Customer Reviews

Bobby Darin - Beyond the Song

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
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At sixty-five minutes or so, this is a very generous documentary about the great Bobby Darin, the highlights being several extended clips of Bobby performing on various TV programs of the day, including his own variety show. I would have liked the voiceover narrator to be a little more subtle and introspective, instead of using a booming radio announcer-style voice, but this is a quibble. This DVD offers many little-seen clips of Bobby performing, a handful of interesting interviews, and overall a very good overview of Bobby's entire musical and film career. And a brief aside for a moment: for those who think that Kevin Spacey didn't look all that much like Bobby Darin in the recent Darin biopic "Beyond the Sea," check out the footage here of Bobby later in his career, during the year-or-two period when he let his sideburns grow, put aside the tuxedos, and sang a lot of folk songs. It's downright eerie how MUCH alike Darin and Spacey look in those scenes. In any event, I heartily recommend this DVD to hardcore Bobby Darin fans, as well as casual fans who want to learn a little more about the real person after seeing the Spacey film. It also doesn't hurt that, for what you get, the price of this DVD can't be beat.

I first saw this on PBS some years ago and have been looking for it ever since. This doc is beautifully put together and will leave you with the best kind of ache in your soul. BD was so young and so damn talented. Watching him glide about like he's on wheels during the "Higher and Higher" segment is pure joy.

On the whole, I enjoyed this biography of Bobby Darin (the best and most brilliant entertainer we have ever had), especially the interviews with Dodd Darin, Steve Blauner (Bobby's manager), Connie Francis, Tony Orlando, and others who were close to him. However, I felt that it glossed over or omitted some important aspects of Bobby's life: no mention of his 8 months of semi-seclusion in the Big Sur in 1968, his second wife, Andrea Yeager (and by the way, I was surprised that Sandra Dee wasn't interviewed for this documentary), his NBC series which was only touched upon briefly, and no mention that he was one of only a handful of kids smart enough to gain entrance into the Bronx High School of Science, and that he started out as a drummer playing in the Catskills resorts during the 1950s. We also learn about the family secret, but what wasn't stressed is that Bobby never learned the identity of his biological father, which devastated him as much as learning the truth about his mother did.

However, the real gems on this DVD are the numerous musical sequences and Darin footage, many of which I hadn't seen before. I enjoyed the Jimmy Durante skit the best. It would have been nice to include a comedy sketch from Bobby's NBC show, or from his many appearances on Flip Wilson's show, since he had such a natural aptitude for acting and comedy.

This is the type of material that Lion's Gate Films should have included on the Beyond the Sea DVD as an extra, so that viewers could see and hear the real Bobby Darin. For those who want to fill in the missing holes, I highly recommend the book "Dream Lovers: the Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee" written with heartfelt emotion by their son, Dodd Darin.

Beyond the Song may only run for about an hour, but in that hour you get a very good look at the life of Bobby Darin. I personally loved the movie. I loved the many live performances that it features. Live performances of Mack the Knife, Splish Splash, Beyond the Sea, As long as I'm Singing and many more.

I learned a few things that I never knew about Bobby's life and i've gained more respect for his talent, as long as his character. One thing that I never knew that touched my heart was that Bobby Darin spent a night sleeping next to the casket of his late friend Bobby Kennedy, vowing that he would not leave the casket until it was buried. Darin was a very compassionate man and should not have died at the age of only 37.

Probably the most touching sequence for myself was the "Beyond the Sea Reprise" and the scene before the credits where you see various pictures of Bobby throughout the course of his life, all while you hear him singing Beyond the Sea in the back round. The final wave as he is singing "so long sailing" touched my heart. I highly recommend this to anyone, long time Bobby Darin fan or someone just beginning to discover the talent of Darin.

This is a great introductory DVD on Bobby Darin, one of the greatest performers in American entertainment history. Rare personal film clips and numerous clips from TV shows from the late 1950s to the early 1970s show Darin at his cabaret-performing best: clowning, doing incredible impersonations, playing various musical instruments and, best of all, singing swing, standards, jazz, gospel, country-western, you name it, he sang it. Interviews and commentary from other show business legends like Gregory Peck, George Burns, and Henry Mancini add to the portrait painted of this unparalelled performer---highlighting his singing and acting accomplishments. I highly recommend this DVD to every Darin fan and every fan of good, old-fashioned entertainment. He was truly a legendary performer with immense and eclectic talent and an ingratiating and magnetic personality. Talk about charisma? Wow! Who knows how great he would have become had he lived a normal life span?

This is one of two great bios about BD (the other being the A&E songmaker's collection), and this one has some fantastic footage. I especially like the fact that they showed an entire Mack the Knife number (from 1970 Andy Williams show), and a fantastic version of Higher and Higher (from Bobby's own 1972/73 TV show), tho' I wish they'd shown more complete numbers. Includes interviews with lots of celebs, showing how widely respected he was in the industry. A must for BD fans, or anyone wondering why BD has so many fans decades after he sung his last song.

One of the finest documentaries on the late crooner Bobby Darin, this dvd chronicles the rise of his career to his too early demise. Showcasing his first appearances with songs such as the early "Rock Island Line" song and his appearances on Bandstand with "Dream Lover" plus interviews with many who knew Bobby including CONNIE FRANCIS this is a must have for anyone interested in Mr. Mack himself! Excellent!

This DVD does an excellent job chronicling the career of Bobby Darin. It is very professionally put together. The film clips in color are excellent and the black and white ones are good considering. If you like Bobby Darin, you'll love this and you'll probably shed a tear.

I watched this after watching the movie that was recently made about his life. I am glad that I did it that way. Now I am interested in reading biographies and purchasing more dvd's and cd's of his. A great talent, that should be enjoyed again and agian.

High quality piece about one of the most broadly talented entertainers of the last several decades. Surveys his whole career and there are some very interesting interviews. Darin was a most unusual man and this video demonstrates that well.