EW JAZZ SINGER DVD REVIEW

"The Jazz Singer" reviewed


Sound and Fury

The Jazz Singer gave movies a voice, but the 80-year-old film hits
some wrong
notes today.

by Steve Daly
Entertainment Weekly, October 19, 2007

Why does the cover for The Jazz Singer, a three-disc paean to the
creaky 1927 Al
Jolson flick (not to be confused with a wretched 1980 remake starring
Neil
Diamond), show its leading man, arms out in a crooner's pose, only in
silhouette? Because there's an ugly stereotype under wraps here,
that's why. The
jacket soft-pedals the fact that Jolson spends a significant portion
of Jazz
Singer in blackface, masquerading as an African-American man -- that
is, as a
grotesque, degrading approximation of one. Original posters for the
movie
featured Jolson's made-up visage; hence the censored DVD image.

Jolson, of course, didn't invent blackface. He was part of a larger
pop-cultural
obsession with ethnic impersonation. Born Asa Yoelson, the Jewish
Lithuanian
entertainer blunted his own "racial" heritage (a term used freely at
the time in
discussing Jewish identity) by assuming the trappings of another. The
gimmick
helped make him a recording superstar... and pigeonholed him forever
inside an
indefensible minstrel-show tradition.

Are we supposed to celebrate The Jazz Singer unabashedly, as this DVD
set does?
Among the voluminous extras a commentary track -- a documentary on the
dawn of
"talking picture" technology, a huge, nearly four-hour sampling of
early sound
short films -- you'll find only passing, borderline-apologetic
references to
racial politics, and no one speaking from an African-American
perspective. The
movie itself, taken in context, still works provided you can get past
Jolson's
bug-eyed acting style. The plot is powerful because it's so absurdly
melodramatic: A stern Orthodox Jewish cantor (Warner Oland, who went
on to
caricature Asians in the Charlie Chan movies) wants his son, Jakie
Rabinowitz
(Jolson), to follow in his footsteps. But Jakie rebels. He leaves
home, renames
himself Jack Robin, lands a big Broadway show (that's where the
blackface comes
in), and is savagely rejected by his father. Jolson has a freaky
ability to
portray the wounds of that rejection, especially when Jack clings to
his mama
(Eugenie Besserer) as recompense. After battling his parents, Jack
suddenly
reforms, punts his Broadway opening night, and serves as a one-time-
only cantor
to honor his father's wishes as the old man lies deathly ill. It's a
four-hanky
spectacle.

Watching Jolson treat Jewish ritual as just another form of
"showmanship,"
thereby equating blackface with cantorial melodies as an expression of
a
mournful history, remains a remarkable act of ethnic drag. Still, the
sight of
that dark makeup ultimately makes Jolson's act seem less empathetic
than
condescending. Thankfully, history has moved beyond this movie and its
attitudes. How sobering to be reminded that something so wrong could
ever have
been so popular.

On Oct 15, 1:56 pm, djwein <djw... DeleteThis @earthlink.net> wrote:
> "The Jazz Singer" reviewed
>
> Sound and Fury
>
> The Jazz Singer gave movies a voice, but the 80-year-old film hits
> some wrong
> notes today.
>
> by Steve Daly
> Entertainment Weekly, October 19, 2007
>
> Why does the cover for The Jazz Singer, a three-disc paean to the
> creaky 1927 Al
> Jolson flick (not to be confused with a wretched 1980 remake starring
> Neil
> Diamond), show its leading man, arms out in a crooner's pose, only in
> silhouette? Because there's an ugly stereotype under wraps here,
> that's why. The
> jacket soft-pedals the fact that Jolson spends a significant portion
> of Jazz
> Singer in blackface, masquerading as an African-American man -- that
> is, as a
> grotesque, degrading approximation of one. Original posters for the
> movie
> featured Jolson's made-up visage; hence the censored DVD image.
>
> Jolson, of course, didn't invent blackface. He was part of a larger
> pop-cultural
> obsession with ethnic impersonation. Born Asa Yoelson, the Jewish
> Lithuanian
> entertainer blunted his own "racial" heritage (a term used freely at
> the time in
> discussing Jewish identity) by assuming the trappings of another. The
> gimmick
> helped make him a recording superstar... and pigeonholed him forever
> inside an
> indefensible minstrel-show tradition.
>
> Are we supposed to celebrate The Jazz Singer unabashedly, as this DVD
> set does?
> Among the voluminous extras a commentary track -- a documentary on the
> dawn of
> "talking picture" technology, a huge, nearly four-hour sampling of
> early sound
> short films -- you'll find only passing, borderline-apologetic
> references to
> racial politics, and no one speaking from an African-American
> perspective. The
> movie itself, taken in context, still works provided you can get past
> Jolson's
> bug-eyed acting style. The plot is powerful because it's so absurdly
> melodramatic: A stern Orthodox Jewish cantor (Warner Oland, who went
> on to
> caricature Asians in the Charlie Chan movies) wants his son, Jakie
> Rabinowitz
> (Jolson), to follow in his footsteps. But Jakie rebels. He leaves
> home, renames
> himself Jack Robin, lands a big Broadway show (that's where the
> blackface comes
> in), and is savagely rejected by his father. Jolson has a freaky
> ability to
> portray the wounds of that rejection, especially when Jack clings to
> his mama
> (Eugenie Besserer) as recompense. After battling his parents, Jack
> suddenly
> reforms, punts his Broadway opening night, and serves as a one-time-
> only cantor
> to honor his father's wishes as the old man lies deathly ill. It's a
> four-hanky
> spectacle.
>
> Watching Jolson treat Jewish ritual as just another form of
> "showmanship,"
> thereby equating blackface with cantorial melodies as an expression of
> a
> mournful history, remains a remarkable act of ethnic drag. Still, the
> sight of
> that dark makeup ultimately makes Jolson's act seem less empathetic
> than
> condescending. Thankfully, history has moved beyond this movie and its
> attitudes. How sobering to be reminded that something so wrong could
> ever have
> been so popular.

THANKS splendid review