This is not a review, but a note that Warner Brothers have announced a new special-edition of DVD of The Jazz Singer, the first feature-length film with synchronized sound. File this one under “It’s about damned time,” because this film has been MIA on Region 1 DVD for the entire decade that the format has been available.
On the recent update to the AFI 100 Years, 100 Movies list, The Jazz Singer completely dropped off the list. In addition, The African Queen, another classic criminally neglected by the DVD market, dropped 48 spots to number 65. One can only suspect that one reason for these films falling off the list was their absence from the home video market. In other words, “Out of sight, out of mind.”
Of course, this release comes a couple of years too late to keep The Jazz Singer on the AFI List. Fortunately, I don’t care much about those lists.
Hopefully, we can get The African Queen to be released on some format, maybe HD DVD or Blu-Ray, before too long. Other than the original theatrical editions of the first Star Wars trilogy, this about the last great film that we can’t watch at home.
seems like a deliberate antidote to the increasingly fanciful adventures of Ian Fleming’s superspy. There are no outlandish gadgets or glamorous locations and the only significant female character dresses like a librarian (Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that she’s a librarian). For those who like their espionage somewhat grounded in reality, this movie is a three-course meal.
