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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Jazz Singer (1927),
By
This review is from: The Jazz Singer (Import - NTSC all regions) (DVD)
Although "The Jazz Singer" was the first film with sound, it remains largely a silent film. It's 89 minutes long and (this is merely an estimate, I didn't time it) at least an hour of the film is silent.
There's little spoken dialogue, and the dialogue that is spoken is spoken only to prove that it could be. In fact, about 95% of the dialogue is handled with title cards. Nevertheless, "The Jazz Singer" is an interesting film to watch because you are, afterall, watching history in the making. The film was released in 1927; a year Peter Bogdanovich called the greatest year in Hollywood history. It's the year when silent films reached perfection, only to become extinct. "The Jazz Singer" begins as any other silent film does. We meet a rabbi and his wife, while their young son Jakie is performing jazz tunes at a nearby club. We hear him singing, but not very clearly. The rabbi, outraged that his son is singing jazz music, removes him from the club and whips him, prompting Jakie to run away. Years later, Jakie has changed his name to Jack Robin and is preparing to show an audience his skills for the first time. Jack (played by Al Jolson) stands up, looks at the people, and then it happens. "Talkies" are born with a song called "Dirty Hands, Dirty Face." Most of the sound in the film comes from Jolson singing, because the technology to record sound had not yet been perfected. If you've ever seen "Singin' in the Rain" you remember how it was hilarious parodied that actors had to (clearly) lean forward to speak into a hidden microphone. The plot is badly dated and, chances are, you won't be seeing the film for the plot anyway. Most anyone who sees this movie will only be seeing it because they want to see the birth of "talkies" or they're working their way through The American Film Institute's Top 100. This is a film that is on that list (#90), not because it is one of the 100 best films ever made but, because it is one of the most important. This is not, when you get right down to it, a great film. If this movie had been the 2nd talkie made, it would not be remembered today (and probably wouldn't be available on any video format). Al Jolson was cast in the film because he was one of the most popular entertainers of the time. With his flamboyant gestures and old-timey voice, you can see why. The ending of the film made me laugh. Not because it's funny, but because of a little paradox it has. In today's cinema, we still have movies about the guy doing something his parents don't want him doing. At the end, the parents finally watch what their kid is so fascinated with and they (oh so stereotypically) change their minds. The end here is like that, except in reverse. "The Jazz Singer" is not an entertaining movie, it's not a movie your kids will like, but it IS cinematic history. And for that, alone, you should see it. ENTERTAINMENT: C SONGS: B STORY: C- PICTURE QUALITY: B+ IMPORTANCE: A GRADE: B- or C
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Showed dialogue in film could actually entertain,
This review is from: The Jazz Singer (Import - NTSC all regions) (DVD)
On the verge of bankruptcy, in 1926 Warner Brothers decided invest in the Vitaphone sound system. Warner figured, at that point, what did they have to lose? Thus they took a chance. Don Juan was their first Vitaphone film, but it only contained music and sound effects. In 1927 Warner adapted the Samson Raphaelson Broadway hit The Jazz Singer into a movie and, this time, they incorporated vocal musical numbers in what was still a silent film for all but twenty minutes. Al Jolson starred as Jakie Rabinowitz, the son of a Jewish cantor. Tradition dictated that he follow in his father's footsteps. However, Jakie preferred to sing jazz. Friction between he and his father over this issue caused Jakie to leave home, change his name to Jack, and become a cabaret performer. When Jack returns years later to visit his parents, he is warmly greeted by his mother (Eugenie Besserer), but is still rejected by his father. Just as Jack is about to break into the big-time career-wise, he is told that his father is dying. Jack misses opening night so he can sing the Kol Nidre at the temple in his father's place. His dying father, in his final moments, hears Jack performing the sacred songs, forgives his son, and dies in peace. End of story except for the big musical number at the end. Contrary to popular belief, audiences had heard music on film before, and they had heard dialogue on film before. What they had not heard or seen before were either of these things being particularly entertaining. When Jolson sings "Blue Skies" to his mother while adlibbing humorous comments, it all came across as so completely natural that people suddenly realized that sound on film could be entertaining and not just some novelty act. Despite its many shortcomings, including the predictable storyline, The Jazz Singer was a box-office success, and Warner Brothers was saved from financial ruin.
Today, you can best appreciate this movie by putting it in historical context. The best comparison I can make is that it was - although on a much larger scale - the "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" of its day. That 1988 film was also a hit only because of technological achievements that looked wondrous at the time, and today if you see it you will also probably wonder "What was the big deal?". As an aside, the actual first all-talking feature film was 1928's "The Lights of New York". If you ever see that film, "The Jazz Singer" looks polished in comparison. In "The Lights of New York", the heavy sound-proofing of the camera forces it to remain virtually immobile, the acting is like something out of some hammy vaudeville act, the script is so bad it makes Ed Wood look like Shakespeare, and you have to love that dialogue - "Take.. him... for... A... ride". I'd love to see a DVD come out with both of these films with some commentary by someone like Robert Osborne on the technology versus art driving the films of this transitional era.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Landmark Film,
By
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This review is from: The Jazz Singer (Import - NTSC all regions) (DVD)
This film was not the first sound film (in that film shorts with sound had been used prior to the Jazz Singer) and it is not all sound (only a small part of the Jazz Singer has sound). But this film was the one that set the world a buzz and convinced a number of producers that sound was the way of the future. If you like silent films, this film will hold its own as a story. If you like film history, you have to see this film, because of its impact on the world of film.
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