Warner Home Video have announced the US DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of A Star is Born Deluxe Special Edition on 22nd June 2010. The 1954 film starring Judy Garland has been restored for this Deluxe Special Edition which will be available on 2-Disc DVD ($20.97 SRP) and 2-Disc Blu-ray ($34.99 SRP) book format with 40 pages of photography, film history and more.
This extract from the press release talks about the restoration of the film…
Famously reconstructed in the early eighties under the leadership of late film historian Ronald Haver, MPI has meticulously preserved and restored Haver’s 176-minute version of A Star is Born to its original luster, bringing back the brilliant, saturated colors and crisp picture. Using cutting edge digital restoration tools, MPI removed heavy chemical staining that affected several portions of the film and utilized an ultra-resolution recombine process to correct the heavily damaged sections. Without this painstaking preservation, the fragile negative stock in which the film was created would surely be near extinction.
“Our colleagues at MPI have not only done a phenomenal job in restoring the impeccable visual style of this great motion picture, but through their work, they have also ensured the survival of this cinematic treasure,” said George Feltenstein, senior vice president, theatrical catalog marketing, Warner Home Video. “The unparalleled superiority of Blu-ray combined with one of the best musical dramas ever made, come together to create an unforgettable home entertainment experience that is now preserved for the ages.”
And the following on the 1983 reconstruction…
A Star is Born triumphed anew in 1983 after archivist/historian Ronald Haver spent months ransacking studio vaults to spearhead a reclamation of George Cukor’s original edit, ultimately funded by Warner Bros. He located the entire 181-minute soundtrack, along with footage for three lost musical numbers and portions of the deleted dialogue scenes. Where no film existed, Haver used stills-over-track for transition and only slightly trimmed the audio when photographic coverage for some sequences was deemed inadequate. Haver’s A Star is Born debuted at the sold-out New York Radio City Music Hall on July 7, 1983, with James Mason, Sid Luft, and Garland’s daughters Lorna Luft and Liza Minnelli in attendance. Cukor, who had died six months before, was extolled from the stage by Fay Kanin, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which had encouraged Haver on his search and co-sponsored the screening. It is Haver’s assemblage of the picture that is presented in Warner Home Video’s June 2010 release on Blu-ray and DVD.
Extras on both formats are outlined below…
1. Introduction: Run time 3:01
2. The Man That Got Away - Pink Dress: Run time 5:11 - Additional Take
3. The Man that Got Away - Brown Dress #1: Run time 4:49 - Additional Take
4. The Man that Got Away - Brown Dress #2: Run time 4:24 - Additional Take
5. The Man that Got Away - Brown Dress #3: Run time 4:00 - Additional Take
6. The Man That Got Away - Brown Dress #4: Run time 4:00 - Additional Take
7. Here's What I'm here For - Alternate Take: Run time 2:36 - Additional Take
8. Lose That Long Face - Alternate Take: Run time 4:55 - Additional Take
9. Trinidad Coconut Oil Shampoo - Alternate Take: Run time 1:24 - Additional Take
10. When My Sugar Walks Down the Street - Outtake: Run time 0:58 - Additional Take
11. Suicide Scene - Alternate Take: Run time 2:15 - Additional Take
12. Film Effects Reel: Run time 0:54
13. A Report by Jack L. Warner: Run time 6:24 - Vintage Featurette
14. Huge Premiere Hails 'A Star is Born' Newsreel Montage: Run time 7:49 - Vintage Featurette
15. 'A Star is Born' Premiere in Cinemascope: Run time 2:05
16. Pantages Premiere TV Special: Run time 29:30 - Vintage Featurette
17. A Star is Bored (1956 WB Cartoon): Run time 7:00 - New Featurette
18. A Star is Born (1937): Run time 2:46 - Trailer
19. A Star is Born (1954): Run time 3:52 - Trailer
20. A Star is Born (1976): Run time 3:46 - Trailer
21. Audio Vault - Oliver on the Phone with the Director Discussing Norman - Outtakes: Run time 2:00 - Audio Only
22. Audio Vault - Norman and Esther on the Roof of the Hotel Lancaster - Outtakes: Run time 2:00 - Audio Only
23. Audio Vault - 12/28/1942 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast with Judy Garland and Walter Pidgeon) Run time 60:00 - Audio Only
24. Audio Vault - Judy Garland Radio Interview: Run time 4:00 - Audio Only
25. Audio Vault - Born in a Trunk: Run time 9:05 - Audio Only
26. Audio Vault - Someone At Last – Rehearsal: Run time 10:34 - Audio Only
27. Audio Vault - Someone At Last: Run time 7:16 - Audio Only
28. Audio Vault - My Melancholy Baby: Run time 7:06 - Audio Only
29. Audio Vault - Black Bottom: Run time 1:48 - Audio Only
30. Audio Vault – Swanee: Run time 4:57 - Audio Only