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Red Fox Kits Appear! A Day in the Life of a Red Fox Family【trail camera footage】 子ぎつね現る！キタキツネ家族の1日【トレイルカメラ映像】

Silver Silver STAR! or, the 25th Anniversary of the 25th Anniversary!

Twenty five years ago this week, the 1968 Julie Andrews musical Star! made its long overdue return to the screens of the world –– at least, the small screens –– when the film was finally released to home video on 17 November 1993. Billed as “the return of a lost classic,” the heavily-promoted 25th Anniversary release was the first time in decades that the complete version of Star! had been widely available and it marked a watershed in the film’s latter-day recuperation (Edwards, 1993). 

Director Robert Wise long remained haunted by the commercial and critical failure of Star!. "I’ve had films that haven’t paid off,” he lamented, “but Star! was my biggest disappointment because I think it’s a better film and more of an achievement than was acknowledged by the mass audience” (Leeman: 195). The film had cultivated a small but devoted band of fans over the years, many of whom sent appreciative letters to the director, but Wise continued to hope that Star! might yet find broader vindication and shake off its unjust reputation as “the H-bomb of musicals” (Kanfer: 78).

In 1984, amidst a growth in popularity of classic film revivals, Twentieth Century-Fox struck a new print of Star! for release to the repertory house circuit (Edwards 1990). It was the first time the full roadshow version of Star! had been seen in North America since 1968 and, while it mainly screened in niche metropolitan revival houses, it played to hugely enthusiastic audiences. Attending a New York screening in August 1990, Robert Wise recalled that Star! “went over like gangbusters...The audience applauded after every number and gave me and the film such a hand” (Thompson: 96). Meanwhile, general interest in Star! continued to grow. In 1990, an article on the history of the film appeared in Movie Collector’s World (Edwards 1990). And in May 1992, Premiere magazine nominated Star! as its “most wanted” title on home video (”Widescreen”: 85). 

Emboldened by the groundswell of support, Robert Wise approached Fox about remastering a version of Star! for home video and all agreed the time was ripe. The director personally supervised a new transfer from the original 65mm negative and six-track magnetic soundtrack source materials which had happily remained intact in the Fox vaults. The remastered version of Star! screened for the first time on the respected cable network, American Movie Classics in early-1993 (Edwards 1993). Reviewing the AMC broadcast for the Los Angeles Times, Kevin Thomas called Star! “one of the most under appreciated of all Hollywood major productions,” praising the film as "engrossing...and played stunningly by Julie Andrews” (6).

Throughout 1993, Wise and Fox continued to finalise preparations for the film’s video release. The deluxe two-tape set was officially launched on 16 November 1993 (’street date’: 17 November) with a special Silver Anniversary screening of Star! at the DGA Theatre in Hollywood. Attended by many of the original cast and crew –– including Julie Andrews, Richard Crenna, Robert Wise, Saul Chaplin, and Michael Kidd –– the screening was a happy reunion cum symbolic homecoming for the film. Star! is “finally back where it belongs” said Julie in a warm interview at the event (“Silver Star!”).

The film’s soundtrack, which had also been long out of print, was given a companion release to CD and cassette by Fox Records on 23 November. With the inclusion of two previously unreleased tracks –– the extended version of the title song  by Julie and Daniel Massey’s “Forbidden Fruit” –– and featuring a handsome booklet with liner notes by T.J. Edwards –– a veritable one-man cheer squad for Star! during these years –– the CD soundtrack re-release further cemented the aura of rediscovery around the film and the sense that, after decades of neglect, Star! could finally be seen and heard in its original splendour (Sanello: D5; Thomas, B: 14). 

And this time round US critics were much more receptive than most had been back in 1968. Reviewing the video release for the Los Angeles Times, Sue Martin called it “a handsome period production [that] holds up with Andrews in a tour de force portrayal as the earthy, tenacious Lawrence” (44). Martie Zad of The Washington Post dubbed it “one of filmdom’s grandest musicals”, saying “[i]t is a treat to watch and listen to Andrews whose voice at this point in her career was simply pure and magical” (N5). Dave Staten of the Daily News enthused:

“Star! is bouncy and fast-paced and much better that I expected. You see, I was one of this people who was scared away in 1968 by the bad notices. This grand movie deserves a new life on video” (26).

In response to the fulsome reception, Fox green-lighted an even more ambitious ‘special edition’ release of Star! on laserdisc, a kind of top-end precursor to DVD and the home cinephile’s medium of choice in the 90s. An impressively weighty package –– literally, as those big old discs were heavy as rocks –– the laserdisc edition was spread over two discs presented in a lavish gatefold album. It was jam-packed with special features, including a detailed production history, rare behind-the scenes images, a lively audio commentary by Wise and other members of the production team, and a charming featurette about the film’s 25th anniversary screening at the DGA. Indeed, the compilation of supplementals was so dense and involved that it delayed the disc’s release by many months. The Star! laserdisc finally hit the shelves on August 16, 1995 with a USD$80.00 price tag, not exactly cheap today let alone 25 years ago, and it quickly established a new benchmark for special edition film releases to the home video market (“Be Glad”: 2; “Widescreen Special Edition”: 85)

Now, if only we could get Fox to play ball again 25 years later and authorise that long-awaited BluRay release of Star! for the 50th anniversary! 

Sources:

“Be Glad They Still Make Discs Like This.” The Laser Disc Newsletter. 133, September 1995: 2.

Edwards, T.J. “The Saga of ‘Star!’”. Movie Collector’s World. 357, 7 December 1990: 60-75.

Edwards, T.J. “Rare Julie: After 25 Years, A Lost Classic Returns.” American Movie Classics, 6: 7, July 1993: 4-5.

Kanfer, Stefan. “Cinema: Quarter Chance.” Time. 96: 4. 27 July 1970: 78.

Leeman, Sergio. Robert Wise on His Films: From Editing Room to Director’s Chair. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press, 1995.

Martin, Sue. “New on Video.” Los Angeles Times Calendar. 3 November 1993: 44.

Saltzmann, Barbara. “‘Star!’ Gets Back Original Luster on Laser.” Los Angeles Times. 16 January 1994: F25.

Sanello, Frank. “The Hills are Alive Again with the Songs of Julie Andrews.” The Sun. 15 December 1993: D5.

Thompson, Frank T. Robert Wise: A Bio-bibliography. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1995.

Silver Star 25th Anniversary Featurette. Film produced by T.J. Edwards. Los Angeles: FoxVideo, 1994.

Staten, Vince. “Hollywood Rolls Out Its ‘Classics’”. Daily News. 21 November 1993: 26.

Thomas, Bob. “1968 Flop ‘Star!’ Reborn on Video.” News Press. 17 December 1993: 14.

Thomas, Kevin. “Movies to Tape.” Los Angeles Times - TV Times. 7 February 1993: 6.

“Widescreen Special Edition Laserdisc of Julie Andrews Lost Classic Musical.” Movie Collector’s World. 483, 6 October 1995: 85.

Zad, Martie. “Andrews's 'Star!' Revives Hit Songs Of Lost Musical.” Washington Post. 21 November 1993: N5.