Bradley Cooper's 2018 adaptation is the third version of A Star is Born that has been made in the cinema from the original, premiered in 1937 and starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March (directed by William A. Wellman). Then came the first remake in 1954, starring Judy Garland and James Mason (directed by George Cukor), the second remake was made two decades later, in 1976, probably the most popular, starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson (directed by Frank Pierson).
The most recent version, starring director Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, retains the essence of previous films: it tells the story of a decadent star who discovers a great talent in a woman's voice, falls in love with her and brings her fame, which would not end well for the male protagonist.
However, the focus of each version is different and is subject to the social and cultural context of each era, which is reflected in each film. What makes the 2018 version special is that Bradley Cooper wanted to focus more on the industry's manipulation of artists, loss of originality, and love tested in a world of fame and, above all, in the midst of addiction.
In this post, I will tell you about the main differences between the 1976 version and the 2018 version in terms of its romantic approach.
The romance begins...
When Ally (Lady Gaga) and Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) meet, Ally shows up at a drag bar and sings La Vie en Rose. Jackson entered the bar only because he wanted a drink, but was hypnotized by Ally's voice. He watches every movement of hers and listens attentively to the whole song, moved to tears.
In the case of Esther Hoffman (Barbra Streisand) and John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson) the situation is similar, but with a big difference. John enters a bar for the same reason as Jackson, because he wanted a drink. At that moment Esther is singing with her chorists and gets the artist's attention; however, he is constantly interrupted by fans who want to talk to him and, in addition, they are drunk and rude to him and do not allow him to enjoy Esther's performance. Finally he fights the guys, Esther helps him out of the bar and he takes her home.
Here the differences begin to be quite evident. For some reason, John becomes obsessed with Esther (taking into account that he couldn't really hear her performance) and wants, right away, to get into her house, acting in a rather worrying harassing way. In Cooper's version, although the relationship also happens quickly, it feels more natural. Jackson takes the time to talk to Ally and get to know her, ask if she composes songs and reiterate that she is a beautiful woman, despite what she thinks of herself as a result of the stereotype of beauty they want to impose on her in the musical world.
In the '76 version it is not clear that the protagonist has fallen in love with Esther because of her voice, but mainly because of her beauty. In 2018 there is a mixture of both, but it is clear that what fascinates Jackson is Ally's voice and talent, and besides that he finds her beautiful.
Like John, Jackson is insistent and wants Ally to stay with him, take her to concerts, etc., but he waits for her consent. In John's case, everything is much more rushed and Esther is often pressured to do what John wants.
Leap to fame and teamwork
In the 1976 version, if we watch Esther and John singing or composing together a couple of times, it's a lot. In the remake of 2018 we contemplate the protagonists, since they begin to interact, sharing their talent and creating songs. This allows the moment of Ally's leap to fame to be much more organic than Esther's; the song Jackson wants Ally to perform at his concert is none other than "Shallow," a song she showed him the night they met. Jackson gave her the surprise of having made the musical arrangement, and before Ally's nerves, he says "I'll sing it anyway, if you want to join...". He pushes her to make that leap to fame, but he doesn't force her, and also accompanies and sings along with her; this makes Ally gather enough courage and join him in the performance, creating a beautiful scene in which the couple shows true chemistry, support and teamwork.
In Pierson's version, John suddenly stops playing at the concert and gives Esther the microphone, leaving her little choice. Faced with the booing of an impatient audience, she must muster all the courage she can and stand in front of the microphone and sing. It ends up being a success and John sees her with pride. It's more or less the way the romance between the protagonists takes place; it's abrupt, it feels a little forced and it relies more on passion than on the teamwork we see in Ally and Jackson.
Addiction, jealousy and fame
By the time both Ally and Esther become famous, both are undergoing major changes and their relationship with Jackson and John begins to face problems, albeit for very different reasons.
In the version of '76, the problem seems to lie in John's jealousy towards Esther; he knows that his career is almost non-existent at present, while that of his partner begins to take flight. This, added to his alcoholism, makes him make unwise (not to say meaningless) decisions, such as sleeping with a drugged-out journalist who wanted to interview Esther, then fighting with her and having a passionate reconciliation. The toxicity of the relationship becomes evident and what is clear to us is that John's ego is hurt.
Meanwhile, in Cooper's version, the problem in the relationship focuses more on Jackson's addiction, who decides to propose to Ally once she gives him an ultimatum after he didn't attend her concert due to his drunkenness. "If you do this to me again, I won't come back for you, I won't come looking for you." Jackson also criticizes Ally's path to fame as producers begin to change her looks and the lyrics of her songs, making them more commercial and banal. He insists to Ally that she must be faithful to herself and her music, and to the message she wants to convey. It's not his ego that's beaten, even though he's suffering the decline of his success, but he's worried that Ally will leave her essence aside and give in to the demands of the industry, becoming a prefabricated product.
The Grammys
At this point, the Grammy Awards are a constant in all versions of the film. Both Ally and Esther win the Best Artist award, and during their thank-you speech, their respective husbands make them look ridiculous, making an embarrassing scene because of their drunkenness.
Even this scene presents differences between the two films. Jackson gets up from his chair and approaches Ally without knowing what is really going on, and between babbles he gets up next to his wife and pisses on himself. Ally tries to cover him from the cameras and helps him get to the bathroom, showing herself more concerned about her husband's health than the damage her career has just suffered.
John, for his part, is also drunk and suddenly arrives at the awards, interrupting Esther's speech, and stands beside her. He talks about himself and that they should give him the prize to the "Worst Artist" directing all attention to him. Then he gets violent, pushes Esther (accidentally) and they also end up going to the bathroom and Esther tries to understand what is going on and argues with him.
In the film of 76 this action seems to have no consequences, while in 2018, Jackson goes to rehabilitation to recover and is very embarrassed in front of Ally for what he did. All of this tortures Jackson as he struggles to be a better person and worthy of his wife.
Breaking point
In both versions (as in the previous ones), the protagonist commits suicide when he sees that he's an obstacle for his wife to progress in her career. In the 2018 remake it is particularly painful considering that Jackson tried to improve and get rid of the addiction, but the depression and a conversation with Ally's manager took him to the point of no return; added to this, Jackson suffers from an illness that causes his hearing to diminish and progressively he won't hear anymore, which would end his life as an artist. The last scene in which he and Ally are together, you can see the anguish that goes through the character and he bids her farewell, letting us know that he has made a decision.
John, for his part, shows no intention of improving, but observes how his wife's career becomes more relevant and his own is destroyed. One morning he says goodbye to Esther and decides to drive his car at full speed, which causes the accident that would lead him to death.
I want to clarify that I don't think that the 1976 movie is a bad film, it's as valid as the others and it has the great talent of Barbra Streisand, who is the star of the film. But I do think that the way in which the love story is told, along with the motivations of the characters (influenced by the context of the time, obviously) is not as well represented as Bradley Cooper's version, who captures in his first film a beautiful love story between two characters who learn to know each other, respect each other and support each other, but are victims of an illness that took the best of Jackson, and at the same time left the best of himself in his legacy: Ally.
