A Star is Born

Nominated for Best Actor (James Mason), Best Actress (Judy Garland), Art Direction (Color), Costume Design (Color), and Music Scoring in 1954.

When I tell people that I watched nothing but Judy Garland movies one rainy Sunday, and that this one was my favorite, the reaction is inevitably "EW!  That one is my least favorite!"  They cite length, heavy handedness, and "it's just so depressing" as reasons, which either speaks volumes of the company I keep or of myself.  Probably both, eh?  Anyway.

This movie completely blew me away.  From Garland's torch song performance to her first starring medley, the music gave me goosebumps.  And I am wildly picky about my musicals, man.  I tend to not like 'em.  But these numbers were beautiful, and the cinematography?  Shut.  Up.  I still marvel at the fact that the cinematographer was not recognized because the shots (especially in the aforementioned famous medley) seemed progressive and visionary.

I will fess up and admit that I go into movies that predate the 70's with certain negative expectations.  I'm not proud of that and I am hoping that this project teaches me the err of my opinions.  This movie certainly did.  I always expect a certain crackle to costumes and clomp to sets that ruins my experience, but I certainly didn't get that here.  Everything was lush and dreamlike (sometimes nightmarish), but never crisp and cheap.  And the final shot actually made me completely weepy.

Super Oscar Fun Fact - this movie is a remake, and both the stars of this picture and the original were nominated for their performances.