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Blu-Ray : Highly Recommended
Ranking:
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Release Date: February 19th, 2019 Movie Release Year: 2018

A Star Is Born (2018)

Overview -

Bradley Cooper's first foray in the director's chair in A Star Is Born is a smash chart-topping hit, featuring Lady Gaga in her first leading role as a star on the rise while Cooper's slowly fades. The musical romance takes center stage with a spectacularly gorgeous HD video, a wonderfully engrossing Dolby Atmos presentation but a small selection of bonus features, making the overall package is Highly Recommended.

In "A Star Is Born," Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga fuse their considerable talents to depict the raw and passionate tale of Jack and Ally, two artistic souls coming together, on stage and in life. Theirs is a complex journey through the beauty and heartbreak of a relationship struggling to survive.

In this new take on the iconic love story, four-time Oscar nominee Cooper ("American Sniper," "American Hustle," "Silver Linings Playbook") makes his directorial debut, and also stars alongside multiple award-winning, Oscar-nominated music superstar Gaga in her first leading role in a major motion picture. Cooper portrays seasoned musician Jackson Maine, who discovers and falls in love with struggling artist Ally. She has given up on her dream to become a successful singer until she meets Jack, who immediately sees her natural talent.

OVERALL:
Highly Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
Two-Disc Combo Pack,BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc / DVD-9 Dual-Layer Disc,Region Free
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Length:
136
Aspect Ratio(s):
2.40:1
Audio Formats:
English Dolby Atmos, English Dolby TrueHD 7.1, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Hungarian Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Russian Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH, Chinese, Croatian, French, Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish
Special Features:
Digital Copy
Release Date:
February 19th, 2019

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

You can read our full thoughts on director Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born in our review of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray HERE.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray

Warner Home Video brings Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born to Blu-ray as a two-disc combo pack with a flyer code for a Digital Copy. The Region Free, BD50 disc sits opposite a DVD-9 copy inside a blue, eco-cutout case with glossy slipcover. After a couple skippable promos, the screen changes to the usual menu with options along the bottom of the screen, full-motion clips and music playing in the background.

Video Review

Ranking:

The musical romance takes center stage in dramatic fashion with the support of a spectacularly gorgeous 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode. Within the first few moments, the freshly-minted transfer shows razor-sharp detailing in the clothing, the intricate design of some of the instruments and various objects in the background of interiors. Each individual hair of Jack's matted hairdo and each whisker in his scruffy beard is distinct from the rest, and we can plainly make out every pore, wrinkle and negligible blemish in the lifelike complexions of the cast. There are a couple moments when overall definition and resolution dips slightly, mostly related to the stage performances with lots of bright lights, but the presentation nonetheless maintains excellent clarity.

During these same moments, contrast and brightness noticeably loses some of its luster compared to the rest of the photography where whites are brilliantly crisp and balanced. The concert scenes on stage, however, run hotter and more intensely due to the lighting, creating some mild blooming. This is turn affects black levels, which tend to look somewhat flat, murky and dark grey while crushing some of the finer shadow details. On the other hand, blacks are rich and accurate during better-lit sequences. The palette is also more consistent and stable, favoring warmer earth-tones and yellows in its orange-teal cinematography, displaying lots of vibrant ambers, oranges, cyans and various browns. Still, the 2.40:1 image boasts richly-saturated primaries throughout, especially the reds and blues washing over the stage concerts, making this presentation a beauty to behold. (HD Video Rating: 92/100)

Audio Review

Ranking:

The film debuts on Blu-ray with the same fantastic and wonderfully engrossing Dolby Atmos soundtrack as its Ultra HD counterpart. For a more in-depth take on the audio quality, you can read our review of the 4K Ultra HD HERE. (Dolby Atmos Audio Rating: 88/100)

Special Features

Ranking:
  • The Road to Stardom (HD, 30 min).
  • Jam Sessions and Rarities (HD, 7 min). 
    1. "Baby What You Want Me to Do"
    2. "Midnight Special"
    3. "Is That Alright"
  • Music Videos (HD).
    1. "Shallow"
    2. "Always Remember Us This Way"
    3. "Look What I Found"
    4. "I'll Never Love Again"
  • Musical Moments (HD).

Final Thoughts

Starring Lady Gaga in her first leading role, Bradley Cooper steps into the director's chair in A Star Is Born, a love story about one artist's sudden rise to superstardom while the other's spirals downward. Demonstrating the plot is a timeless tale that can be retold for every generation, this fourth remake charms audiences with excellent performances, catchy tunes and some highly talented filmmaking. The musical romance debuts on Blu-ray with a dazzlingly gorgeous HD video and a splendid Dolby Atmos presentation that beautifully complements the visuals. Although the selection of bonus features are on the lighter side of things, the overall package is nonetheless highly recommended for music fans everywhere looking to rock the house.