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Author Topic: 'The Jazz Singer' (1927) - DVD availability William Hooper Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1879 From: Mobile, AL USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-11-2004 02:02 AM                        quote: Will Kutler The Jazz Singer is largly based on Jolson's life. It has many similarities to Jolson's life, and to George Jessel's, too, but I don't think it's based on their lives. The movie The Jazz Singer is based on the hit Broadway play The Jazz Singer, which starred George Jessel. When the rights were bought for the film, I think Jessel held out for more money when he was told that the songs would also be recorded, & Jolson sort of eased into the moment where things weren't moving. The topic of The Jazz Singer was a sore one between Jessel & Jolson for the rest of their lives. Jolson already had some familiarity with Vitaphone production from doing some Vitaphone shorts, & that probably accounts for a large degree to his super ease with the musical segments in The Jazz Singer. The Jazz Singer's playwright had even before the play published a story which was expanded for the play. There's some information about The Jazz Singer in Scott Eyman's book _The Speed of Sound_, which is about the ramp up to & establishment of talkies in cinema.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 10-15-2004 03:53 PM                        An excellent read... meticulously researched, strikes the ideal balance between hardcore argument and contextualising info (some of it trivia, but illuminating trivia nonetheless), and absolutely avoids getting mired in useless academic jargon. If, like I was, you are a bit mystified as to such a massive change could have taken place in so short a time (in 1925, the idea of a 90-minute studio fiction film with synchronised recording was science fiction; by 1931 anything but was obsolete), then Eyman's approach - picking off and explaining each little development in that six-year period, then relating it to the wider picture - gives a very coherent answer.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-26-2004 11:18 PM                     quote: Steve Kraus The Diamond version had some 70mm blowup prints. Was this perhaps one of the last attempts at a roadshow release? Ahhhh, but the diamond version wasn't released with its soundtrack on disks..... it would have been a nice touch though. It flopped because the fellow mentioned in the next quote was left out of the later version. quote: Will Kutler One of these reknown stars, Yossi Rosenblatt, was featured in this 1927 version. Wasn't he he a close relation of Og Ogelby? Mark  |  IP: Logged Will Kutler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1506 From: Tucson, AZ, USA Registered: Feb 2001 posted 12-15-2004 03:50 PM                     Watching a short documentary today, I learned that another beloved American actor was also in the Jolson "Jazz Singer"....who was it?  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 12-15-2004 04:08 PM                     Was it William Demarest? If you can't find the DVD, what about the poster. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2319&item=3859437168&rd=1 Well today the bidding is at $18,100.00 12/15/04 and the reserve has not been met yet.  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 12-15-2004 04:52 PM                     quote: Mark Gulbrandsen Ahhhh, but the diamond version wasn't released with its soundtrack on disks..... it would have been a nice touch though. It might almost have been possible! Some sound on disk installations survived for an amasing length of time. I think the last time I saw one, in a cinema, with the projectors still in use, not a museum exhibit, was in the very early '70s. That must have been about 40 years after they last saw any disks. Were there any still intact after this? Equally surprising is how many of the disks still survive; the Vitaphone Project are still making major discoveries. web page Edit: The Vitaphone Project website seems to have moved; it can now be found here [ 10-13-2007, 02:46 AM: Message edited by: Stephen Furley ]  |  IP: Logged Will Kutler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1506 From: Tucson, AZ, USA Registered: Feb 2001 posted 12-15-2004 07:21 PM                     Bill Gabel knows his stuff! There was a little tribute to William Demarest today on Turner Classic Movies that I recently saw. Cheers! K  |  IP: Logged William Hooper Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1879 From: Mobile, AL USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-16-2004 02:20 AM                        William Demarest told a great, classical vaudeville-structured story once on the old Tonight Show: --- The manager of this burlesque theater noticed that a kid had sneaked in & was watching the show from the back of the house. Instead of throwing the kid out, he decided to just watch him for a while. The comics came on & did a sketch, then the strippers came out & went into their act. The kid turned around & started to try to slip out of the theatre. The manager stopped him & said, "Hey kid, what's the matter, don't you like the show?" The kid says, "Yeah, I liked it." "Why are you leaving, then?" The kid says, "Well, my mother told me that if I ever saw a naked lady, I would turn to stone." "So?" "I was starting to turn to stone." ---------------------------------- I think Warner Oland's a very interesting guy in the Jazz Singer: First person to lip sync in a movie, first person to sing onscreen *dubbed by another singer*, first movie werewolf, well-regarded Shakesperean actor, spoke several languages & translated plays from them to English, weirdly a Swede who not only became typecast as Chinese but was identified with the strongest stereotypes of Charlie Chan & Fu Manchu, had some great, varied, strong performances in silent movies before talkies.  |  IP: Logged Bernard Tonks Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 619 From: Cranleigh, Surrey, England Registered: Apr 2001 posted 01-29-2005 11:44 AM                     For those interested in the UK "The Jazz Singer" 1927 is on TCM Tuesday 1st February at 13.00 hours.  |  IP: Logged William Hooper Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1879 From: Mobile, AL USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-31-2005 02:08 AM                        What is Bernard Tonks doing in his picture? It looks like he's trying to find the circuit breaker for the popcorn machine.  |  IP: Logged System Notices Forum Watchdog / Soup Nazi Posts: 215 Registered: Apr 2004 posted 10-12-2007 02:49 PM                 It has been 984 days since the last post.  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 10-12-2007 02:49 PM                     Well the wait is over for region 1. Warner Bros. has released the 80th. Anniversary Edition of "The Jazz Singer" on DVD. The three disc Deluxe edition features a new digital transfer and immaculately refurbished soundtrack from restored picture elements and original Vitaphone sound on disc recordings. Commentary by Ron Hutchison, Founder of the Vitaphone Projects and Nighthawks Bandleader Vince Giordano. Vintage Al Jolson shorts, radio show adaptation and movie trailer gallery. Classic homage cartoon "I Love to Singa". That's disc one. Disc two is called The early sound era it features a new feature length documentary "The Dawn of Sound: How the Movies Learned to Talk". Surviving sound excerpts from 1929's "Gold Diggers of Broadway" and Studio shorts from celebrating the early sound era. Disc three has over 3 1/2 hours worth of rare, historic Vitaphone comedy and music shorts starring the Greats of Vaudeville and the early sound era and many recently recovered and restored after being thought lost forever. Also in that three disc set it comes with 10 behind the scenes photo cards, 12 page Vitaphone program, 20 page souvenir program, 4 page theatre herald, 16 page book with vintage document reproductions and dvd features guide and post premiere telegram from Al Jolson to Jack Warner. The movie looks better than I've every seen it before. They've included a 4 minute overture and exit music to this version of the film. In the trailer gallery it features: The Jazz Singer The Singing Fool Mammy Wonder Bar Go into Your Dance The Singing Kid  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 11-02-2007 01:10 PM                     I received an e-mail a few days ago from the Loew's Jersey to say that they're screening it on the 10th of November. it's also on their website: http://www.loewsjersey.org/ I did think about coming over for a few days now that I'm free most weekends, and seeing it while I was thee, but it doesn't look like it will be possible at such short notice. Maybe I will be able to come over again next year.  |  IP: Logged John Anastasio Master Film Handler Posts: 325 From: Trenton, NJ, USA Registered: Sep 2000 posted 11-02-2007 06:57 PM                        It's of interest to note that the Loews Jersey is one of the only theaters left which could actually show a Vitaphone print if it wanted to (with a bit of work). There's only one Vitaphone machine in the booth, but it's still operational, lovingly restored. I wonder if they ever got their Brenographs working.  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 11-03-2007 06:09 AM                     They've even got one of the disk storage cabinets in the rewind room. There is supposed to be somebody from the Vitaphone Project there for that event. I did wonder if they would run one of the musical shorts. The problem is, of course, that the disks only last for a few playings, so even one performance and a couple of trial runs would cause significant wear. The print would have to be safety of course, but the disk would have to be an original one. It might be possible to do it very occasionally, say one show every ten years or so, with a title where several copies of the disk exist, and the best possible transfer has already been made to modern media. Maybe one day they will get a brenograph working, I think there are enough parts there to make one working one. From memory, all 16 lenses were missing, and most of the retaining clips for them, and all 12 mirrors were either missing, or the silvering gone, so some new parts would have to be acquired or made. Most of the metalwork is rusty, and moving parts are seized, but would clean up. Goodness knows how long it is since they last saw any use. It would be nice if they could get one working some day. I haven'tbeen there since May 2006, and I haven't been up in the box sine I met Scott Norwood there, I think that was in April 2003; how time flies! They recently announced that the organ is basically working, but still requireds a bit of work to get it ready for its first performance. The last time I was there some parts of the DP-70s had been moved up to the box, but major parts were still on display in the lobby. I think they were planning to move these up during the Summer closure, but I've heard nothing more since then. Have they finally managed to sort out the lease on the building? About three times it seemed that this was all settled, and then some new problem came up. They seem to be running more live shows there now, but they really need to do something about that huge empty balcony; it doesn't help the accoustics at all. John, are you free that evening? It's not all that far from Trenton, could you go, see how they're getting on, and give our best wishes to the Friends?  |  IP: Logged

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