Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

A Star Is Born Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 15, 2019

A Star Is Born takes the title and tale of the beloved 1954 Judy Garland/James Mason classic of the same name (as well as two other adaptations), but not its temperament or timeframe. This is a contemporary reimagining where external success is measured in YouTube views and Grammy awards but life success at a much more intimate level. It's a gruff, raw, and real picture helmed by leading man Bradley Cooper in his directorial debut. Cooper's vision for the film balances romantic intimacies and personal crises with sprawling musical numbers and industry excitement, and fatigue. The film thrives on organic, complex characters who meet through chance, fall in love, and see their careers take radically different directions; one is on the rise and the other is on decline, though there's obviously much more to their stations than how many fans they draw or which awards they win. Though the film is more than reliant on broad-stroke narrative cliché, it's in the intimate character beats that the film finds the voice that would find it nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and a trio of Actor nods.

Alcoholic Country-Rock star Jack Maine (Bradley Cooper) serendipitously meets an up-and-coming singer-songwriter named Ally (Lady Gaga) while stopping for a drink after a show. He's immediately impressed with her talents, is escorted backstage to meet her, and takes her under his wing and into his arms. The pair build a whirlwind romance and Jack coaxes her onto the stage at his next show to perform one of her songs. Her nervousness quickly becomes the realization that her dream is in her grasp. She nails her moment in the spotlight and becomes an instant hit on social media. Stardom beckons Ally who must balance her rising fame and fortune while building a relationship with the man with whom she has fallen in love.

The film parallels Ally's rise and Jack's fall both personally and in the music industry. Ally, through Jack, her music, and stardom, finds her place in the world. Her rise is not gradual but rather instant, a whirlwind adventure that sees her slaving in a kitchen and singing in a bar one night and performing alongside an industry legend in front of thousands the next. Jack finds renewed purpose and vigor in life, but the specter of alcoholism and his own personal demons dog him through their time together. The film is certainly not concerned with broad originality in its outward presentation. Where the film succeeds is in its balance between the intimacy of Ally’s relationship and romance with Jack and her opportunities and obligations as, first, a burgeoning sensation and then as a full-blown industry star and musical icon. It’s in these not incompatible but often at-odds storylines where the film finds its most impressive character and dramatic beats. Cooper expertly meshes the heartfelt romance with the expansive musical scene and Ally’s explosive appearance onto it. He juggles and juxtaposes large-scale narrative and industry realities with finely honed and honestly captivating tenderness on a small scale. The film thrives on that exploration of humanity in a world where the realities of stardom make it difficult to remain true to oneself, one way or another, to enjoy human intimacy when the music industry all but makes it impossible.

Cooper angles to find added dramatic complexity in his own character's relationship with his half-brother, played by the venerable Sam Elliott, who is also his manager. But the story's greatest challenges stem from the evolution of Jack's relationship with Ally, notably as it moves out of the fun and frivolous discovery stage when her quickly burgeoning and evolving career, as well as his constant struggle with alcoholism, threaten to pull them apart as quickly as the whirlwind that brought them together. But their love proves strong, even as Jack grows jealous and Ally learns that branching out on her own is not easy. Her new manager, a corporate, bottom-line type named Rez (Rafi Gavron), approaches her wide-eyed and gaga over her talents, but he quickly reveals that he wants to rewrite her script, demanding that she precisely perform dance moves and change the color of her hair. She’s not into that, though, but she is ultimately rebranded from singer-songwriter of intimate, soulful music into a cutout Pop figure who, yes, takes the world by storm, but at what price to herself, to Jack, and to their relationship?

Cooper and Cinematographer Matthew Libatique (Black Swan) visually discover and capitalize on the same sense of intimate awe in the film's larger musical moments and in the personal character scenes. They maintain a focus on character place and emotion, always keeping even the most spectacular musical moments connected to the characters' souls, in some way, with a distance becoming more obvious in several key moments later in the film. It's brilliant work and Cooper shows great promise behind the camera, here crafting an excellent film that overcomes several narrative obstacles thanks to his sure-handedness and understanding of cinematic approach in keeping the film inwardly focused on its characters rather than outwardly focused on the world around them, even as that world tugs and yanks and redefines the characters intimately and outwardly alike. Cooper and Gaga soar in the leads, too, each bringing an authentic depth to the parts, overcoming the inherent cliché and discovering souls shaped by a lifetime of experience. The actors take on the characters' greatest challenges, revel in their successes, and mourn the failures in a shared experience that forms quickly but is sure to last a lifetime, however long that may be.

