[78-L] Jazz Singer Blu-ray set -- my Amazon review

[Jeff Sultanof]

I get it. That's why I haven't bought the Blu-ray of "Spartacus" which I
understand is worse than the DVD.

Jeff S.

On Sat, Jan 26, 2013 at 5:11 PM, David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>wrote:

> I'll grab what TCM runs and check it out. No way am I replacing the old
> set,
> unless it's a free exchange to correct what they should have put out in the
> first place (the producers of the Popeye cartoon sets actually did that
> with
> one volume where the wrong openings appeared). Converting from VHS to a
> superior medium is one thing, but having several editions of the same
> thing and
> deluxe versions and "Don't Call Me Shirley" versions of "Airplane" drive
> me up
> the freakin' wall.
>
> dl
>
> On 1/26/2013 2:11 PM, Jeff Sultanof wrote:
> > Thank you, Dr. Biel for such a great review. I was going to upgrade
> anyway,
> > but this certainly tips the scale.
> >
> > And David, I would imagine that TMC is running the new restoration, as
> the
> > HD transfer for the Blu-ray is now the official master for this feature
> > (Thank goodness those synch issues were addressed).
> >
> > Jeff Sultanof
> >
> > On Sat, Jan 26, 2013 at 10:58 AM, David Lennick<dlennick at sympatico.ca
> >wrote:
> >
> >> I see TMC is showing The Jazz Singer next Saturday morning. Any chance
> >> they'll
> >> have the new restoration?
> >>
> >> dl
> >>
> >> On 1/25/2013 11:28 PM, Michael Biel wrote:
> >>> Since a lot of you on the list might be interested, here (with the
> usual
> >>> disclaimers) is my Amazon review of the new Blu-ray edition of The Jazz
> >>> Singer and Vitaphone collection:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Singer-Blu-ray-Al-Jolson/dp/B009P07QPS/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
> >>>
> >>> Let's cut to the chase because it is obvious that all film collectors
> >>> either need this or already have the DVD -- yes, you DO need to upgrade
> >>> from the DVD to this new Blu-ray edition. It IS that much better.
> >>>
> >>> All of the errors in the DVD have been corrected. The scratches during
> >>> "Dirty Hands, Dirty Face" and much of the rest of the Coffee Dan's
> scene
> >>> have been eliminated without a trace. The mis-matched synchronization
> of
> >>> the entire reel before "Blue Skies" has been fixed. The artificial
> >>> shaking of the inter-titles to disguise them being free-frames has been
> >>> steadied. In the extras, they have put in the correct two scenes from
> >>> "Gold Diggers Of Broadway" -- we actually see Nick Lucas sing in
> 2-strip
> >>> Technicolor "Tip-Toe Through the Tulips" this time. As an additional
> >>> bonus they have added two shorts which have cameo appearances by Al
> >>> Jolson and Ruby Keeler at Santa Anita Raceway. Most of the printed
> >>> extras from the DVD set are in the book except for most of the
> >>> postcards, but they have added some great portraits, bios, and an
> >>> illustrated essay on the earlier film sound systems.
> >>>
> >>> Only disc one is Blu-ray. Discs two and three are still DVD, and
> >>> actually have the same labels and catalog number as the originals -- so
> >>> don't mix them up with your originals or else you'll lose Nick Lucas.
> >>> They are still standard definition, but the first disc is High
> >>> Defination and the image sparkles! The DVD was good, but the Blu-ray
> >>> image will blow you away. It probably looks better than original
> nitrate
> >>> prints looked in 1927. I'll go so far as to say that it proves that you
> >>> DO need to buy that Blu-ray player if you haven't yet.
> >>>
> >>> The aforementioned scratches on the DVD were always a puzzle to me.
> They
> >>> were continuous vertical scratches that often hit right on Jolson's
> >>> face. You could tell they had worked on them because they were faint
> >>> remnants of what must have originally been very deep. But they were
> >>> still there in the most famous scene in the film. When Mary Dale enters
> >>> down the stairs the scratch is right down the middle of her face in the
> >>> first close-up and very heavy at the end of the second close-up.
> (There!
> >>> I've done it!! If you never noticed them before, now you will never be
> >>> able to watch the DVD again without them bothering you!!! Mission
> >>> Accomplished!) But they are GONE in the Blu-ray!!
> >>>
> >>> The sync problem in the DVD starts at the beginning of the train
> station
> >>> scene where they mis-start the disc too late over the letter writing
> >>> close-up. It is as much as 20 seconds off, and the music cues are in
> all
> >>> the wrong places. It is much like the scene in "Singing In the Rain"
> >>> where voices come out of the wrong person's mouths. The bassoon that
> was
> >>> supposed to be mocking the prima donna always came when other people
> >>> were on the screen. The music made no sense. It continues on to the
> >>> neighborhood walk and the entry into his family's apartment. The
> >>> mother's theme music was never there at the correct time. And the end
> of
> >>> the disc was clipped off when the "Blue Skies" reel begins. This had
> >>> never been wrong in previous issues and prints so someone really goofed
> >>> when the DVD was being assembled. But all of this has been fixed in the
> >>> Blu-ray, and the scenes and the music really make sense once again.
> >>>
> >>> Almost all of the inter-titles are freeze-frames. They are noticeable
> >>> because all moving grain of the image stops cold. To disguise this they
> >>> wandered the image slightly in the DVD version. This fake motion was
> >>> supposed to emulate how titles look when the film continues to run, but
> >>> in 35mm theatrical prints this does not happen unless the film is worn.
> >>> The four sprockets per frame should keep the picture steady, unlike
> 16mm
> >>> where there is only one sprocket per frame and the image usually always
> >>> shakes. Saner heads prevailed this time, and the titles are kept steady
> >>> in the Blu-ray. (Again, if you had never noticed this in the DVD, now
> it
> >>> will bother you. Good! Mission accomplished!)
> >>>
> >>> The book is easier to maneuver than all those separate booklets and
> >>> slip-cases of the DVD set. It is much easier to find the list of
> >>> contents of the discs because they are the last two pages of the book,
> >>> rather than being in one of four booklets that you never can find right
> >>> away. They still do not give you any info about the shorts other than
> >>> their title. None of the extras have their track number printed so you
> >>> can easily find which track they are on without having to go back to
> the
> >>> headers on the discs. You have to print this out for yourself from the
> >>> internet. Do be careful when removing disc three fromthe plastic holder
> >>> because there is an added lip that requires it being slid out further
> >>> than you might realize. But these are small nitpicks.
> >>>
> >>> All in all, the original DVD was a bargain for all you got -- but this
> >>> Blu-ray set is even more of a bargain. It IS necessary to get even if
> >>> you already have the DVD set.
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