Customer Reviews

Jazz Singer

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
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This is an extraordinary film.

First, it is a great story of the dilemma faced by a son between following a path set by his family and culture, in contrast with pursuing his own career ambitions.

This is a story with great relevance today.

Second, it is the first "talking picture." As a piece of cinema history, it is a missing link between silent and talking pictures.

The Jazz Singer is conceived and photographed as a silent picture, and follows all silent picture conventions, but has several synchronized sound segments - with performances by the great Al Jolson - worked in.

The most memorable to me is the scene with Jolson talking to his mother, with Jolson sitting at the piano.

Third, Al Jolson was the most popular superstar of his day; he is compared in popularity to Michael Jackson, Elvis, and Bing Crosby combined at their peaks. In a world before radio, television, and sound pictures, the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway in NYC was built for Jolson and he filled it for years.

Finally, "The Jazz Singer" is an historical document looking at New York in the 1920's. That world is long long gone. The sets, the costumes, the types of the actors, all reflect a rich and interesting world that no longer exists.

Don't look at "The Jazz Singer" as some historical oddity or museum piece. As a piece of entertainment, culture and history, it is very powerful and riveting.

As far as I am concerned, it is highly recommended.

What lady watching could keep a dry eye at the end when Jack Robin sings Mammy with his own mother proudly watching in the audience? Absolutely moving. The film was not the first part talkie to come outa Hollywood but it was the most successful. And the story rather closely parallels Jolson's real life family story. He was the son of a cantor, the two were originally from Lithuania and Jolson ran away from his dad when he was just a boy.

I saw the Danny Thomas version of The Jazz Singer when it came out about 50 years ago; forgot the plot. Never got to see Neil Diamond's in full. Then I saw Al Jolson. I was spellbound, wondering what the outcome was going to be. The blackface picture on the box was a little offensive and can cause a distraction. They could have chosen some other scene instead.

Can't wait for the DVD version to come out, with whatever extras might be included. Hope they do pick another cover illustration .

Almost immediately after Warner Bros' huge financial gamble premiered in Oct 1927, other studios' concerned bigwigs frantically ordered their studios to immediately equip themselves to do sound movies. New careers were made -- and shattered -- overnight. If you haven't seen The Jazz Singer, considered the first "talking movie" (even though there actually were some earlier sporadic experiments) this is a video worth not only seeing but OWNING for several reasons: a)You see Al Jolson at his height. He was one of the first half of the 20th century's biggest stars and some of his stage charisma comes through in this movie's songs. Most of the flick is actually silent except for the songs. Originally he was only supposed to sing, but he ad libbed a few lines and the response was absolutely electric when audiences heard and saw him say these few words on the screen. b)The story's value: a Jewish religious leader's son, torn between tradition (using his voice for religion and following in his dad's footsteps) or to please the masses (as a jazz singer in vaudeville). Follow family tradition or national culture? c)The historical show biz value: the Warner brothers put everything they on the line in doing this flick and if it had failed sound movies would have been set back about 10 years (or more) -- and maybe Bugs Bunny wouldn't have been invented. d)Technical show biz value: The Warners used Vitaphone, which was basically sound on disks synchronized to the film's action. You also get a nice zippy period musical score throughout the movie. f)American history historical value: Note long shots of the Jewish ghetto. They were actual shots of a New York street taken through a window -- NOT extras on a movie set. And the theater in which Jolson sings was the Wintergarden, a theater in which he often performed. g)Cultural historical value: even though Jolson's belt-em-out vocal style (effective in theaters without mikes) is part of the reason you don't hear about him anymore, a MAJOR part of his vanishing public historical profile is because he did some of his stage act in "blackface" and minstrel shows were viewed a bit differently in those days. You will SELDOM EVER see this film aired on television due to the fact that blackface is so obviously politically incorrect (understatement!). Does this hold up? YES, it is corny but it is also deeply touching and Jolson's stage pizazz reaches across nearly a century on most numbers (one or two now are almost "camp" but weren't back then). Advice: it won't be available on video forever as the 21st century advances. And you might not find it at your local rental store. Get it now. It's the movie that forever changed Hollywood -- and it's still entertaining.

The Jazz Singer, generally called the first talkie is still mostly silent, except for a few songs and a rather lengthy, for the time, dialogue sequence. The movie is worth the watch just for the historical value and the songs are pretty fun too.

But that isn't all. Al Jolson, once called the greatest entertainer ever, stretches his acting ability to the limit here. Warner Oland is excellent as well as the intolerant but devout father. The dilemma faced by Jakie is incredibly heart rending and Jolson shows this well. Faced with choosing between his own "God" and his father's God, Jolson portrays a man trapped in a desperate situation. The one scene where Jolson really shines finds him between his mother on one hand and his boss and love interest on the other. The next to last scene is startling and brought tears to my eyes. Watch this movie. You will be doing yourself a favor.

A cantor's son decides to become a singer of popular songs in speakeasies during the "Roaring Twenties". Incredibly, when this film first premiered in October of 1927, audiences were literally mesmorized and totally spellbound upon hearing the synchronized sound of actors voices while watching a moving picture at the same time! Warner's dubbed their "Vitaphone" film a "Supreme Triumph" and in it's day, it undeniably was. Although Jolson's ad-libbing (i.e. "Wait a minute, folks - you ain't heard nothing yet!" and his vocals thrilled millions during the infancy of sound pictures, the viewer should keep in mind that this film was considered banal and corny even back in 1927 and that it's really a silent with only about 280 words spoken during the entire movie. For film buffs, however, it's an essential video because of it's historical significance and no real classic movie collection is complete without it.

Al Jolson was a wonderful singer but he wasn't a particularly good actor. This 1927 classic, the first "talkie", is dated and corny, but at the same time, terrific to watch providing you keep in mind it is 72 years old. If you have never seen it, you may be surprised to learn that for the most part, it is a silent movie. But when Jolson sings and talks, it is great.

When I show this video to some of my budding filmmaker buddies, many call it "old...corny." For God's sake, of course it's old. It was filmed in l927. That's almost 75 years ago. Frankly, I fell in love with The Jazz Singer since I first caught it on television decades ago. The musical score is uncredited (I don't mean the Irving Berlin songs sung by Jolson) but the accompaniment and is powerful. The violins and woodwinds keep the pace moving swiftly. I love studying the manners and styles of that era--May McAvoy in her Jazz Age suits and stage costumes. How people in clubs and restaurants would use drum sticks to bang the tables when they liked something; the wise cracks. A great scene is when Al Jolson has returned to visit his mother, Eugenie Besserer. After singing to her, his stubborn old jackass of a father, a rabbi, comes, here's the music and screams: "Get out! You--you Jazz Singer!" This is like watching a time machine, which captured these figures and music on film nearly 75 years ago. I love old movies that can get schmaltzy and tear-jerking. Call me old-fashioned but this l927 landmark movie is one I watch at last once a month.

This movie will really take you back and make you think how far we have come in the picture business. As for the film itself, not all that interesting, and the sound was very scratchy on the film I saw, but still it was the truly amazing voice of Al Jolson! I recommend buying Al Jolson "The best of the Decca years" on compact disc available right here from Amazon. The CD is outstanding!! Worth every penny.

Having seen this movie for the first time in the 1990's, the picture still maintains all of its original qualities. Seeing it in theatres made for quite an experience, but for those who do not have the option I would strongly recomend the video. This timeless story of a man having to decide betwen his family and his life vaulted America and the world into the age of the talking, and singing film. Al Jolson performs magnificently and sings with the passion that he was, at the time of the original release, known for. Jolson most definatly has the tear in his voice. END