I did a search to see if there was a thread about this and didn't find one, so I thought I'd start one. I just got this today, and I think it's a spectacular release. I haven't looked at the film itself yet, but there are two DVDs of extras -- disc two has a full-length documentary on the transition from silent to sound film as well as surviving fragments from two early Technicolor musicals, "Gold Diggers of Broadway" and "The Rogue Song." (There's a mistake on the disc, here - the clips are identified as both being from "Gold Diggers" but the ballet sequence is apparently from "Rogue.") Disc three is a treasure trove of early Vitaphone shorts, including turns from Baby Rose Marie (who grew up to play, among other things, Sally Rogers on "The Dick Van Dyke Show,") Burns and Allen, and other acts from the time both famous and forgotten. If you're interested in early sound features, you might want to check this one out.
PS -- If there is another thread already extant about this, I'd like to read it. Thanks!
"The Jazz Singer" ('27) Three-Disc DVD Set
I got this the day it came out and this is probably the closest we will ever get to the way the film originally looked in '27 (watch the opening credits and see how they change-the main title is original but the technical credits are from a reissue [you'll notice an optical zoom during Crosland's credit that eliminates the cast list-William Demarest is in the film in the Coffee Dan sequence and was listed but is not included now]).As a film, it is not that great-even Samson Raphelson, who wrote the original play did not like it. No one could direct Jolson, and his performance in JAZZ SINGER is subtle compared to THE SINGING FOOL, so remember that. I watch this film for his musical numbers and see May McAvoy (oohh!) but I will say that the film has never looked this gorgeous or sounded this good.
The doc on the dawn of sound is really good, with a friend who wrote a book on the subject-Scott Eyman-prominent in it. As far as the bonus numbers, Warner's knows about the mistake but I have yet to see any effort to correct it, and besides the ROGUE SONG number is much more interesting and is complete. The GOLDDIGGERS number was on a laserdisc box set some years ago and they only had sound for the complete number with half of the film element lost.
And of course, there is the wonderfully forward-thinking use of blackface, which was popular then but abhorrent today. If you want to see a modern day context for this film, watch THE SAVAGES. There is a scene where the character of the father to the main character siblings is in an assisted living facility and they show a movie that has a great meaning to the residents there. The father picks THE JAZZ SINGER and the reaction of the medical staff-almost exclusively black-is priceless. You might have noticed that the cover of the box for this disc shows Jolson in silhouette rather than in blackface, which I'm told was the original intent. According to a reliable source, the cover did show the blackface Jolson and many vendors told Warners that they would not carry the title with that artwork, so they revised it. Some might call this revisionist, the studio would probably call it good business practice. Personally, as long as the content inside is untouched and the unsuspecting are told what to expect, no problem for me-I have no problem putting the film in historical context, but there are some who might.
Anyway, congrats on aquiring this important title in film history-Warners outdid themselves putting this package together even though they probably knew it would not sell millions of copies. It is a milestone and I'm glad they treated it as such.
Hi, Jedbu:
I have a copy of your friend's book, "The Speed of Sound;" in fact, I pulled it off the shelf after watching the documentary and scanned through it again; it will be a treat to watch the shorts and read his commentary on them as well.
As for the blackface -- one can only say it is an historically accurate - if painful - record of something that was once accepted. It's a big leap for a modern audience to make; I did watch Jolson's "Plantation" short and winced through it.
I've only seen "Jazz Singer" once so look forward to seeing the new transfer. Would also love to see a DVD release of Kevin Bronlow's multi-part "Hollywood" documentary too. Maybe someday.
I have a copy of your friend's book, "The Speed of Sound;" in fact, I pulled it off the shelf after watching the documentary and scanned through it again; it will be a treat to watch the shorts and read his commentary on them as well.
As for the blackface -- one can only say it is an historically accurate - if painful - record of something that was once accepted. It's a big leap for a modern audience to make; I did watch Jolson's "Plantation" short and winced through it.
