BK,
I tend to agree with you on A STAR IS BORN.
I wish that they'd either released the original theatrical version on a separate disc OR included the restored music/production stills material as an extra.
It's rather disconcerting the way it is now.
I'd rather be "momentarily" disconcerted for a short sequence than miss out on all the glorious material that was missing from that old hack-job release we were treated to on TV all those years ago.
But, maybe that's just me.
Don't forget that a lot of the "performances" of Mason and Garland was also missing. The entire sequence in the recording studio in which their private conversation was recorded, and then played back, was out of the film, as was most of "Lose That Long Face".
Those sequences alone are astonishing
tours-de-force.
DR Dan (The Man): I agree that it's disconcerting to see those stills with the soundtrack overlay, but what they bring to the story, I think, made their inclusion essential. This sequence showed what happened the next day after Norman convinced Esther to quite the band...and it showed what efforts Norman went to in getting the studio to find her. The studio indifference was a good insight into Norman's decline in importance to the studio, as well. Norman's own efforts to find Esther were wonderful to finally "hear"...and that shot of them stopping so that she could go barf gave us an establishing shot of time and place...and a look at what that part of Los Angeles looked like in those days. Love the neon on the buildings lining the road....and the oil drilling!
I also love, love, love that shot of an LA street at Christmas time.
The BD makes it more startlingly clear than ever before what Cukor and Ray Leavitt were after in terms of filling the CinemaScope screen...wonderful touches of lighted figures on one side...and then something softly lit on the other side of the room...a window...or a curtain blowing in the breeze. It's a film of amazing creativity in approaching the "new widescreen process" that everyone was experimenting with.
One thing that has always bothered me....all the red in the Swanee number. Everything in varying degrees of deep red/rust.