The Jazz Singer (1927)

Popular reviews

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  it’s not even a talkie they just sing like two songs and do blackface and that’s the whole thing

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  On this evidence, I'm not sure talking pictures are a very good idea.

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  35/100

  Reputation as "of historical interest only": confirmed. Sadly, I couldn't even enjoy Jolson's performances, as the musical taste of American audiences circa the early decades of the 20th century has always confounded me (see also: every Marx Brothers number not featuring a Marx Brother); neither his reedy voice nor his ingratiating patter appeal at all, and of course the kindest thing that can be said about his blackface routine is that it's much more odious in conception than in his particular execution (i.e., he makes no attempt to mimic African-Americans apart from the wig and makeup). The movie's rare foregrounding of Jewish identity occasionally fascinates, but winds up bogged down in a hoary ambition vs. tradition face-off. A film every cinephile must see, but there's a reason I put it off for so long.

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  It’s undeniably cool that the first line of dialogue ever spoken in sound cinema was “wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain’t heard nothing yet.” The filmmakers used The Jazz Singer as an opportunity to show off the new synced-sound technology, and Al Jolson’s first line (which was apparently a common phrase in his live show) literally tells the audience to buckle in for a wild ride, because entertainment will never be the same.

  The impact of the movie as the first part-talkie far outweighs its actual merit, as the seventy-odd minutes that follow Jolson’s exclamation don’t match the excitement or spectacle of his first performance. The movie works relatively well as a fine family drama concerning Jewish-American identity, exploring…

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  You shouldn't be in blackface, but you doubly shouldn't be in blackface and have title card say "maybe it's the call of the ages--the cry of my race" in the scene. Or later have one read "Your Papa is so sick-his face so pale".

  Even if we remove the blackface from this movie, it's still not particularly good. If literally any other movie had synchronized sound first, this movie would have been forgotten.

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  “Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet!”

  Based on the stage play by Samson Raphaelson, The Jazz Singer is a time-honoured tale of opposition between generations. Directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Brothers, with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system, it instantly became a huge success and was responsible for transforming them into one of Hollywood's most sought-after movie studios, as well as foreshadowing the marketability of sound films which consequently finished the silent film period. 

  It features the excellent showmanship and charisma of Al Jolson, a singer, comedian and actor who employed the theatrical traditions of numerous performers at the introduction of the 20th century and often performed in blackface, which now obviously requires placement…

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  myrna loy as chorus girl (uncredited) you will always be famous

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  School is finally back for me, so a lot of the movies I’m gonna watch are gonna be from classes. This is a class that focuses on a different genre every semester, and this semester is Musicals, which is awesome because I haven’t seen all that many, and the lineup of films for this class looks great.

  This was ok. This is the first film to ever have lip synchronous talking and singing, effectively ending the silent film era. It’s cool to watch because of the history that surrounds it, but outside of that it’s just bland. The story holds up decently well, though.

  I don’t know what it is about Al Jolson, but that dude is scary looking.

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  A few hot takes:

  Adding sound to movies is a net positive, all things being equal.

  The fact that this was the movie to codify sound films is not a good thing.

  Having to watch Al Jolson butcher Blue Skies is the absolute worst.

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  A Year of Film History Challenge
  (watching a little bit of film history month by month, decade by decade)
  --
  Remember that great moment in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy opens the door of her black-and-white home to reveal the beautiful technicolor kingdom she's just landed in? I find that scene in The Jazz Singer where Al Jolson starts swingin' his hips and singing for the first time--with the movie thus revealing its characters to be capable of making their own sound--to be just as stunning and transformative of a sequence as that iconic arrival in Oz. The beginning of the film falsely lulls the viewer's mind into that familiar silent movie format, but then to suddenly see and…

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  On one hand it’s nice to see such a sincerely jewish movie without the racial stereotypes. On the other hand... [stares into camera and grimaces hard]

  Eh, cant say this movie did much of anything for me. Don’t get more Jewish than guy who can’t choose between his showbiz career and his guilt trippin mom though. A little freaked out by his shiksa friend who kept trying to pressure him back into black face though. “It’s where you belong!” Okay back off lady. 

  Speaking of.... so Al Jolson Is an extremely bizarre figure who made a career on inexcusable racism at the cost of actual black talent and yet the amount of people (white and black!) who cite him as an…

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  You know the story, the first film that pretty much kick started a whole revolution. Pretty much the ending of the silent film era, and the beginning of what they called "talkies."

  In regards to the elephant out of the room, the whole blackface thing was just purely racist, and the worst of all is that it was entirely unnecessary, like seriously, why? Damn, at least the Griffith dude or Gone With The Wind had a reasoning behind their decisions as they were mostly focusing on the segregated south, but here, like why? Because Jazz mostly an African American thing back then so he had to become black? That's worse, that doubly racist.

  With that out of the way, looking…