Truly Dreadful Film

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

**SOME SPOILERS** Very likely the schmaltziest of the three or is it four versions of the movie "A Star is Born" has super rock star John Norman Howard, Kris Kristofferson, self destruct right before our eyes as his old lady or wife Esther, Barbara Streisand, rises to to top of the pop music world without as much as breaking into a sweat or note. John who already was on the way down when he met Esther as a member of a bi-racial womens singing trio "The Oreos" and discovered as well as later married her while he was still sober. Before the poor and suffering from the DT's John knew it Esther became the biggest hit in the world of music with him becoming a helpless drunk and speed freak.Despite her amazing success Esther still stuck by her man John and did her best to get him back on his feet and wagon but his pride just got in the way. The final straw was when John found semi nude "Rolling Stone" reporter Queint,Marta Heflin, taking a dip in his swimming pool who asked him for an exclusive interview. It's when a shocked Esther found John and Quint buff a** naked in bed and under the covers she blew a fuse and practically kicked him out of the house. What really ticked off the outraged Esther is just how the drugged out looking Quint acted as if there was nothing wrong in being in bed with John as she was interviewing him. John who by now had lost all his self respect and dignity continued to make a complete fool of himself in public at the expense of his wife Esther by falling down drunk at an award "The Grammies" show that his wife Ester was invited as a guest speaker. Drunk disorderly and and out of control a semi conscious and smashed out of his skull John in the end let it all go and went along with it. Taking a drive in the desert with his hopped up red sport car that in it going over 100 MPH overturned and killed him.Unlike in the other versions of the movie where the husband ends it all by walking nude into the Pacific Ocean and drowning himself in here he took the land or scenic route to do himself in so to keep from getting himself wet and not having his body washed away out at sea. In fact John's death unlike the previous movies was more like and accident instead of a suicide which made it less, for what it's worth, tragic.A devastated Esther who had since made up with her drunk and philandering husband John came back out of hiding to belt out a song at a memorial for her late husband who's singing brought the roof down as well as caused her to suffer what seemed like a major emotional as well as psychical breakdown. As Esther struggling to regain her composer seemed to lose it on the stage as well as at times forget the lyrics of the song she was singing! With her turning all the colors of the rainbow as the movie ended in an eerie freeze frame before she was given any sort of medical attention. Despite the movie's many faults it turned out to be one of the top money makers of 1976 doing some 80 million dollars in ticket sales.Which showed just how powerful Barbara Streisand's star power was even when she was given a turkey of a role as well as movie to perform in.

It has been observed on many occasions that ordinary people and amateur viewers have the habit of comparing films. This might not be the ideal method to explore some good qualities of a film. Each film is unique as it presents a story using best possible actors as well as technicians. It is by using this yardstick that one can take the decision of not comparing the two previous versions of 'A Star Is Born' with this 1978 film which has some of its own moments of sublime grandeur. Actor, Singer Kris Kristofferson plays an important role as an eccentric rock star whose excesses also seem to cause him extreme discomfort. His romantic chemistry with Barbara Streisand is a great joy to watch. One can easily sense the disappearance of selfish attitude in their performances. Both actors perform nicely as they enable different artists to appreciate each other. It is interesting to watch how an artist is able to appreciate other people's feelings. Barbara Streisand is absolutely amazing as a shy musician who is unable to understand the world of her rock star husband.

I don't remember when I first learned of "A Star Is Born", but I eventually learned that the first version was the 1937 one starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, then there was the 1954 one starring Judy Garland and James Mason, and lastly there was the 1976 one starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. Now that I've seen all three, I can say that the original was a masterpiece, the second one was OK, and this third one was the lowest of the three. Watching it, I felt as though Streisand made it as a vanity project. The really interesting character is Kristofferson's burnt-out rock star who watches Streisand's nightclub singer overtake him.The previous versions were indictments of Hollywood's star system, while this one makes it look as though the problems are all of one's own making. Another noticeable change is what happens at the end. Due to the women's movement, it would've been outdated for the woman to identify herself as the man's wife. In the end, I'd say that it wasn't a bad movie. Even though it was more of a star vehicle for Streisand, it still tried to do something good.

So I had heard from a few people that this film had brought them to tears in the theater. As I watched it for the first time I was expecting another romantic, tear-jerking Barbra Streisand film; Something like The Way We Were. I was certainly wrong. The chemistry between the two main characters, Esther Hoffman and her John Howard, was nonexistent, making it impossible to get attached to the characters. There wasn't anything romantic about it. Streisand's character fell for an alcoholic drug addict who couldn't sing a single note without making me want to hit the fast-forward button. At one point her character finds her husband in bed with another woman and she forgives him about five minutes later. There's nothing romantic about a deadbeat rock star and a woman who can't seem to realize it until he actually dies. Parts of the movie seemed to drag on and on, and I kept asking myself when it was going to end.The death of John Howard was completely predictable. There was totally obvious foreshadowing of his reckless behavior early on in the movie, and when he died I felt no emotion whatsoever. It wasn't a tragic accident, it was him basically being an idiot. Not to mention throughout the movie I was distracted by his hideous beard.The only parts of this movie worth seeing are the Streisand songs. The ending of the movie when she sings "With One More Look At You/Watch Closely Now" was my reason for giving this film a whopping 3/10. Those 7 minutes were the only part of the movie I actually felt an emotion other than irritation and anger.