[78-L] Using Originals (was: Martin Williams)

[Sammy Jones]

Mike Biel wrote:

> ...it proves how important
> using ORIGINALS can be.  (This is especially important in film studies
> -- remember the problems with the DVD of The Jazz Singer that I could
> analyize by comparing it with other earlier prints -- and other things
> like literary and paintings, etc.)

Mike,

That's very interesting about the Gershwin edits; it really shows how
important it is to use good sources so that modern fixes or interpretations
are not passed down as "original."

I agree with your comments on the Jazz Singer.  Has Warner's ever
acknowledged they issued the DVD with an entire reel about 10 seconds out of
sync, which necessitated truncating part of the score before Jolson sings
"Blue Skies"?  Or eliminating a measure of music in "My Mammy"; the finale
of the picture?  I have the Al Jolson laserdisc collection, and am in the
process of dubbing it to digital tape.  I plan to create a version of the
Jazz Singer using the new DVD for most of the film, but going back to the
laserdisc to fill in the gaps.

If you know of other issues with the DVD version that I haven't mentioned, I
would appreciate hearing about them.

Sammy Jones