Seminar: A Star is Born

DigBoston film critic Jake Mulligan walks us through the cultural and artistic legacy of director George Cukor’s 1954 film of A Star is Born, starring Judy Garland, arguably one of the most influential films in the history of American filmmaking.

We start by going backward, to the earlier version of A Star is Born (1937) and other forebears like Cukor’s own film What Price Hollywood? (1932), and then we’ll move forward, going past the 1954 edition to look at the influence that Cukor’s film had on later filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, as well as the impact of the subsequent remakes from 1976 and 2018. Of course we’ll also look very closely at the 1954 version, a masterpiece, with information regarding the complicated history of its production, and its various different releases and restorations (and who claimed which one). One of the truly great epics of the studio filmmaking era, A Star is Born '54 provides unlimited prompts for study.

About the Speaker

Jake Mulligan is the associate editor and lead writer of the film section at the weekly newspaper Dig Boston.

About Coolidge Education Seminars

Want to learn more about some of your favorite classic films? Before select Big Screen Classics events register for the Coolidge Education seminar, which includes a 30 minute lecture before the film from an expert and a reserved seat at the screening of the film.