Product Details

• Actors: Charles Mingus, Gunther Schuller
• Directors: Don McGlynn
• Producers: Don McGlynn, Sue Mingus
• Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: SHANACHIE
• DVD Release Date: March 23, 1999
• Run Time: 78 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000IBMI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,117 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

TRIUMPH OF THE UNDERDOG - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best jazz documentaries, August 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog (DVD)

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.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, April 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog (DVD)

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.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I highly recommend this video, February 18, 2001

By 

Robert D. Glover Jr. "robert-g-near-nyc" (Linden, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Charles Mingus - Triumph of the Underdog [VHS] (VHS Tape)

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.