Curator Watchlist
A glossy, uneven 1970s rock-romance melodrama with a strong central performance and enough big musical moments to satisfy fans of Barbra Streisand, but the chemistry is shaky and the story can feel self-indulgent and dated. It’s more interesting as a time-capsule of the era and as a star vehicle than as a fully… Read more
Where to watch: Buy
Fri · 2h 20m
Director: Frank Pierson
Starring: Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson, Gary Busey
Drunken, has-been rock star John Norman Howard falls in love with unknown singer Esther Hoffman after seeing her perform at a club. He lets her sing a few songs at one of his shows and she becomes the talk of the music industry. Esther's star begins to rise, while John's continues to fall. She tries desperately to get John to sober up and focus on his music, but it may be too late to save him.
Frank Pierson
Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson, Gary Busey
A glossy, uneven 1970s rock-romance melodrama with a strong central performance and enough big musical moments to satisfy fans of Barbra Streisand, but the chemistry is shaky and the story can feel self-indulgent and dated. It’s more interesting as a time-capsule of the era and as a star vehicle than as a fully satisfying love story.
This version of A Star Is Born is less a clean tragedy than a messy, very 1970s showcase for celebrity, excess, and emotional collapse. The move from Hollywood to rock stardom gives it a looser, rougher texture than earlier versions, and that can be part of the appeal: it feels like a movie trying to live inside the era it’s depicting, even when the result is awkward or overripe.
Barbra Streisand is the movie’s main event, and the film knows it. Whenever it leans into performance, it has real force, especially when the story pauses to let her command the frame. Kris Kristofferson brings a weathered, bruised presence that suits the material, but the romance itself is uneven, and the film often feels more interested in the spectacle of fame than in making the relationship believable.
If you like your melodrama big, shaggy, and a little ridiculous, there’s enough here to enjoy. If you want a more balanced or emotionally disciplined version of the story, this one may frustrate you. As a star vehicle and a snapshot of 1970s showbiz aesthetics, though, it remains worth a look.
nigel (1.5★) · 966 likes
I absolutely lost my shit at the beginning of the movie when the MC introduced the singing group “The Oreos” and Barbra Streisand came out of nowhere rising up between two black female singers singing funk.
Patrick Willems (2.5★) · 556 likes
This is everything that seems annoying about the 70s in one movie
Emma Stefansky · 296 likes
I lost?? my mind?? during the bathtub scene?? the candles on the cans of Schlitz?? the glittery fake eyebrows?? what in the WORLD I am dEAD I’ve DIED
Raymond Zrike (1★) · 241 likes
Thirty minutes in, my mom turned to me and said, “See? This is why I hated the ‘70s.”
Matt Goldberg (1★) · 200 likes
It was a bold choice to make a romance movie where the leads have absolutely no chemistry.
A powerful, performance-driven music drama about fame, burnout, and self-destruction with a similarly raw emotional register.
A sprawling 1970s portrait of performance culture, ambition, and the machinery of celebrity.
For viewers drawn to showbiz excess, self-mythology, and a brilliant descent into collapse.
A dazzling musical-drama hybrid that balances performance with darker emotional undercurrents.
A landmark concert film that captures the grandeur and melancholy of rock performance without the melodrama.
A strong, grounded music biopic with a memorable central performance and a clearer emotional arc.
An energetic, performance-centered music biography with a classic rise-and-fall structure.
A compelling music-industry story about talent, abuse, and survival anchored by a commanding lead performance.
A polished backstage music drama about fame, ambition, and the cost of success.
A more disciplined and emotionally coherent music romance with strong chemistry and performance energy.
For the bleak, self-destructive artist side of the story, with a wry and melancholy tone.
A quieter, more intimate music romance that values song performance and emotional authenticity.
fame and celebrity, self-destruction, music industry, romantic tragedy, addiction, star vehicle, 70s Hollywood, performance and identity
1970s, melodrama, music romance, showbiz, addiction, star vehicle, camp, tragedy, rock, performance