Pre-Order Soundies: The Ultimate Collection (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Soundies have been called the music videos of the 1940s, but that doesn’t begin to describe their cultural importance. It’s true that they feature a remarkable range of talent, from big-band luminaries like Duke Ellington and Count Basie to then-emerging stars like Doris Day and Ricardo Montalban, and lesser-known artists of the American nightclub circuit. But Soundies are also a rich, largely overlooked chronicle of American popular culture during and just after World War II. Produced for coin-operated jukeboxes in neighborhood bars and taverns, Soundies have an uncanny way of revealing what Americans were thinking about topics that weren’t discussed openly, from sexuality to ethnicity and race. Curated by Susan Delson, author of Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time, this four-disc collection presents a diverse sampling of 200 shorts—jazz, country-western, folk, and the boogie woogie roots of rock ’n’ roll—newly restored from 35mm and 16mm materials preserved by the Library of Congress and other archives. Never have so many Soundies been celebrated in one collection, or presented with such care: thematically organized, accompanied by on-screen introductions and a booklet of essays, photos, and credits.

Special Features:
• Illustrated 44-page booklet with essays by Susan Delson, Ellen C. Scott, and Mark Cantor
• Filmed introductions by series curator Susan Delson, with Ina Archer, Media Conservationist, National Museum of African American History and Culture
• “Inside the Panoram,” a filmed interview with Mark Cantor, author of The Soundies: A History and Catalog of Jukebox Film Shorts of the 1940s
• “From the Vaults,” a filmed interview with Matt Barton (Curator of Recording Sound at the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center at the Library of Congress) and Mike Mashon (Head of the Moving Image Section of the Library of Congress)


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[bujaki]

A fascinating window into a vanished world. Some of the films are fascinating looks at emerging stars; some are just jaw-dropping, period.
This set is a must.

 

[RBailey]

Pre-ordered

 

[Patrick McCart]

Wow, totally unexpected, but could be one of the coolest releases of the year. Preordering this one.

 

[cinefan]

TCM (I think it was TCM) presented a bunch of these not too long ago along with a documentary (hosted by Michael Feinstein if I recall correctly). The doc was interesting although the video quality was not great (older transfer?). In any event these shorts are fascinating and awfully entertaining. The whole story behind them and how they were produced, distributed and presented is fascinating too. I did a double-take seeing this thread this morning; unexpected is right. From the description and special features my hopes for a thoughtful and quality presentation are high.

I'm usually a "wait-for-the sales" guy (i.e. a cheapskate ), but I preordered this with Ron's link as soon as I opened this thread.

 

[bujaki]

TCM (I think it was TCM) presented a bunch of these not too long ago along with a documentary (hosted by Michael Feinstein if I recall correctly). The doc was interesting although the video quality was not great (older transfer?). In any event these shorts are fascinating and awfully entertaining. The whole story behind them and how they were produced, distributed and presented is fascinating too. I did a double-take seeing this thread this morning; unexpected is right. From the description and special features my hopes for a thoughtful and quality presentation are high.

I'm usually a "wait-for-the sales" guy (i.e. a cheapskate ), but I preordered this with Ron's link as soon as I opened this thread.

Yes, it was thanks to TCM that I found out about the Soundies and their fascinating history. It's truly a must-get set.

 

[ahollis]

Watched the TCM special ann it increased my knowledge on that long ago part of film history. I pursched the dvd of the special and another dvd of 16 soundies and I was hooked. I then found a book about its history and a list of all the soundies. Needless to say, this Blu-Ray is a purchase for me. Thank you Kino.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

​ SOUNDIES: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION A Four-Disc Collection of 200 WWII-Era Jukebox Film Shorts Showcasing American Pop Music Icons Including Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Hoagy Carmichael, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Doris Day, Dorothy Dandridge, Merle Travis, Fats Waller, Spike Jones, and More Available on Blu-ray and Digitally on Kino Now July 25 Newly-Restored from Archival Film Elements Preserved by the Library of Congress ​

​ ​ ​

Kino Lorber proudly announces the release of Soundies: The Ultimate Collection, a four-disc set featuring 200 short musical subjects --"Soundies" -- that entertained Americans during the World War II era. Originally made to be viewed on movie jukeboxes in neighborhood bars, Soundies showcased a wide range of music artists, from top headliners to up-and-coming talents, in a variety of styles from Big Band and swing to folk and country-western. The films presented in this collection capture performances by American pop-music icons including Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Hoagy Carmichael, Nat King Cole, Dorothy Dandridge, Doris Day, Duke Ellington, Spike Jones, Liberace, Gale Storm, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Merle Travis, and Fats Waller -- even Ricardo Montalban in his first screen appearance. Other films dig deep into the 1940s music scene, rediscovering performers like Vanita Smythe, Maurice Rocco, and Harry "The Hipster" Gibson. Restored from the original archival film elements preserved by the Library of Congress, this collection was curated by Susan Delson, author of Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time. Soundies: The Ultimate Collection will be released on Blu-ray July 25, 2023, and will also be available to buy and rent digitally on Kino Now. The Blu-ray set comes packed with bonus features including an illustrated 44-page booklet with essays by Susan Delson, Ellen C. Scott and Mark Cantor; filmed introductions by series curator Susan Delson, with Ina Archer, Media Conservationist, National Museum of African American History and Culture; “Inside the Panoram,” a filmed interview with Mark Cantor, author of The Soundies: A History and Catalog of Jukebox Film Shorts of the 1940s; and “From the Vaults,” a filmed interview with Matt Barton (Curator of Recorded Sound at the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center of the Library of Congress) and Mike Mashon (Head of the Moving Image Section of the Library of Congress). ​

