Product Details

• Actors: Frank Sinatra
• Format: Box set, Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PASSPORT VIDEO
• DVD Release Date: July 22, 2003
• Run Time: 300 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00009W0W5
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,681 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Frank Sinatra series traces the career of this century's most versatile entertainer. Placing special emphasis on Frank Sinatra's film and television work, this remarkable 5 part series chronicles the ups and downs, and over and outs of a career that has spanned more than half a century. Included are classic film clips from his fifty-seven theatrical films as well as Mr. Sinatra's two forays into series television, and his numerous guest appearances on television shows over the years, plus interviews with the people who know him best: friends and coworkers such as Eddie Alber, Sammy Davis, Jr., Shirley Jones, Juliet Prowse, and many others.

The Bobby Sox Years (Part 1) Chronicles Frank Sinatra's early life as a struggling band singer from Hoboken, New Jersey. Dynamic rare archival footage and insightful interviews illuminate the world that shaped Sinatra's early life, from his birth in 1915 to the early 1940's when he had teenage girls in bobby sox swooning at his concerts with the Harry James and Tommy Dorsey Orchestras.

The Hollywood Years (Part 2) Frank Sinatra's appearances with Tommy Dorsey led to a few appearances in film. A contract with MGM then brought him star status with such luminaries as Gene Kelly, Kathryn Grayson, and Esther Williams. He was no longer a mere celebrity, he was becoming a legend, and the legend would continue to grown until Frank Sinatra became synonymous with music itself. The legend next went on to tackle television with a weekly series of his own.

Hollywood, The Second Time Around (Part 3) After leaving movies for television he returned to the motion picture screen at a time when may thought his career was over. But Sinatra proved that he could bounce back and bounce back he did, going on to win a Oscar for his acting in From Here to Eternity. He followed that film with a series of hit films (and a few misses) over the next two decades.

The Swinging Years (Part 4) As the leader of the Rat pack, Sinatra epitomized the high life of the late 1950's. Among his cohorts were Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Sammy David, Jr. They worked together and they played together. When they weren't in front of the cameras or in a recording studio, Las Vegas was their home.

The Vintage Years (Part 5) Finally, even Frank Sinatra thought that it was time to step down form the stage, and so he announced his retirement. But a short time later he was back in the recording studio. If anything, his retirement seemed to step up his pace. He not only returned to making records, he began appearing in films again, and toured the worked giving live concerts. For the last six decades, Frank Sinatra has entertained people in all walks of like all over the world. He has indeed become a legend.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ring a Ding Ding!, July 26, 2003

By	Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This is awesome stuff for any serious Sinatraphile. Many of the other compilations of his career contain poor-quality clips, particularly from his short-lived TV show of the 50's. But this six-volume DVD manages to unearth some truly rare B & W clips of Frank on TV, dating back to gigs on the Milton Berle and Jackie Gleason shows. The quality of the snippets has somehow been cleaned up and the resulting images are quite good. There is also an abundance of color clips from the Chairman in the 60's, guest hosting the Kraft Music Hall, guesting on the Dino show, singing duets with Perry, Bing and even some oddities like a comedy routine with Bobby Darin.

More surprisingly is some great concert footage of Sinatra, much of it from late in his career. Some of it is actual fan movies, taken directly from the audience, and it's fascinating stuff. You can see Frank singing One for My Baby with his Jack Daniels, cigarette and the obligatory stool: classic moments! He also delivers a stunning rendition of I've Got You Under My Skin. In addition to all of this little-known material, there's an abundance of film clips, all of good quality. There's even a few outtakes from Suddenly and the The Manchurian Candidate, as well as brief interviews conducted with Frank at various premieres and engagements.

The weakest part of this DVD are the interviews with people who worked with Frank. Some of them are interesting, others are not, but I'd rather just watch actual footage of the man himself. But there's plenty of that to enjoy and you can watch this Night and Day, into the Wee Small Hours of the Morning. If you love Frank, you gotta love this DVD, baby! So kick back with a glass of J.D., snuggle up with your favorite chick and get down to some serious living with this exceptional DVD.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GOOD BUY FOR THIS PRICE, April 3, 2004

By	A. Ercan Gegez (Istanbul, TURKEY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A nice package of three discs which is an extended version of a 2 DVD set with the same title which lacks of last part Sinatra Memorial. One of the most important advantages of this DVD is it has more than 5 hours running time. So the price is very cheap for such a DVD with long playing time. The set includes 6 parts ("The Bobby Sox Years", "The Hollywood Years", "Hollywood: The Second Time Around", "The Swinging Years", "The Vintage Years" and "Sinatra Memorial". This DVD is replete with many old footages from his early years. Particularly, if you are looking for Sinatra's historic movie career, this DVD will satisfy you. DVD includes some interviews with his friends and co-stars such as Sammy Davis, Jr., Shirley Jones and Juliet Prowse. It is disappointing that within these different parts, some scenes and footages are used couple of times. It is not good to see the same things over and over again. From time to time, picture and sound quality decreases due to the age and rarity of the footages used. Unfortunately, at the fifth part, some scenes freezes very frequently. I am not sure if this defect is on my copy only or not. However, considering its long playing time and cheap price, it is still worthwhile to add this one to your Sinatra Collection even with all these disadvantages.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very dissapointed, August 25, 2003

By	Alvin M. Samet (coral gables, fl. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had no idea when I purchased the Sinatra DVD set that it would be a 5 hour history of his life and career (most of which we know) and very little singing.
Most of the 3 DVDS consist of short musical sound bites and talk.