NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Warner's original DVD, from 2000, was their first DVD-18 (double-sided dual layered) and it was an excellent package. I never considered at the time that the anamorphic image could be drastically improved. It has a few speckles and uneven shifts but otherwise looked very impressive in the SD-DVD medium.

On it's premiere, the 1954 version of A Star is Born ran approximately 3+ hours. It was then cut to 2 1/2 hours and the re-edit was altered on every available print of the film in existence. For 30+ years this truncated version was the only one accessible to fans. In 1983, film historian Ronald Haver pieced together the lost footage from a variety of sources to bring the film back to it's original running time. The recreation of the film is an incredibly impressive effort. Now, almost 10 years after it's initial DVD release it has been restoratively moved to new DVD and Blu-ray packages. Anticipation is high.

Colors, especially shades of red, are highly notable as are whites, blues and overall detail. The 1080P rendering has improved the film visually in a number of other important areas. The new transfer shows grain - perhaps not as much as I anticipated but the film textures still exist - in some scenes more than others. Both transfers show the film in the CinemaScope 2.55:1 aspect ratio but there is some differences with modest movement in the frame. Sometimes the DVD shows more information - sometimes the Blu-ray. The HD transfer has given the film a richness beyond the more vibrant colors and moving into the contrast. The film is represented a bit darker - appropriately so. Given the history of getting A Star is Born to this point, for home theater viewing, it has to be considered a triumph. There is some minor depth and it, more than, satisfied my expectations for video.

NOTE: Thomas noted to us in email that the DVD faces are slimmer (possibly vertically stretched) and the Blu-ray faces fatter (possibly horizontally stretched) - thanks Thomas! There was some variances with CinemaScope and I'm unsure which is 'more' correct.

The DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 3820 kbps sounds about as good as I expected. The music has some heavier depth but those anticipating some aggressive separations and range may be left wanting. The film is approaching it's 55th birthday. It seems to show a few inconsistencies but is otherwise spot-on. Garland's voice has a resonance not available on the DVD. The old DVD had English and French subtitles and the new hi-def disc also offers Spanish as well as two foreign language DUBs. My Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines world-wide.

The Blu-ray disc only houses the feature film - all extras are accessible on a second, single-layered DVD disc (coded for regions 1,2,3,4 in the NTSC standard). Much is duplicated from second side of the the 2000 DVD but there is still more for fans to enjoy including multiple deleted scenes and alternate takes - and a colorful introduction. In the 'Audio Vault' , we get an hour long, December 42', "Lux Theater Broadcast" and 6-songs worth of recording sessions including rehearsals of "Born in a Trunk” and "Someone at Last” and extended versions of "My Melancholy Baby”, "Someone”, "Black Bottom” and "Swanee”. There is also a Bugs Bunny cartoon. This is housed in a delightful 44-page Digi-Booklet with color photos and essays - one of the nicest I've seen.

Above all else this film has so much 'character' and, firstly, bringing it back from the abyss to full running time - then this exquisite restoration certainly makes a purchase one of the many highlights of the Blu-ray year. There will never be another star of Garland's caliber - and in keeping with the lack of appreciation at the time the release - A Star is Born was nominated for 6 Oscars... but did not win one. It was voted a place on the National Film Registry in 2000.

The Warner Blu-ray has a strong recommendation. It has great value especially for the price offered. You might feel you are buying a part of cinema history.

Gary W. Tooze