I've only seen "Jazz Singer" once so look forward to seeing the new transfer. Would also love to see a DVD release of Kevin Bronlow's multi-part "Hollywood" documentary too. Maybe someday.
The "Plantation Act" is a fascinating document of a form of entertainment which (I hope) will never pass this way again. 
What you may not know is that the film element was lost for years and only rediscovered in the mid-90's (you may notice that it is missing the original opening credits). As for the Vitaphone disc, that was also missing for years and when someone did find a copy, it was broken into four parts! In order to transfer the disc to a digital source, the disc was carefully and painstakingly glued together (having to line up the grooves was a nightmare!), then, in order for the disc to play with a minimum of clicks and pops with all the breaks, the disc was put onto a turntable that had a small air hose adjacent to the stylus that kept a steady stream of air to keep the stylus centered in the groove. Added to that, the turntable was also moved around by hand-imagine keeping a ball bearing on a convex platter with no rim-to keep the stylus from sticking in the groove and doing a constant repeat. I attended a screening of the Vitaphone program that had the number as one of the acts and both the man who found the disc was present (with the disc held high showing the cracks) and a demo of what the whole procedure looked like-it was almost more entertaining than the film!
Let me know what you think of the book-I was the west coast researcher for it (the instructions on how to ride the fader in the projection booth is one of my finds) and I always get a charge out of looking through it again.
Do not hold your breath waiting for HOLLYWOOD on DVD. According to Kevin, due to the number of different rights holders it will be impossible to commercially release the set unless someone buys all the companies; then it might happen. You might check with Eddie Brandt's Saturday Matinee out here and ask Donovan, the manager if he might be able to help you out with it. Just mention my name (Jeff Heise) to see-I cannot promise anything.
What you may not know is that the film element was lost for years and only rediscovered in the mid-90's (you may notice that it is missing the original opening credits). As for the Vitaphone disc, that was also missing for years and when someone did find a copy, it was broken into four parts! In order to transfer the disc to a digital source, the disc was carefully and painstakingly glued together (having to line up the grooves was a nightmare!), then, in order for the disc to play with a minimum of clicks and pops with all the breaks, the disc was put onto a turntable that had a small air hose adjacent to the stylus that kept a steady stream of air to keep the stylus centered in the groove. Added to that, the turntable was also moved around by hand-imagine keeping a ball bearing on a convex platter with no rim-to keep the stylus from sticking in the groove and doing a constant repeat. I attended a screening of the Vitaphone program that had the number as one of the acts and both the man who found the disc was present (with the disc held high showing the cracks) and a demo of what the whole procedure looked like-it was almost more entertaining than the film!
Let me know what you think of the book-I was the west coast researcher for it (the instructions on how to ride the fader in the projection booth is one of my finds) and I always get a charge out of looking through it again.
Do not hold your breath waiting for HOLLYWOOD on DVD. According to Kevin, due to the number of different rights holders it will be impossible to commercially release the set unless someone buys all the companies; then it might happen. You might check with Eddie Brandt's Saturday Matinee out here and ask Donovan, the manager if he might be able to help you out with it. Just mention my name (Jeff Heise) to see-I cannot promise anything.
JDvDHeise
"You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons."-Gene Wilder to Cleavon Little in BLAZING SADDLES
"You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons."-Gene Wilder to Cleavon Little in BLAZING SADDLES
Thanks for the information re: "The Plantation Act" and the "Hollywood" series, too. I've read "Speed of Sound" a couple of times in the past - it's nice to be able to thank/congratulate someone who was involved in its creation. Informative and entertaining at the same time - I wonder if film schools use it as a text. Although it is dissapointing to hear about the legalities involving the "Hollywood" series, I have managed to collect most of the episodes over the years off television. This first aired in my area in the early 80s on Saturday nights (late) and I never missed it. (I was about 20 at the time -- I guess it's a testament to the brilliance of this series that it kept a 20-year-old home on Saturday nights for four months!) I also picked up Kino's "The Red Kimona" along with "Jazz Singer," and look forward to checking that out as well.