Alexander's Ragtime Band
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Movie Reviews of Alexander's Ragtime Band
Movie Review: Alexander's Ragtime Band...or is it Alec's? No, Alex's...wait, it's Roger's...right???
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this movie. I have never thought that Fox musicals were all that great (you want GOOD musicals, you go to MGM) but I love them because they usually have very enjoyable stories and acting. ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND is no exception. The actors are great, the story is great, the sets are beautiful, and you just CAN'T beat that Irving Berlin music score. Tyrone Power is this guy who is starting a band, and he encounters Alice Faye in a bar by accident, because he stole her sheet music. And then she joins his band as a singer, and they eventually fall in love, despite their early arguments. Only the piano player of the band (Don Ameche) is already in love with her. Just read the summary on the back of the DVD. The extras on this DVD are great. There are deleted scenes, an A&E documentary of Alice Faye's life, the original theatrical trailer, and much, much more. I thought the picture quality was great! I didn't notice any scratches on the print, or white blobby faces or static or anything. I have yet to see a classic Fox movie with perfect picture quality, anyways. This is a really great DVD. I reccomend buying it and the movie is superb. However, if you can't stand Ethel Merman, just skip over her musical numbers, and you really won't miss much of the story. They're nice numbers, though. I think Ethel Merman's great!
And here are some other great musicals of the Golden Age that I HIGHLY reccomend!!
1.Hello Frisco Hello
2.Born to Dance
3.Kid Millions
4.My Lucky Star
5.Broadway Melody of 1936 - My very favorite movie and a musical you're sure to love!
Movie Review: The audio commentary is the best thing about it! It is superb
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent DVD. I particularly enjoyed the audio commentary by Ray Faiola, which is superb. The commentary is so full of valuable historical information and trivia. I have listened to many DVD audio commentaries, and they range in quality from very good to very bad. This audio commentary is, without a doubt, one of the best I have ever heard. Other distributors of DVD's should listen to this audio commentary as an example of how it should be done! There are other good extras on this DVD, including an A&E Biography on Alice Faye, three deleted musical numbers in pristine condition, and newsreel footage of the London premiere.
A word about the DVD transfer quality - I have noticed that some of the other reviewers on Amazon.com have carped about the picture quality, saying that it is supposedly "terrible". Trust me, this is not true! The only defect is a faint vertical line that runs through the picture that looks like a scratch on the original negative. However, the viewer becomes so engrossed in the film that he forgets all about that faint line, and it does not distract at all. Some of these other critics who are complaining about the picture quality of this DVD - well, they just need to get a life! I can certainly live with that faint line. We're lucky this film even exists at all, as the film stock on which movies were made before the 1950s was nitrate based, which dissolved after a few decades. Because of this, many old movies have disintegrated and are totally unavailable today for viewing. So take your pick - a faint vertical line in the picture, or nothing. If you have any doubts about the picture quality, rent it first through Netflix (like I did), then buy it on Amazon.com. This DVD is a must for a serious film buff!
Movie Review: Alexander's - still a great musical entertainment 69 years on
Summary: 5 Stars
Alexander's Ragtime Band was a huge production for 20th Century Fox in 1938 and it still looks it all these years later. It it incredibly musical , packed full of songs and is extremely dramatic and touching - it is still highly entertaining and Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Don Ameche & Ethel Merman do some of their very best screen work in this film.
It also boast an excellent supporting cast and Paul Hurst and David Carradine to name but two are great. This film has been giving me a lump in my throat since I first saw it on BBC Two in the late 1960 's ( it was the first Fox film shown on British television ) and the taxi cab scene towards the end still gets me. It is a wonderul example of "everything" coming together in a movie and delivering and although it is probably corny by today's standards I wish there were more movies like it.
This film knocks so many raved about musicals off the list - it is unpretentious , entertaining and incredibly touching.
Thank goodnes it finally made it to DVd - not the best transfer but the negative for ARB is worn as Fox forever used it to reprint from over 30 years. The extras are good - original trailer is great as is the newsreel of the London premiere with Gracie Fields .
Movie Review: A Tribute to America's #1 Songwriter or Reflection of Indifference?
Summary: 5 Stars
As other reviewers have pointed out, this movie is a gem--an unlikely, busily bizarre plot and curious collection of actors fueled by the songs of America's arguably best and inarguably most indispensable composer. A highlight is "Blue Skies," on which one of the women competing for the affections of Tyrone Power sings the part that's in a minor key and the other (at that moment with the best angle on a piece of Power) the part in a major key. Perhaps the best Berlin musical on film, more intricately plotted than "Annie Get Your Gun" and not the lumbering behemoth production that was its 1950s descendent, "There's No Business Like Show Business" (though the latter's "Alexander's Ragtime Band" number is admittedly Hollywood excess at its most excessive, worth having as a complement to the version on this earlier B&W version).
The slipshod transfer of these early Fox Classics to DVD, some markedly inferior to the previous VHS editions, is I'm afraid another symptom of cultural amnesia and growing indifference to a golden albeit non-digital age.
Movie Review: Irving Berling at His Best!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll keep my review brief. I'm not sure what the previous reviewers were referring to in regards to picture & sound quality. Both are excellent and most likely transferred from first generation master tape. The music and singing are terrific. An appearance from a young Ethel Merman was a great surprise. Tyrone Power is as charming & handsome as ever. Beautiful Alice Faye is in fine vocal form with several classic songs. Don Ameche is as suave & debonair as always. A nice romantic triangle between the three keeps the plot and songs moving along at a good pace. I think this is Ms. Faye's finest performance next to "In Old Chicago", in which she wowed me by singing my state song "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny." A great family movie showcasing the amazing Irving Berlin's talent.