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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
B-grade movie comes alive via Satchmo and Lady Day!, August 29, 2000
For years I've wanted to see NEW ORLEANS, knowing that thestoryline wouldn't match the quality of the music, and now it is finally available...on DVD no less. After watching it, I can say that the movie lived up (musically) and down (plotwise) to my expectations. However, with Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong and Billie 'Lady Day' Holiday in prominent roles, the musical strengths more than cancelled out the thematic/cinematic shortcomings. The musical footage of Holiday and Armstrong (seen in solos and duets) is worth the price of admission, and the entirety of the movie is fairly entertaining if you don't expect too much.... Amid the cliched plot threads... fortunately the racial stereotypes are quite inoffensive by 1947 standards (albeit Billie is cast as a maid). Due to the lack of available Billie Holiday footage alone, this movie approaches essential status, at least among jazz fans. The DVD includes two bonus shorts: a young Louis Armstrong sings and plays in the 1932 A RHAPSODY IN BLACK AND BLUE, and Duke Ellington teams up with a VERY young Billie Holiday in the priceless 1935 short SYMPHONY IN BLACK.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great footage of many early jazz legends, April 5, 2003
I have always found jazz performances much more captivating live rather than recorded, and although I can't travel back in time and see Louis Armstrong play during his prime, this video is the next best thing. The makers of New Orleans did not waste the talents of the musicians, and a good chunk of the movie is concert footage of many of the giants from the golden age of Jazz including Kid Ory, Woody Herman and Billie Holiday doing old standards such as Basin Street Blues and Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans. These performances truly convey the joy that enrapt the musicians as they played, and Armstrong in particular, is irresistably charming and funny as usual and appears for much of the film. Unfortunately, Holiday is possibly the most wooden actress I have ever seen, but since for most of her comparatively short screen time is spent singing, it isn't a problem. I strongly recommended this one to all fans of early jazz.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Silly plot, fantastic music, August 4, 2001
I bought this DVD blindly just because I'm such a fan of Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and of New Orleans in general. The plot (what there is of it) is clichˇd and uninteresting, but the music is fantastic, and I ended up playing the musical pieces over and over. The entire movie is filmed on a Hollywood soundstage; if you're looking for shots of old New Orleans, look elsewhere.
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