BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Python Hyena The Jazz Singer (1927): Dir: Alan Crosland / Cast: Al Jolson, May McAvoy, Warner Oland, Otto Lederer, Richard Tucker: First successful sound film with Al Jolson playing a successful jazz singer who fled home at a young age. His father is a Cantor who believes that his son is debasing the voice that God gave him but his mother is supportive. He soon meets a woman who claims that "there are lots of jazz singers but you have a tear in your voice." They get acquainted and tour New York. When his father becomes ill he wishes for his son to perform his duties at the church. This leads to predictable circumstances and a questionable performance by Jolson in blackface. Well directed by Alan Crosland with terrific musical numbers that distract us from the fact that the screenplay really isn't that interesting. Jolson gives an inspiring performance as a man seeking direction but his blackface appearance is offensive and best left on the cutting room floor. His female partner encourages his talent towards his own independence. His parents on the other hand, are as idiotic as the blackface performance. His father is a stereotype with a stick up his ass who pushes his views on his son. His mother isn't much broader. In supporting roles are May McAvoy, Warner Oland and Otto Lederer. Overrated formula driven story highlighted by Jolson's energy and sincere song and dance. Score: 5 / 10

thermodon1 Seldom do I give a 10 star rating as few films are perfect, but this movie is as close to perfect as it could get for a silent film. The story line is sweet, the dubbed over original soundtrack is wonderful, making it interesting, and never left me wanting it to hurry up and end. Because this movie is available on Blu-ray, made it even better for having the quality it deserves. It certainly should be listed as a classic silent film in the top 100 of the genre. To rate this movie with just one word,"Fantastic", would be more than enough. It would be fair to say that this great early film is wonderful as the other top silent films of the age, such as the Big Parade, Wings, Sunrise, the Crowd and many, many others.

evening1 Beautifully depicted drama about the struggle to be an individual amidst the conflicting influences of one's culture and society.Al Jolson is stellar as Jaky Rabinowitz, who has been called from a young age to sing the jazz songs of his time. But his father, a fourth-generation cantor, would rather disown Jaky than watch him assimilate."Would you be the first Rabinowitz in five generations to fail his God?" "I'd love to sing for my people but I belong here," Jaky says of the theater. His mother, who loves her husband as deeply as her only child, believes God wishes Jaky to follow his heart.One feels deeply for the struggle of the protagonist, even as we see him apply black-face makeup, a convention of the time, and warble songs like "Mammy" that seem dated and campy now.The film affectionately depicts Jewish domestic life, employing Yiddish intonation through the card titles. The traditional Jewish liturgy finds sensitive portrayal in the movie's climactic Kol Nidre scene.The performances here are uniformly strong. Jolson is believable in his classic struggle to find his true self. Eugenie Besserer and Warner Oland, neither of whom was Jewish, are convincing as Jaky's pious parents. Otto Lederer is warmly endearing as the "kibitzer" Yudelson. And beautiful May McAvoy is a joy as Jaky's inspiring love interest.Everything about this movie rings true for me."Remember, a son's a son no matter if his papa throws him out a hundred times."

vincentlynch-moonoi All my life I promised myself that I'd sit down some evening and watch "The Jazz Singer". Well, just a couple of days after my 65th birthday, I finally did. I love old movies...but not quite this old. My interest begins about 5 years after this production...somewhere around 1932 (give or take).Without dialog (and this film only has spoken word in some parts...mostly Jolson's songs), films go very slowly to me...and this film is no exception. Of course, I didn't watch this film for entertainment. I watched for its history, and this film is just as historical as about anything you'll find in a museum -- the first real talking motion picture -- a true revolution.Nevertheless, the plot here is not too bad if you can stand all those silent dialog boxes. I'd like to criticize Jolson for sometimes over-acting, but is that fair way back during the transition from silent to talking pictures? Certainly Warner Oland (later Charlie Chan, here the father and cantor) is stiff as a board...even before he died in the film. Eugenie Besserer as the mother was quite good. Otto Lederer has an entertaining role as a family friend. And of course, every one and every thing is VERY Jewish.This film is primitive enough (though the print shown on TCM is very good considering the age) that you may not find it palatable. In that case, soak in the history as you watch the man who considered himself to be the world's greatest entertainer. This film is history.