The Jazz Singer 80th Anniversary

[shearerchic]

On Oct. 16, Warner Home Video will debut the DVD of the studio's 1927 landmark movie The Jazz Singer, which was the first feature-length film to have synchronized dialog and musical sequences.

[quote]The Al Jolson-starring title will be issued in a three-disc 80th Anniversary Collector's Edition that contains, among other things, a restored and remastered version of the film featuring a refurbished soundtrack, a collection of period cartoons, shorts and rare Vitaphone comedy and music pieces, a handful of early sound era shorts and the newly produced feature-length documentary The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk. The package will carry a list price of $39.98.

The Jazz Singer “is going to be one of the landmark releases for 2007,â€

[tryavna]

The documentary is bound to be 100x better and more interesting than the movie itself.

Does anyone actually enjoy The Jazz Singer as a movie rather than as an obligatory "landmark"?

[Matt]

Actually, everything on that disc, particularly the cartoons and Vitaphone shorts, will be better than the main feature.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Does anyone actually enjoy The Jazz Singer as a movie rather than as an obligatory "landmark"?

I'd much rather watch "I love to Singa" with Owl Jolson.

Can't wait for this, mostly for the vintage shorts.

[dx23]

I'd much rather watch "I love to Singa" with Owl Jolson.

Now I'll have that tune in my head for days!

[shearerchic]

I'd much rather watch "I love to Singa" with Owl Jolson.

OMG...i love that cartoon. I haven't seen it since I was about 8 though. My little sister and I always used to sing that tune.

[Narshty]

I'd much rather watch "I love to Singa" with Owl Jolson.

That was wonderful - thanks!

[shearerchic]

Here are the specs :

[quote]DVD Special Features:

Disc 1 – The Movie

· All new feature digital transfer and immaculately refurbished soundtrack from restored picture elements and original Vitaphone-Sound-on-Disc recordings

· Commentary by film historians Ron Hutchinson and Vince Giordano

· Collection of rare cartoons and shorts:

o I Love to Sing-a classic 1936 WB parody cartoon directed by Tex Avery

o Hollywood Handicap classic M-G-M short with Al Jolson appearance

o A Day at Santa Anita classic Technicolor Warner Bros. short with Al Jolson & Ruby Keeler cameo appearance

o “Al Jolson in ‘A Plantation Act' “1926 Vitaphone short made a year prior to The Jazz Singer

o An Intimate Dinner in Celebration of Warner Bros. Silver Jubilee

· 1947 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast starring Al Jolson (audio only)

· Al Jolson Trailer Gallery

Disc 2 – The Early Sound Era

· All-new feature-length documentary The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk

· Two rarely-seen Technicolor excerpts from Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929 WB film, most of which is considered lost)

· Studio shorts celebrating the early sound era:

· Finding His Voice (1929 Western Electric animated promotional short, produced by Max Fleischer)

· The Voice That Thrilled The World - Warner Bros. short about sound

· Okay for Sound 1946 WB short celebrating the 20th anniversary of Vitaphone

· When Talkies Were Young 1955 WB short looking back at the early talkies

· The Voice from the Screen 1926 WB ‘demonstration' film explores the Vitaphone technology and, looks at the making of a Vitaphone short.

Disc 3 – VITAPHONE SHORTS

In the 1920's Warner Bros. began producing a series of short films which utilized the Vitaphone process. These films ran the gamut from musical theater legends and vaudeville acts, to dramatic vignettes and classical music performances from the most prestigious artists of the era.
Most of these were shorts considered lost for decades, until a consortium of archivists and historians joined forces with a goal to restore these magnificent time capsules of entertainment history. Up until now, contemporary audiences have only been able to see these shorts via rare retrospective showings in a few large cities, or through the limited release of a restored handful of the earliest subjects, which were part of a 1996 laserdisc set. This new collection will finally make these amazing rarities available to the thousands of film fans awaiting their DVD debut.

· Over 3 1/2 hours worth of rare, historic Vitaphone comedy and music shorts

Elsie Janis in a Vaudeville Act: “Behind the Linesâ€

[domino harvey]

wow, they should really just list the film as a bonus feature instead

[Matt]

I wonder if they plan to quietly release a number of Jolson's other films around the same time. I can't imagine a more suitable time than with the release of this set.

[shearerchic]

I wonder if they plan to quietly release a number of Jolson's other films around the same time. I can't imagine a more suitable time than with the release of this set.

I'm sure this set will sell really well due to it's unavailabilty on dvd, so maybe when the figures come in, they'll look into releasing his other films.

[Lino]

Yeah, everyone's waiting for Wonder Bar to crawl out of its embarrasing little woodwork. Hey, I just want a chance to finally see it.

Artwork

[Matt]

Artwork

Gee, I wonder what was wrong with the original poster art? Or the souvenir program art?

I joke, but seriously, Warner is doing a great job with what could have been a very prickly release.

[Lino]

...seriously, Warner is doing a great job with what could have been a very prickly release.

Agreed. It's a veritable Vitaphone heaven.

[domino harvey]

this is pretty much a shoo-in for DVD release of the year

[whaleallright]

//

[stroszeck]

Wow, am I the only one on this board with the opinion that the Jazz Singer is a big piece of shit? I mean I've only seen it once and I still feel I wasted an hour and a half of my life...

[Narshty]

Wow, am I the only one on this board with the opinion that the Jazz Singer is a big piece of shit? I mean I've only seen it once and I still feel I wasted an hour and a half of my life...

Out of interest, are there any movies you actually like? Or, if not, could ever take a stab at discussing intelligently?

[Matt]

Wow, am I the only one on this board with the opinion that the Jazz Singer is a big piece of shit? I mean I've only seen it once and I still feel I wasted an hour and a half of my life...

What comment(s) are you reacting to? Not a single person in this thread has praised the movie itself, even faintly.

[domino harvey]

Yeah, I think it goes without saying that this isn't a very good film beyond historical trivia... that said, I see nothing stopping this from being as I claimed earlier the DVD release of the year

[stroszeck]

Well maybe I was being a little too harsh. Of course there are tons of films that I do enjoy but what with all the insightful and HIGHLY detailed critiques found on this board by members who have apparently seen frame-by-frame sessions of films to the point where they can deconstruct scenes into individual shots, I feel that my own attempts at writing a decent analysis would simply seem pedestrian.
Besides, I think I was reacting more to the fact that Jazz Singer is getting the luxury treatment on DVD when everything from The BIG PARADE and GREED (films released just a short while before JS came out) have not yet seen the light of day.

[tryavna]

Besides, I think I was reacting more to the fact that Jazz Singer is getting the luxury treatment on DVD when everything from The BIG PARADE and GREED (films released just a short while before JS came out) have not yet seen the light of day.

I'm pretty sure it's a given that everyone around here shares that same frustration. Note my previous post in this very thread (#2): I don't give a damn about the film itself. However, what seems to be rather exciting to many people are the early sound shorts and the docu. I can see why, though I certainly don't share Domino Harvey's extreme enthusiasm.

[devlinnn]

I was actually hoping Warner would throw in the '53 and '59 versions of The Jazz Singer to keep us Peggy Lee and Jerry Lewis fanatics happy. I guess you can't have it all.

[Mr Buttle]

Hey, I like The Jazz Singer!! Well, at least, I like the bit where he sings that song with the whistly bird noises in the middle - c'mon that's entertainment! And the bit where he sings to his ma is cute. And it's an interesting depiction of East Side Jewish life in the 20s. The rest of it is turgid, I admit, and the blackface stuff makes my flesh crawl.

[Lino]

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