By Jason Apuzzo. • A Star is Born is coming to Blu-ray. This gorgeous film – still, alas in incomplete form – is really the perfect sort of film for high definition viewing. A Star is Born takes its place among the very best films made about the culture of filmmaking itself – surpassed only, in my opinion, by 8 1/2 and Sunset Boulevard. (Another now-forgotten classic of this genre is Josef von Sternberg’s The Last Command.)
• The Criterion Collection is finally putting out more of Yasujiro Ozu’s work onto DVD. Avail yourself of Ozu’s films if your tastes run toward the quieter, more contemplative moments of domestic life – particularly in terms of how parents relate (or are sometimes incapable of relating) to their children.
• Did you know that this is the 75th anniversary of the release of Merian C. Cooper’s classic fantasy-adventure film, She? Neither did I. I recommend the newly colorized version of the film, the colorization of which was supervised by Ray Harryhausen.
• I recently posted on the new exhibit of Norman Rockwell’s work taking place in Washington D.C., which features the Rockwell paintings owned by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. MUBI, one of my favorite movie blogs, recently did a post on Rockwell’s movie poster art. I hadn’t been aware that Rockwell did the posters for so many famous films – including Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons (weirdly fitting). Click on over for more. MUBI also reports this week on the forthcoming San Francisco Silent Film Festival, one of the world’s finest such festivals.
• And speaking of silent film, a long-lost Charlie Chaplin silent short film called “A Thief Catcher” has just been discovered. In this 1914 film Chaplin makes a brief cameo appearance as a Keystone cop. Turner Classic Movies also reports this week on restoration efforts involving Alfred Hitchcock’s early work, efforts you the public can assist in with your donations. [ We've spoken here previously at LFM about the importance of preserving our film legacy.] We encourage LFM readers now to donate toward the restoration of Alfred Hitchcock’s silent films.
• Ilene Woods, the voice of Cinderella from Walt Disney’s classic film, has died at the age of 81. We mourn her passing; her delightful voice, however, will certainly live on for generations to come.
• Turner Classic Movies has an interesting blog post up this week on the Clint Eastwood Cold War classic Firefox; on a somewhat related note, there was an interesting article over at The Wrap this week on the recent evolution of the action film. Click on over for more.
• And finally, Greenbriar Picture Shows, another one of my favorite classic movie sites, has some wonderful posts up this week (see here and here) on Orson Welles’ classic, Touch of Evil.
Posted on July 18th, 2010 at 12:39pm.
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The Garland “A Star is Born” is truly extraordinary, a considerable advance from the earlier version from the 1930s, which I always considered overrated. Garland has a pathos and fragility that, combined with her singing ability, makes the film irresistible. “A Star is Born” also features some of the finest set design I have seen yet in a film. Consider the exquisite shading of colors in the home of Norman Main, the grandeur and inventiveness of the sets in Garland’s musical numbers, etc. etc. A must-see for anyone who appreciates the musical art form.