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The super-rare and super-crazy, Hellzapoppin' will be finally see a DVD release in February!

Well allreeet-a-roonie!
(I'm a big Slim Gaillard fan).
Be great to finally see this film.

Lemmy Caution wrote:Well allreeet-a-roonie!
(I'm a big Slim Gaillard fan).
Be great to finally see this film.

Hopefully it will be of better quality than the choppy Australian issue.

Speaking of Gaillard, have you ever heard his rendition of "How High the Moon" on the 50's lp "Slim Gaillard Rides Again"? I guess his original "vout" creations are more what he's remembered for, but that recording is a scream. Check out the audio sample on amazon if you haven't heard it!

unclehulot wrote:Hopefully it will be of better quality than the choppy Australian issue.

That's right - there was an Oz disc available for a short time; it was transfered from an old 16mm print, I believe. Indeed, let's hope that the UK disc is from a good 35mm element.

unclehulot wrote: Speaking of Gaillard, have you ever heard his rendition of "How High the Moon" on the 50's lp "Slim Gaillard Rides Again"? I guess his original "vout" creations are more what he's remembered for, but that recording is a scream.

"...but the moon don't care how low you are!"
Yeah, great stuff.

I especially love Slim's handful of "jam session" recordings with Charlie Yardbird-aroonie, and Dizzy Gillespie.

Have you seen Slim's performance in the Bowie film Absolute Beginners? He's gotta be pushing 70 and just blows the roof off the joint (especially tough in a basement club).

Sorry to hijack the thread. Maybe should start one for jazz performances in film.

For anyone who has seen Hellzapoppin', how does it compare to the Marx Bros.?

Lemmy Caution wrote:For anyone who has seen Hellzapoppin', how does it compare to the Marx Bros.?

I've only seen it once in full, but in my opinion the first twenty minutes or so make the latter seem about as fun as the Christian Brothers by comparison. After that the bizarre intensity drops to approximately the same level as Groucho & Co. at their best.

Gordon wrote:Review of DVD

Hmm, I was going to check this one out based on everyone's reactions to it on this thread but the DVD presentation is so lacking that I will ultimately pass until a better edition comes out.

I watched this one the other day on TV with my mother and we both could literally not believe our eyes! Definitely the best american movie comedy I've ever seen, and I mean EVER!

I really, really hope that Universal includes it in their new Classics line.