A Star Is Born (1976)

Director:

Frank Pierson

Writers:

William A. Wellman (1937 story) and
Robert Carson (1937 story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

17 December 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Romance

Plot:

A has-been rock star falls in love with a young, up-and-coming songstress.

Plot Keywords:

Star | Rock Star | Love | Singer | Song

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 6 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Barbra Streisand	...	Esther Hoffman
Kris Kristofferson	...	John Norman Howard
Gary Busey	...	Bobbie Ritchie
Oliver Clark	...	Gary Danziger
Venetta Fields	...	One of the Oreos
Clydie King	...	One of the Oreos
Marta Heflin	...	Quentin
M.G. Kelly	...	Bebe Jesus
Sally Kirkland	...	Photographer
Joanne Linville	...	Freddie
Uncle Rudy	...	Mo
Paul Mazursky	...	Brian
Stephen Bruton	...	Speedway
Sammy Lee Creason	...	Speedway (as Sam Creason)
Cleve Dupin	...	Speedway
Donnie Fritts	...	Speedway
Dean Hagen	...	Speedway
Booker T. Jones	...	Speedway
Jerry McGee	...	Speedway
Art Munson	...	Speedway
Charles Owens	...	Speedway
Terry Paul	...	Speedway
Jack Redmond	...	Speedway
Bobby Shew	...	Speedway
Mike Utley	...	Speedway (as Michael Utley)
Montrose	...	Themselves
Bill Graham	...	Himself
Rita Coolidge	...	Herself
Tony Orlando	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aesop Aquarian	...	Recording Engineer - 'Meow-Chow' Catfood Commercial (uncredited)
Brent Carpenter	...	Extra (uncredited)
Robert Englund	...	Marty (uncredited)
Sandy Helberg	...	Kevin (uncredited)
Roslyn Kind	...	Table Guest at Grammy Awards (uncredited)
Maidie Norman	...	Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
Neil Norman	...	Record Producer (uncredited)

Directed by
Frank Pierson

Writing credits
William A. Wellman		(1937 story) and
Robert Carson		(1937 story)
John Gregory Dunne		&
Joan Didion		and
Frank Pierson
Jonathan Axelrod		uncredited
Jay Presson Allen		uncredited
Alvin Sargent		uncredited

Produced by
Jon Peters	....	producer
Barbra Streisand	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Roger Kellaway

Cinematography by
Robert Surtees

Film Editing by
Peter Zinner

Production Design by
Polly Platt

Art Direction by
William Hiney

Set Decoration by
Ruby R. Levitt		(as Ruby Levitt)

Costume Design by
Seth Banks
Shirlee Strahm

Makeup Department
Barbara Lampson	....	hair stylist
Kaye Pownall	....	hair stylist: Ms. Streisand
Allan Snyder	....	makeup artist
Marvin C. Thompson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Howard Pine	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michele Ader	....	second assistant director
Stuart Fleming	....	assistant director (as Stu Fleming)
Edward Ledding	....	second assistant director (as Ed Ledding)
John Slosser	....	additional second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Joe Acord	....	construction coordinator
Arthur Friedrich	....	property master
Bruce Wayne Mecchi	....	leadman (uncredited)
Eugene J. Reed	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert Glass	....	dubbing mixer (as Bob Glass)
Robert Knudson	....	dubbing mixer
Marvin I. Kosberg	....	sound effects editor
Tom Overton	....	production sound mixer
Josef von Stroheim	....	sound effects editor
Dan Wallin	....	dubbing mixer
Stephen Katz	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby (uncredited)
Phil Ramone	....	sound mixer: live recording (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Chuck Gaspar	....	special effects

Stunts
Lightning Bear	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hal Needham	....	stunts (uncredited)
Spanky Spangler	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ron Stein	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Richard Barth	....	assistant camera
Jules Fisher	....	concert lighting
Daniel R. Jordan	....	key grip (as Dan Jordan)
Earl Kennedy	....	gaffer
Victor Nikaido	....	assistant camera
Charles W. Short	....	camera operator
Robert C. Thomas	....	camera operator (as Robert Thomas)
Ron Grover	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Serge Poupis	....	assistant camera: second unit (uncredited)
John R. Shannon	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Johnny Walker	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Dianne Crittenden	....	casting supervisor
Frank Kennedy	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Seth Banks	....	wardrobe
Shirlee Strahm	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Marilyn Madderom	....	apprentice editor
Michael E. Polakow	....	apprentice editor
Florence Williamson	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
John Caper Jr.	....	music editor
Phil Ramone	....	music & live recordings producer
Barbra Streisand	....	musical concepts
Paul Williams	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Alan Falco	....	transportation

Other crew
Scott Conrad	....	special sequences
Betty Crosby	....	script supervisor
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer
Gene Levy	....	production auditor
Joan Marshall	....	assistant: Ms. Streisand (as Joan Marshall Ashby)
Jeff Werner	....	special sequences
David Winters	....	choreographer
Laura Ziskin	....	assistant: Mr. Peters
Dominic Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)
Ruth Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)

Thanks
Grace Davidson	....	special thanks
Joyce Sullivan	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Barwood Films
• First Artists
• Winters Hollywood Entertainment Holdings Corporation

