Iowahawkeye

I read Paul Mavis's DVD review of A Star Is Born at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=25144 and...

i just wish that one person could keep their hatred of Babs OUT of the picture (no pun intended). But at least Paul elaborates on his criticisms. But it would nice for just ONE critic to acknowledge the blockbuster, powerful music in this film. (i for one am GLAD for the 5.1 sound of the Oreos!)
every film has its share of backstage drama...but you don't hear everyone talking about the makings of every Russell Crowe film, or any other difficult star.

Paul Mavis

I'm sorry you think I hate her; actually, I think she's great...but strictly as a performer. If you read the review carefully, you'll see that I mentioned a couple of times that she's actually a brilliant, instinctive actress; I particularly liked her in What's Up, Doc? (in my mind, she should have won the Oscar that year for her performance). But it's acknowledged by everyone on the A Star is Born shoot that she was out of control on an ego trip, along with Peters, and I think it directly affected the outcome of the movie and her performance (not an isolated circumstance for her career, if you've read up on her). As a producer and unofficial co-director on this particular film, she failed. As for the music on this soundtrack, Evergreen is okay, but that's about it.

As for your assertion that nobody discusses other big stars, they actually do discuss Russell Crowe's antics all the time, as well as every other big star that comes down the pike. Reporting trouble on the set of a big movie has been the favorite past time of reporters since movies were born -- it's part of the fun of Hollywood! And if that drama directly effects the outcome of the film -- as it did on A Star is Born -- it's fair game for the critic to mention it.

Thanks for writing, though; I love feedback -- both good and bad!

Paul Mavis

David Cornelius

Love really is soft as an easy chair.

Paul Mavis

I really wouldn't know about love: I'm married.

CinemaNut

I for one loved the review. It sums up everything I feel about this horrific version of Star is Born and Streisand as a person. This is Streisands Ishtar no doubt. Its pomp, phony, boring as hell and horrible. I like her as a singer (some songs) and in some other roles, but her ego and mania havent diminished at all. Great review!

cmleidi

I must agree that it appears that the reviewer had an agenda before reviewing the film and the disc. He takes her comments out of context; he misrepresents the commentary, and he brings up a lot rumors about the making of the film that are designed to make Streisand look bad, but he fails to mention that Kristofferson has said in interviews that he did not get along with the director, and that he actually preferred dealing with Streisand. In fact, I've never read a negative comment about her from any of her costars who were in films that she produced and/or directed.

As I have never met the woman, I have no desire to label her as an egomaniac nor do I feel the need to ascribe every mistake to her supposed egomaniacal behavior. I was not particularly interested in this film, but I purchased it because I enjoyed her commentary on UP THE SANDBOX.