Customer Reviews

Sammy Davis Jr. - One Cool Cat

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a listless, plodding, dispassionately-narrated biography of the man who is very likely the greatest all-around entertainer ever. The on-camera commentary is provided not by people who knew Sammy personally, but by a couple of historians and a tap dancer who speak about his artistic achievements and significance from a dry, rather remote perspective. The A&E biography has all the information this one does, and more, and packages it in a much more compelling and comprehensive documentary. This was a great disappointment.

A must have for all those who want to learn how a baby (with God Given )talent honed his gifts by watching others perform while still in diapers. No formal education, he became the world's greatest entertainer - bar none.
Even if you don't like Sammy, you will appreciate his story- what shaped him, the love of a father,show business, how the American dream came true for him- despite racism.
This is one you want to buy, share, and keep in your archives.
Amazon found a jewel when they found this one.
Sammy is 'one cool cat' and so much more. If he had been white - the heights he could have grown, as did Sinatra, but with so much more talent than any of the Rat Pack - would have been phenomenal.

My mother in law is a tap dancer at her senior center. She could not find this dvd any where and was thrilled that I found it for her. She loved it.

Sammy Davis, Jr. had quite a life! He was one of the best and most successful entertainers the world has ever known; and this documentary gives us a good idea of what he was really all about. Another reviewer notes that not a single person interviewed here knew Sammy personally; and sadly they are correct. It's also not the most complete retrospective of Sammy's life; at 60 minutes the film is rather brief. These two minuses are a real disappointment; but the commentary and the narration give us quite a bit of interesting information anyway and that's a plus. The documentary moves along at a fairly good pace although it spends extra time covering Sammy's most prolific years as an entertainer in the 1950s and 1960s both as a solo entertainer and as a member of "The Rat Pack." In addition, the archival footage is excellent; we even get a clip from a 1933 short that was Sammy's first appearance on film.

The narration and the people interviewed tell the highlights of Sammy's life story. We briefly learn about his parents' marriage and then the documentary covers Sammy's work with his father Sammy Davis, Sr. and Sammy's "Uncle" Will Mastin as they worked in vaudeville and later formed "The Will Mastin Trio." We learn of Sammy cutting his first recordings and there's a good discussion of the trauma Sammy experienced when he lost his eye in a terrible car accident. We also see how Sammy does so well in his comeback! Sammy shines bright dancing and doing his songs; and his act becomes all the more creative and spontaneous when he teams up with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and the rest of The Rat Pack for the shows they did in Las Vegas in the 1950s and early 1960s. We see them performing in the early 1960s in the movies and there's a fair amount of footage from Sammy Davis, Jr.'s television shows as well.

In addition, we see the ups and downs of Sammy's personal life; he was married three times; his involvement with politics that didn't always get him the respect he deserved and so much more. I won't give you too much more information; I don't want to risk ruining the experience of watching this DVD by giving out too many spoilers. It may look as if I've given out too much information; but there's plenty more to learn about Sammy Davis, Jr. when you watch this DVD.

This may not be the most comprehensive biography of Sammy Davis, Jr.; but I wouldn't toss this aside as rubbish by any means. Diehard fans may want to seek out other sources of information about Sammy's life including his autobiographies and the documentary about him released by A&E.

Sammy Davis, Jr. was the most versatile entertainer of the 20th Century.
Period.