Customer Reviews

Charles Mingus - Triumph of the Underdog [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have seen a lot of the many jazz biographies and this one is probably the best. If this isn't the best, it's right near the top. I found it very involving, dramatic and sometimes quite funny. Mingus was a fascinating personality, and this documentary gets into many aspects of his character. A lot of the press about him emphasizes the violent side of Mingus, but there were many other aspects, which this documentary thankfully explores. There is quite a fascinating array of films clips of Mingus, most of which I haven't seen before. And there many other interviews. Probably the most interesting is when two of his wives are interviewed together. Quite engrossing. Really a great documentary. Don't miss it.

I had high hopes for this film, as I am enormous admirer of Charles Mingus, and a passionate collector of his records, but, unfortunately, "Triumph of the Underdog" is a jumbled mess. It's a great example of how important editing is in documentary. When you have a bad editor, or an director who doesn't understand editing, you end up with a film like this. After a meandering introduction, which does little to whet one's appetite for the subject at hand, the rest of the film is loosely structured around the story of Mingus's life. Yet it presents only shards of that life that are incomplete and often unclear, and there are many gaps. For some reason, many of the interview subjects were shot in pairs, so while one person is talking, the other is left to stare at them. For some reason, Gunther Schuller is used a primary interviewee, but he can't hold the film together and he's an odd choice in any case. There is wonderful footage of Mingus performing, but, like the rest of the film, it is not well used, and we often get only bits and pieces of songs that don't add up to anything. There is fascinating footage of Mingus shooting a gun in his apartment and later being evicted (shot by another documentarian in the 60's) but, again, that whole story is not as clear or compelling as it could have been. This is just a huge missed opportunity, as you can see from the footage available and the musicians interviewed that a great film could have been constructed here. After all, we're dealing with one of the most dynamic, exciting musicians and compelling personalities of recent times. For anyone who loves Mingus and loves jazz, only buy this if you can put up with the frustration you will feel at all that could have been. You'll enjoy the bits and pieces, but if you want good filmmaking about jazz, there are much better films: "Straight, No Chaser", "Let's Get Lost", or "Great Day in Harlem" are all worth watching. In the meantime, let's hope that someone with more skills as a filmmaker will get a hold of this footage.

There are so many good things to say about this video. Let me start with saying that Mingus's "Epitaph" is covered in detail: both the 1962 Town Hall performance that was a disaster and the Gunther Schuller tribute perfomance made after Monk's death, are both amply covered including interviews with key musicians who played in both performances. One of the musicians interviewed had two of his front teeth knocked out when Mingus belted him in the mouth during an argument concerning who would do some of the orchestrations for "Epitaph". There are interviews with two of Mingus's wives, and towards the end there is an interview with one of Mingus's sons. I personally have read Mingus's wierd "autobiography" and that was a great help priming me to really enjoy this video. There are a lot of video clips of various concerts that Mingus gave, and these are valuable both because they show Mingus playing bass as well as conducting his own music. I was watching a bass player last night at Birdland on 44th Street in NYC, and I was very surprised to notice while watching this video today that the bass player, a young woman from Norway, was copying Mingus's style of plunking the lowest string to make a woody, vibratory sound. I recently heard the Charles Mingus sampler by Ken Burns and as a result of that CD was already beginning to develop a respect for the beauty of Mingus' distinctive compositional sound. This video helped me to better understand why Mingus has so many loyal fans. I am well on my way to becoming one of them. In summary, I think this video is very worthwhile. There are a *lot* of other good things about this video I have not even touched upon in this brief review. The people who made this video put a lot of thought and care and effort into making it.

I must agree with the review entitled 'disappointed'. I am an avid collector of Mingus records and am familiar with much of his career. This attempt at a portrait of Mingus is poorly constructed and fails to provide even a basic overview of his life and music. There is no chronology as tantalising snippts of film jump from the seventies back to the fifties, with scarce an opportunity to listen to an extended piece. Rather than allow the rare concert footage and original recordings to 'speak for themselves', the filmmakers lean heavily on ponderous and repetitive interviews that either emphasise how volatile a personality was Mingus or how he was an American equivalent of a Schoenberg. There is virtually no discussion of any one of his many innovative recordings, and the film moves briskly through his 'golden period' of roughly '55 to '65 with little mention of his many great achievements. We are told repeatedly what a great composer and bassist Mingus was, and yet the film includes precious little footage of Mingus and his bands performing. As mentioned, the chronology of the footage is so poorly arranged that there is no sense of what a remarkable period of activity Mingus sustained during that ten year period in which the vast bulk of his classic recordings were made.
A disappointment, but worth having for the rare Mingus footage. But this poor excuse for a documentary does not serve as a good introduction to his career.

I wasn't that familiar with jazz music before I saw this documentary, but I found it fascinating and very moving. The music was involving, and the life story very dramatic. It made me want to explore this music much more. A great documentary.

I have this on VHS tape and DVD. I've watched it dozens of times. To me, it's not about Mingus the bass player or composer. It's about how great artists are often conflicted, complex, sometimes self-destructive and contradictory people. And in this sense it is a 100% successful documentary with spot-on interviews. But the archival sound on the DVD is just terrible. Speaking and more mordern music sound is OK. Older music is better on the VHS tape.

I knew the man, 'grew up' at the Village Vanguard. Some friends and several acquaintances appeared to pay homage to the greatest bassplayer. I even bought a second one for the widow of Jimmy Knepper who is still a friend of mine. Wonderful purchase for anyone who truly loves jazz.

This is great for footage of Mingus...but Gunther Schuller really ruins the documentary-part of the film...claiming that he was Mingus' closest friend and he was the only one Mingus trusted. Now if that were true, then how come Schuller can't take Mingus' music anywhere near where Mingus took it? There are too many lame and repetitive interviews...but if you're in for the mingus footage, it's a good buy.

The material featured on this DVD focuses on chosen points of Mingus'life as a composer and spans a wide sweep of the bassist and composer. For those who relished the thought of finally catching a glimpse of those so Mingusy bass figures, this is going to be a letdown. However, if you are going for Mingus the composer, this is definitely a must-have. There is good quality footage of live performances from the 60s and 70s which provide an appropriate overview of the relentess worker Mingus was and how wide-ranging his inspirational interests were. Mingus's two wives contribute poignant comments and lead you right into the man's passion and anguish. All the musicians interviewed give a clear sense of how galvanizing Mingus's presence was and Gunther's Schuller's musical comments are downright accurate and to the point and he does a concinving job of setting the record straight on Mingus the composer. One thing to mention though, if you like your bass loud and clear, particularly Mingus's warm tone, you might need to turn up the volume. Other than that, you have got to get this simply because there hasn't been much Mingus footage out there yet.

If you're like me and you've already read the biography and autobiography, then most of this movie won't come as any big surprise. Still, there's some great concert footage and the interviews usually shed at least a little new light on the subject. For about an hour of mingus in concert, look for "Charles Mingus Sextet", recorded during the European tour with Dolphy, also from Shanachie Entertainment, currently on VHS.