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1980) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Columbia Records  soundtrack
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Phoenix Film Office  special thanks
• Winters Hollywood Entertainment Holdings Corporation  choreography

Also Known As:

Runtime:

139 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Company:

Barwood Films

Trivia:

The second-highest grossing film of 1976.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In the swimming pool scene after the motorcycle accident at the stadium concert, John N Howard has Ace bandages on his foot and right hand. Yet, he is shown using the right hand to use a pair of crutches (would be too painful with a wrist sprain). He is also shown swimming, which is also painful to sprained joints. He is not shown wincing at all while swimming. He also puts weight on his right hand as he is getting out of the pool, pushing up on his fingertips on a straightened wrist. This would not be possible without severe pain, if the wrist is in fact damaged enough to require an Ace bandage.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 'Dog Day Afternoon': After the Filming (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

EVERYTHING

The Ultimate Wallow for Barbra-philes...Watch Closely Now as the New DVD Has Solid Extras

Thirty years after its initial release, the third version of "A Star Is Born" finally comes to DVD in a package that should please the most devoted fans of Barbra Streisand. That would include me since I just saw her in concert singing among other numbers, the feminist anthem "Woman in the Moon" from this 1976 film. Easy to dismiss, the movie's career-polarizing story is such a sturdy pile of Hollywood-style clichés that variations of it exist in other films including Streisand's own "Funny Girl". This time reset to the then-contemporary music scene, the timeworn plot follows self-destructive rock star John Norman Howard on his deep-dive career descent just as he meets club singer Esther Hoffman who is awaiting her big break.

Troubles dog their courtship from the outset, as John Norman (both names please) responds to grasping fans and bloodless DJs with random acts of violence (from which he inexplicably escapes prosecution). To John Norman, Esther represents his last shot at happiness, and in turn, she is drawn to the innately decent, creative musician underneath the façade. In the movie's most pivotal scene, he gives Esther her big break at a benefit concert, and her career takes off. Inevitably, he can't handle the failure of his career in light of her meteoric success, and if you are familiar with any version of this story, you know the rest. Directed by Frank Pierson (although Streisand's budding directorial talents are obviously on display), the film still manages to draw me in, even though I know it is shamelessly contrived and manipulative. It still has a certain emotional resonance despite its numerous flaws.

Although Streisand in her prime seems like the ideal choice to play a rising singing star, her screen persona is simply too strong and predefined to play Esther credibly. The same can be said for her performing style since the script seems to make allowances for her softer Adult Contemporary-oriented material to be accepted within the otherwise hardened world of arena rock. From the moment she pops her head up as the middle of the Oreos, she can't help but come across as an established star. I can forgive the lapse simply because she is an unparalleled vocal talent, but what becomes less forgiving is how she makes Esther more strident than poignant when John Norman's woes become overwhelming. This creates an oddly discomfiting dynamic in the last part of the film when it becomes less about what caused the climactic event than Esther's response to it. This is capped off by an uninterrupted eight-minute close-up of her memorial performance - great except when she regrettably mimics John Norman's style toward the end.

Kristofferson, on the other hand, gives a superb performance throughout, managing a level of honesty that grounds the film and makes palpable his concurrent feelings of love, pride and resentment toward Esther. He makes his vodka-soaked onstage growling work within this context. Otherwise, what always strikes me as strange about this version is how all the supporting characters are relegated to the background as if they didn't exist unless they were interacting with the two principals. The only ones who register are Paul Mazursky as John Norman's level-headed manager Brian and Gary Busey as his cynical band manager Bobbie. Veteran cameraman Robert Surtees provides a nice burnish to the cinematography though a level of graininess persists in the print. A big seller in its day, the soundtrack is a hodgepodge of different styles from the 1970's - some songs still quite good ("Everything", "Woman in the Moon", "Watch Closely Now"), some that have moved to kitsch ("Queen Bee", Kenny Loggins' "I Believe in Love") and of course, the inescapable "Evergreen".

The print transfer on the 2006 DVD is clean and the sound gratefully crisp thanks to digital remastering. Streisand's participation is the chief lure of the extras beginning with her feature-length commentary. She gives insightful information about the genesis of the film, the casting and the reportedly troubled production. She is also refreshingly candid about the megalomania of Jon Peters, her hairdresser boyfriend who became the movie's producer, and her dissatisfaction with Pierson as a director. I just wish she could have provided more scene-specific comments that directly relate to what is on screen. She also tends to repeat the same anecdotes when the mood strikes her, e.g., it gets tiring to hear for the third time how the person playing the chauffeur was a friend of Peters. I think having a second commentator could have drawn out other nuggets from her.

There is a wardrobe test reel that shows some amusing 1970's clothes, especially Kristofferson's mixed-fabric poncho and orange polyester shirt. There are also twelve deleted scenes included with Streisand's optional commentary. One is a comic bread-baking scene which reminded me how much I like Streisand in farcical comedies. Another is an extended scene in which she plays "Evergreen" on the guitar in front of an awestruck Kristofferson who then falls asleep. The most interesting is an alternate take on the musical finale incorporating fast cuts, which I agree with Streisand should have been used. Fittingly, the theatrical trailers for all three versions of "A Star Is Born" are also included.