromised her whole image. Yet seems perfectly cool with doing as such himself as well. Is he alright with selling out as long as Ally doesn't be like him? or actually is he expressing a self loathing perhaps of himself as well? also the dynamics between him and his brother could've been explored better. the movie actually seemed to struggle to convey the message of artistic integrity versus compromising for the sake of a happy life. I loved the songs, the performances, and certain themes as well. I haven't seen it, and don't know that I will, but I've heard the song that won the Oscar and I was disappointed in it. I don't see the appeal of it, especially if you compare it to the song that Streisand sang in the earlier A Star is Born, which I saw. The latter was much superior, in my opinion, but then Gaga is no Streisand.
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Post by Vits on Mar 8, 2019 20:10:20 GMT
A STAR IS BORN 1937 4/10 A STAR IS BORN 1937 told a story about a woman (VICKI LESTER) who went to Hollywood to become an actress. She found some gigs and fell in love with a celebrity (NORMAN MAINE). While she was becoming famous, he was becoming a jealous drunk. From the very 1st scene of A STAR IS BORN 1954, VICKI is already a perfomer (though not a famous one) and NORMAN is already a drunk. These things change the story in 3 ways: -The romance gets more focus than the career, making the story NORMAN's as much as VICKI's. -VICKI isn't portrayed as a young and naive up-and-comer. -The dramatic shift in the last part doesn't feel like it comes out of nowhere. Judy Garland and James Mason's performances are good, but most of the musical numbers aren't creative and all the songs are forgettable. Even though I'm not writing a positive comment, we're talking about the remake of a movie that wasn't very original to begin with (there almost was a plagiarism lawsuit). It could've been a lot worse. 5/10 Except for 2 intense scenes (the one that takes place at the Grammy Awards (it didn't even need the accidental slap shown in its predecessors to cause tension) and the one in the highway before the tragedy), A STAR IS BORN 1976 is the most dull-looking movie I've seen in a long time (how the Hell was it nominated for the Best Cinematography Oscar?!). Of course that I've seen plenty of other movies with the same problem, but they didn't tell stories about music, so the lack of visual creativity stands out more here. It's also boring from a storytelling point of view, but that's not exclusive to this sub-genre. There's so little plot in this 140-minute-long movie that some of the musical performances are immediately followed by another one. Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson's performances are good, but they have no chemistry. The previous versions portrayed NORMAN MAINE as a not-so-bad guy who allowed the booze to let out the worst in him. Here, JOHN NORMAN HOWARD (his counterpart) is an asshole from beginning to end and he doesn't even get drunk that often (on-screen, at least). 3/10 I wasn't looking forward to a 3rd remake. Not just because I didn't like any installment up until this point, but also because many movies in the last 40 years have been inspired by this franchise. However, the directing, writing, cinematography and song score in A STAR IS BORN 2018 is good enough to make the story feel fresh. Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott and Andrew Dice Clay's performances are great. The beginning plays out like one of those indie movies that take place in a short period of time showing 2 people going to different places while talking and falling in love. The lead actors get to show off their amazing chemistry. Later, we see JACKSON MAINE & ALLY (the protagonists) playing rock music with instruments not really caring about how they look. As she becomes famous, she leans over the pop genre, computerized music and exagerated makeovers. This parallels the change of predominance in the music industry that started around 10 years ago. Therefore, it would've been obvious for the movie to follow the "She rises to fame while he hits rock bottom, causing him to drink more" plot that its predecessors followed... but it doesn't. Hell, it doesn't even portray ALLY's change as something truly negative. JACKSON's career is fine (I hate to say it, but he probably wouldn't be so popular in 2018 if his songs didn't have a slightly country sound), but his insecurity causes him to drink more, which is what starts to ruin his career. I knew it was going to be hard to top the death scene in A STAR IS BORN 1976, which left ambigious whether JOHN killed himself or not. There's no ambiguety here, but it's still a clever example of visual storytelling, partly by (ironically) not showing everything. 9/10 ------------------------------------- You can read comments of other movies in my blog.
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