A Star Is Born (1954)
90%RT Audience Score: 81%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
95 wins & 280 nominations total
A Star is Born is a movie of grand scope and intimate moments, featuring Judy Garland’s possibly greatest performance.
A Star is Born is like a fine wine, it only gets better with age. Judy Garland’s performance is a true masterpiece, and the blend of drama and musical elements make for a perfect cinematic experience. Sure, it’s a bit long, but so is a good dinner party with friends. And just like that dinner party, you won’t want it to end. So sit back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the showbiz soap opera that is A Star is Born.
Production Company(ies)
Selznick International Pictures,,
Distributor
Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros.
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, Somerset, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language throughout, some sexuality/nudity and substance abuse
Year of Release
1954
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Atmos Auro 11.1 Sonics-DDP SDDS
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 56m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 29, 1954 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 22, 2010
Genre(s)
Musical
Keyword(s)
starring Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, Charles Bickford, Tommy Noonan, Lucy Marlow, directed by George Cukor, written by Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell, William A Wellman, Moss Hart, musical, box office performance, budget, reviewed by TIME Staff, Dave Kehr, Jack Moffitt, Penelope Houston, Sidney Luft, MPAA rating PG, Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros Pictures, Warner Bros., Surround sound mix, Hollywood, celebrity, aspiring actress, musical together, Vicki Lester, heavy bouts of drinking, career, tragic, semi-musical comedy, feminist, success, talent, melodramatic, restoration editing techniques, heartbreak, epic, exciting, horror movies, MCU movies, Netflix series
Worldwide gross: $436,233,122
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $513,347,690
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 277
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 55,981,209
US/Canada gross: $215,333,122
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $253,398,367
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 248
US/Canada opening weekend: $42,908,051
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $50,493,068
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 223
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $36,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $42,363,855
Production budget ranking: 905
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $22,812,936
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $448,170,899
ROI to date (est.): 688%
ROI ranking: 183
James Mason – Norman Maine
Jack Carson – Matt Libby
Charles Bickford – Oliver Niles
Tommy Noonan – Danny McGuire
Lucy Marlow – Lola Lavery
Director(s)
George Cukor
Writer(s)
Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell, William A. Wellman, Moss Hart
Producer(s)
Sidney Luft
Film Festivals
Venice, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
95 wins & 280 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Original Song Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (45) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (1)
All this, plus a dozen big musical sequences, makes Star a mighty long gulp of champagne; but, like champagne, it is hard to refuse.
October 3, 2018
TIME Staff
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Judy Garland gives everything she has as the young star on the way up; her performance is an emotional autobiography.
October 3, 2018
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
A Star Is Born is the perfect blend of drama and musical – of cinematic art and popular entertainment.
October 3, 2018
Jack Moffitt
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
In this incandescent performance, [Judy Garland] seems to be playing on her nerves: she cannot but strike at ours.
July 6, 2018
Penelope Houston
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
A Star Is Born was a great 1937 moneymaker and it’s an even greater picture in its filmusical transmutation.
July 7, 2010
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
One of the grandest heartbreak dramas that has drenched the screen in years… the Warners and Mr. Cukor have really and truly gone to town in giving this hackneyed Hollywood story an abundance of fullness and form.
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
…friends and fans of Judy will want to see her swing successfully for the fences here in a performance that fascinates because of how it does, and does not, reflect the truth of her troubled career…
June 17, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Eddie Harrison
film-authority.com
Something of the monstrous artificiality of Hollywood comes through most acutely in various incisive touches and certainly A Star is Born will take its place among the most acutely observed films about Hollywood life.
June 7, 2022
Herman G. Weinberg
Film Culture
…still by far the best incarnation of that showbiz soap opera. Particularly given the peerless casting of Judy Garland as the star who is born…
May 4, 2022
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
No matter how impactful the finale, it’s difficult to appreciate the film as a whole; it’s very clearly two distinct pictures.
March 24, 2021 | Rating: 6/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
This is adult Judy Garland at her peak, commanding both the musical and acting elements of the film in this combination of 1950s cornpone and musical glory. A must see.
May 30, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Patrick McDonald
WBGR-FM (93.7 FM – Monroe, WI)
Although too long…it’s a brilliant and fascinating showpiece for Judy Garland in her triumphal return to films.
October 31, 2019
Clyde Gilmour
Maclean’s Magazine…
Plot
A fading Hollywood actor helps an aspiring actress become a star, but as her career takes off, his drinking problem threatens to destroy their relationship in A Star is Born.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Judy Garland’s performance in A Star is Born is considered by many to be one of her greatest.
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