In an alternate universe,A Star Is Bornswept the Oscars on Sunday night.Bradley Cooperhit a triple with wins for Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay,Lady Gagawon two Oscars—Best Original Song and Best Actress—and the film took the stage at the end of the night to receive Best Picture, pulling off the first “Big Five” win sinceThe Silence of the Lambs. Alas, we do not live in that universe.
I’ll never quite understand howA Star Is Born’s Oscar campaign tanked so spectacularly. The film was anointed the frontrunner back in September, which can be harmful (see:The Social NetworkandLa La Land), but even as films likeRomaandGreen Bookgained traction,A Star Is Bornremained the big, bold, romantic, and immaculately executed film that exemplified Hollywood filmmaking at its best. And yet, the film won just a single Oscar for Best Original Song.
Nevertheless, great filmshave a way of rising to the top over time, and I expectA Star Is Bornis going to age quite well. To that end, Warner Bros. is celebrating the film’s Oscar success by releasing the movie back in theaters with 12 minutes of new footage.
The special “encore” edition ofA Star Is Bornfeatures extended performances of “Black Eyes” and “‘Alibi” as well as Lady Gaga’s initial rendition of “Shallow,” plus new and additional footage from other scenes throughout the movie—including the writing of a song called “Clover.” This encore edition is also available on the film’s home video release, but really, there’s nothing like seeing this one on the big screen.
The one-week run ofA Star Is Bornback in theaters begins this coming Friday, March 1st, and will encompass 1,150 theaters. Warner Bros. doesn’t exactly need the box office boost—the film has grossed an incredibly impressive $425.3 million worldwide—so this really is more of a chance to celebrate this terrific piece of filmmaking in the ideal setting. Explain to me again how this lost Best Sound Mixing toBohemian Rhapsody?
Ah nevermind. Let’s just watch that “Shallow” performance again.