A Star Is Born Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A Star Is Born arrives on Blu-ray 1080p, courtesy of Warner Brothers, sourced from a digital shoot. While the picture does exhibit a good bit of source noise in lower-light shots -- one of the most obvious examples comes minutes into the film when Jack, after a concert, retreats to a vehicle and begins to drink -- the image is otherwise very attractive and without serious source or encode blemish. The picture does not constantly reveal razor detailing. There's a mildly soft veneer to the film, an airy finesse about it, with only some shots -- an intimate Jack close-up right at the 90 minute mark, for example -- that is probably the sharpest, most intense example of character clarity on offer, showcasing individual pores, beard hairs, and other skin detail with striking clarity. The image is quite strong within Cooper's and Libatique's vision, with various concert venues, backstage areas, home interiors, and the like revealing inviting, environment-defining clarity and attention to detail. Colors are likewise a blend of high impact and somewhat reserved. Ally's hair later on in the film, which she colors from its natural brown-ish shade to a more intense red/orange, is one of the standouts. Color is not used to major impact in the film, but Warner's Blu-ray offers the entire range with impressive saturation and accuracy within the film's visual profile. Black levels are healthy and deep while flesh tones appear accurate.

A Star Is Born Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A Star Is Born belts out a prodigious Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The presentation struts its stuff right out of the gate with a thunderous, perfectly immersive concert scene with a pronounced low end support that harmoniously balances with richly detailed and stage-filling instrumentals and crowd noise. It's a dynamic sonic stretch -- full-bodied, relentlessly detailed, and invigorating -- that is matched several times throughout the film. The overhead channels do not offer anything of discrete note in these scenes, or elsewhere in the film, but they do add a rather obvious sense of greater spacial immersion that transplants the listener onto the stage, critical to aurally matching the intimate filming of those key on-stage scenes (and it's no wonder Jack suffers from an acute case of tinnitus). The rest of the track offers nothing above and beyond but does deliver a full, healthy listening experience wether recreating essential barroom din or location environmental sounds, reverb during a pre-concert session around the 30-minute mark, or score. The Atmos presentation offers all components in agreeable working order, never failing to distinguish hard-edged guitar riffs or low-end Pop beats with equal clarity and accuracy. Dialogue delivery is faithful to a front-center position, yielding seamless spoken word detail and effortless prioritization.

A Star Is Born Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

A Star Is Born contains a making-of and several music-related extras. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• The Road to Stardom: Making A Star Is Born (1080p, 30:02): A thorough exploration that covers the picture's authenticity, character beats, cast and performances, music and vocals, Cooper's musical studies, songs and story, shooting the musical scenes, Cooper's direction, and more.
• Jam Sessions and Rarities (1080p): Rehearsal musical performances. Included are Baby What You Want Me to Do (Jam Session, 2:22), Midnight Special (Jam Session, 2:41), and Is That Alright by Lady Gaga (1:58), which is presented more in the style of a music video with clips from the film.
• Music Videos (1080p): Included are Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper (3:37), Always Remember Us This Way by Lady Gaga (4:04), Look What I Found by Lady Gaga (3:18), and I'll Never Love Again by Lady Gaga (4:54).
• Musical Moments (1080p): The film's music scenes all in one place. Included are Black Eyes (1:36), La Vie en Rose (2:53), Maybe It's Time (1:23), Shallow (Dialogue) (2:09), Alibi (2:59), Shallow (3:34), Maybe It's Time (1:20), Always Remember Us This Way (3:26), Why Did You Do That? (2:51), Oh, Pretty Woman (1:34), and I'll Never Love Again (4:42).

A Star Is Born Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In A Star Is Born, first-time Director Bradley Cooper takes genre cliché character cornerstones, including identity crises, alcoholism, and the journey from talented nobody into overnight sensation, and crafts a picture of resplendent character intimacy. It's a great challenge that Cooper conquers with confidence both behind the camera and in front of it. His co-star, Pop sensation Lady Gaga, delivers a grounded, touching performance as a character who finds sudden fame and fortune but also the love of her life. Hers is an uphill battle to find balance in both, and Gaga delivers a complex, layered performance that shines from her first to her final scene. Warner's Blu-ray release of A Star Is Born delivers rock-solid video, a terrific Atmos soundtrack, and several extras. Very highly recommended.