As one of the world’s oldest story themes, pure love dramas are almost extinct in today’s mainstream Hollywood productions-and only 20 or 30 years ago, this was the harvest of the box office and popularity, even leading to Oscars. One of the important choices-Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, "The English Patient", "Shakespeare in Love", and James Cameron's "Titanic" ——But now, film makers seem to be more enamored of sprinkling dog blood and painting extravagantly than to model true and credible feelings and passionate character relationships. Part of the reason is naturally due to the lack of good scripts, and the other reason seems to be traced back to the attitude of the fourth wave of feminist activities towards conservative and traditional romantic dramas. To a certain extent, there is actually one-sidedness. Opposition and criticism from form to content.
But this does not mean that women's self-empowerment must be contrary to love. The 2018 edition of "The Birth of a Star" proves this very well. From Hollywood's self-analysis to the modern treatment that pays more attention to the essence of human nature, this itself also reflects the progressive nature of the times.
What's interesting is that just as the 54th version is a direct remake of the 37th version, the 18th version is like a direct remake of the 76th version-except for the processing of the ending, the whole movie is as exquisite as a filter. Although this is Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut, but in the veteran screenwriter Eric Rose ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"), and the legendary photographer Matthew Libatik ("Out of Compton" With the help of ), "The Birth of a Star" has a rare mature texture and strong raw power.
Although the production scale is similar to "City of Philharmonic", "The Birth of a Star" is obviously a more exquisite film work that can also be copied by current Hollywood—not a typical independent author-based film—both It has great commercial potential and no lack of real artistry.
Fundamentally speaking, "The Birth of a Star" actually symbolizes the revival and evolution of traditional love movies. He gave an excellent answer to the Hollywood who once loved it, but now has no way of starting.
Similar to the newly reborn "Doctor Who", "The Birth of a Star" also has a long (male) history: from the Jenny Gaynor/Frederick March version in 1937 to Judy Gard in 1954 The Ran/James Mason version, the 1976 Barbra Streisand/Chris Christopherson version, and the present Lady GaGa/Bradley Cooper version, can clearly see different eras The deep imprint left behind. The classics of the double helix story of rise and destruction can even be found in "The Artist" and "City of Philharmonic".
Although it can be traced back to 1932, the 18th edition of "The Birth of a Star" has a natural look and atmosphere: at the same time as fanatical and suffocating, there are also delicate and intimate moments. Although set at the moment, the 18th edition is almost identical in spirit to the 76th edition. It is still a complex and retro 70s drama, flowing naturally around the entanglement of emotion and fate between the two stars: one walks in A rock star on the road of self-destruction, a genius and innocent young singer—when her career takes off slowly, he also slowly collapses step by step—the glitz is fleeting, which is the basic concept of this tragicomedy.
On this basis, the 18th edition is one step closer, turning this traditional romantic drama into an active experience that originates from the depths of the heart. Through the unexpected depth of performance, it brings the complex story itself. Higher credibility. This is largely due to Bradley Cooper's handling. In the past few years, he has gradually turned his career focus to the screen, which obviously has accumulated a lot of experience for him. In "The Birth of a Star", the audience can well appreciate his patience in capturing delicate emotions, and this kind of focus and enthusiasm has obviously infected Lady Gaga. Although this is not the first time she has been electrocuted, the partly autobiographical character setting has inspired her acting talent very well, and has never let her star temperament hinder the role. Compared with the painless starring in "American Horror Story", "The Birth of a Star" allows us to see that she can also be competent and show the inner level of the role.
It seems that Hollywood’s depiction of the rock world has always been incomprehensible (for example, Tom Cruise’s "Rock and Roll Age"), but this situation is likely to change this year: except for the "Birth of a Star" which runs through the love story. ", there is another very promising rock-themed movie, the biographical film "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen lead singer Freddy Mercury. As far as the former is concerned, the 18th edition makes up for the inadequacy of the 76th edition on the stage temperament, and also well balances the different emphasis on the same theme of the new and old Hollywood.
If we must find some shortcomings, it is that the poetic and romantic style of the picture has largely diluted the melancholic temperament of the story, and also made the arrival of the ending seem a little lacking in power. But Bradley Cooper's convincing performance adds a naked humanity and sense of reality to the "Hollywood" in the movie. In the end, "The Birth of a Star" is not simply a return of traditional theatrical form, but a reminder of what kind of enthusiasm Hollywood should have for movies.
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