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(aka "The King of Jazz Revue" or 'The Paul Whiteman King of Jazz Revue")
directed by John Murray Anderson
USA
1930
Made during the early years of the movie musical, this exuberant revue was one of the most extravagant, eclectic, and technically ambitious Hollywood productions of its day. Starring the bandleader Paul Whiteman, then widely celebrated as the King of Jazz, the film drew from Broadway variety shows to present a spectacular array of sketches, performances by such acts as the Rhythm Boys (featuring a young Bing Crosby), and orchestral numbers—all lavishly staged by veteran theatre director John Murray Anderson. Presented here in the most complete form possible and restored to its original early-Technicolor glory, King of Jazz offers a fascinating snapshot of the way mainstream American popular culture viewed itself at the dawn of the 1930s. *** Intended as Universal Pictures' entry in the "all-star musical" cycle of the early talkie era, King of Jazz is certainly the most elaborate of the bunch, though far from the most successful financially. Staged by Broadway impresario John Murray Anderson, the film is held together by the charismatic personality of rotund bandleader Paul Whiteman. The show begins with a Walter Lantz cartoon wherein it is recalled how Whiteman earned the title of the King of Jazz (Lantz's animated star Oswald Rabbit makes a brief appearance). Then Whiteman appears in the flesh (and plenty of it), coaxing his miniaturized orchestra out of a small box. The film then assumes the traditional revue format, with brief comedy sketches featuring such Universal contractees as Laura LaPlante and Slim Summerville interspersed with some of the most spectacular production numbers ever captured on film. The musical talent includes John Boles, the Rhythm Boys (with Bing Crosby), and "swing" violinist Joe Venuti. Highlights include a full-length "picturization" of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" (with Gershwin look-alike Roy Bargy at the piano), the surrealistic "Happy Feet," the splendiferous "Bridal Veil," and the gargantuan "Melting Pot" finale. The current Technicolor negative of King of Jazz, lovingly assembled from pristine original prints and battered dupes, runs 93 minutes -- some 12 minutes short of the film's original length. ***
John Murray Anderson's initial
contribution to the audible screen, "King of Jazz,"
with the rotund Paul Whiteman, reveals this director to be a
magician of far greater powers than one imagined, even from
his stage compositions. This Technicolor potpourri of songs,
dancing and fun is a marvel of camera wizardry, joyous color
schemes, charming costumes and seductive lighting effects.
The only adverse criticism to be offered is that some of the
sequences are a little somber, but even in these stretches
Mr. Anderson's highly artistic and imaginative mind is
constantly apparent. |
Poster
Theatrical Premiere: April 20th, 1930
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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Criterion - Spin #915 Region 'A' - Blu-ray |
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Runtime | 1:40:22.808 | |
Video |
Disc Size: 46,813,298,068 bytes Feature Size: 30,137,653,248 bytes Average Bitrate: 35.67 MbpsDual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Audio |
LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Commentary: |
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Subtitles | English (SDH), None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion
Disc Size: 46,813,298,068 bytes Feature Size: 30,137,653,248 bytes Average Bitrate: 35.67 MbpsDual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: Chapters 24 |
Comments |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Criterion's transfer is cited as a "New 4K digital restoration by Universal Pictures", and while there is some expected disparity from one scene to another, at times (see last pair of captures) it can be impressively tight, looking far younger than it is (almost 90 years old.) At other times there are predictable weaknesses in the 2-strip Technicolor registry, with occasional bleeding. Criterion's dual-layered Blu-ray transfer has a max'ed out bitrate and looks to be in-and-around the 1.35:1 aspect ratio. The film is incredible and the 4K in 1080P shows it's creativity and beauty to a wonderful degree.Criterion use authentic linear PCM mono (24-bit) for the audio transfer. The score is a remarkable part of the film experience with a diverse mixture utilizing; George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, singing by Bing Crosby, performances by the Violin Sextet, The Rhythm Boys, some Ludwig van Beethoven, and of course The Paul Whiteman Orchestra. It's flat and tinny but I imagine as good as the production reflected in its original presentation. It remains toe-tappingly exotic, burlesque and fun. There are optional English subtitles, for the sung lyrics too, on the Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray. Criterion offer a new audio commentary featuring jazz and film critic Gary Giddins, music and cultural critic Gene Seymour, and musician and bandleader Vince Giordano. They set a comfortable tone exporting plenty of details on the production, the music and much more. It's fascinating. Next is a 17-minute interview with Giddins who discovered the music of Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra in his youth. In this interview, recorded for the Criterion Collection in 2017, he discusses Whiteman's influence on popular music, his development of "symphonic jazz," and its relationship to the work of black jazz musicians of the time. There are four short deleted scenes and an alternate opening title sequence. For 19-minutes we get a piece with Michael Feinstein. The Musician and pianist is a champion and historian of the Great American Songbook and an aficionado of King of Jazz. In this interview, recorded for the Criterion Collection in 2017, Feinstein discusses the musicians, composers, and songwriters who contributed to the film. There are 4 new video essays by James Layton and David Pierce - the authors of the 2016 book "King of Jazz": Paul Whiteman's Technicolor Revue (Media History Press), an illustrated history of the making, distribution, and restoration of the film. The 40-minutes of video essays feature rare photographs, production artwork, and footage related to King of Jazz. Also presented are original pages from James Dietrich's musical arrangement for the film's cartoon prologue. "All Americans" is a 19-minute, 1929 short, filmed at Paramount's Astoria Studios in Queens, New York. Presented is director John Murray Anderson's "The Melting Pot of Music" number as staged as a life prologue for Paramount-Publix theatres. "I Know Everybody and Everybody's Racket" is a 21-minute, 1933 Universal Pictures musical short staring columnist Walter Winchell and featuring Paul Whiteman and his band. The character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney in 1927 for a series of cartoons originally distributed by Universal Pictures. Oswald also appears in the sketch "A Fable in Jazz" in King of Jazz, animated by Walter Lantz and Bill Nolan. After King of Jazz's release, some Oswald cartoons featured music and animation from the film. Presented as a supplements are two of those; "My Pal Paul" and "Africa" - running about 6-minutes each. There is also a liner notes booklet with an essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme. This is an incredible piece of historical entertainment - like nothing I've ever seen. I was reminded of Busby Berkley but less formal and more creative. Mind blowing... The Criterion Blu-ray is magnificent - the 4K, for the most part, far exceeds visual expectations and the commentary and extensive supplements give it immense value putting into perspective the value of this epic production. Our highest recommendation! Do NOT miss this! |
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