​ Soundies have been called the music videos of the 1940s, but that doesn’t begin to describe their cultural importance. It’s true that they feature a remarkable range of talent, from big-band luminaries like Duke Ellington and Count Basie to then-emerging stars like Doris Day and Ricardo Montalban, and lesser-known artists of the American nightclub circuit. But Soundies are also a rich, largely overlooked chronicle of American popular culture during and just after World War II. Produced for coin-operated jukeboxes in neighborhood bars and taverns, Soundies have an uncanny way of revealing what Americans were thinking about topics that weren’t discussed openly, from sexuality to ethnicity and race. Curated by Susan Delson, author of Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time, this four-disc collection presents a diverse sampling of 200 shorts—jazz, country-western, folk, and the boogie-woogie roots of rock ’n’ roll—newly restored from 35mm and 16mm materials preserved by the Library of Congress and other archives. Never have so many Soundies been celebrated in one collection, or presented with such care: thematically organized, accompanied by on-screen introductions and a booklet of essays, photos, and credits.​ Soundies: The Ultimate Collection Directed by: Josef Berne, William Forest Crouch, Arthur Leonard, Dudley Murphy, Robert Snody, Fred Waller Cast: Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Hoagy Carmichael, Nat King Cole, Dorothy Dandridge, Doris Day, Duke Ellington, Harry “The Hipster” Gibson, Ricardo Montalban, Spike Jones, Vanita Smythe, Gale Storm, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Merle Travis, Fats Waller Available Date: 07/25/2023 Release Year: 1940-1946 Running Time: 600 UPC: 738329262303 Country: U.S. Language: English Genre: Musical Bonus Features: Illustrated 44-page booklet with essays by Susan Delson, Ellen C. Scott, and Mark Cantor Filmed introductions by series curator Susan Delson,with Ina Archer, Media Conservationist, National Museum of African American History and Culture “Inside the Panoram,” a filmed interview with Mark Cantor, author of The Soundies: A History and Catalog of Jukebox Film Shorts of the 1940s “From the Vaults,” a filmed interview with Matt Barton (Curator of Recorded Sound at the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center of the Library of Congress) and Mike Mashon (Head of the Moving Image Section of the Library of Congress)​

​

 

[cinefan]

Two notes about this release:

The preorder price at Amazon is currently $24.99, and has been for some time. That's 50% off list and strikes me as a very good deal. (See the Amazon link in the first post).

If you have the Max streaming service (formerly HBOMax), search it for "soundies". You'll find a collection of 50 Soundies. They have up front credits for Kino Lorber and the Library of Congress, so I'm pretty sure they are the same restorations that are coming out in this Kino Lorber collection next month. I stumbled on this quite accidentally a couple days ago. The few I've sampled look very nice. This is obviously just a subset of what will be on the blu-ray set, since that promises 200 shorts plus various bonus features.

 

[Capt D McMars]

This is one amazing collection of sonic and visual "Gumbo", wrapped in a form that was previously only reserved for movie theaters of the day. Since there was no TV, to speak of, and that you got your entertainment either by radio or going to the movies. These "Panaram" machines was a breath of fresh air, inside of Cafes, Dinners, Bars and Juke Joints!!
Granted, there were booth-side radios and Juke Boxes...but NOTHIING even came close to what these machines offered. The brain child of the Milles Novelty Company in Chicago, decided to add these machines, made in their facility, and offered them as well as the more traditional Juke Boxes that they sold as well.

These machines offered 8 different "sounds" per week and the company found out very quickly that they needed help to keep the supplies of these "3 min wonders" fresh and updated. Unlike the large studios taking weeks and months to create a music or dance number, these were more like one take wonders, mostly doing the sound first and then having the band/artist/dancers come back and lipsync the song for the sound. Which can result in some ammusing situations.

This wonderful collection of historical routines grabbed from Big Band, Jazz, Rythum & Blues, Bebop, Vaudeville and Country musics, just to name a few. Giving us an up close and personal love letter from 1940-1946. Many of these, in various levels of quality are curated, along side with TLOC, and themed to better showcase the barrage of amazing talents. Many of whom left only these examples on these soundies to remember them by.
Each section is introduced by either Susan Delson & Ellen C. Scott or Mark Cantor, offering insight and memories that add context to the soundies being offered.
Some of the take-away that I got was, why they inserted a longer intro piece, before the soundies...becuase this was pre transistor so the tubes had to warm up before they could play. So it was done to show you somthing before the soundie started...giving you your full dimes worth!!
And some of the singers might seem familiar to many older ones...they were used later by Disney, in many of his movies and features in the wonderful world of Disney and even the Micky Mouse Club, see if you can pick them out?

If you ever wanted to know where Rock & Roll came from or love this era, you need to get this collection. For me this could be show as a special series on PBS, it may have, Ted Burns could not have done a better job!!! This release is well worth adding to anyones collection!!

 

[Capt D McMars]

Watched the TCM special ann it increased my knowledge on that long ago part of film history. I pursched the dvd of the special and another dvd of 16 soundies and I was hooked. I then found a book about its history and a list of all the soundies. Needless to say, this Blu-Ray is a purchase for me. Thank you Kino.

Was the book from Mark Cantor? This collection is a blast!! I got an advanced copy for review just a heads up, the restoration levels varies but they explain why it varies and seemed fair, better less than perfect then none...but there are some that are pristine, others not so much...BUT, when your further and further from the work print or OCN/OCP stuff happens.

 

[Capt D McMars]

This is one amazing collection of sonic and visual "Gumbo", wrapped in a form that was previously only reserved for movie theaters of the day. Since there was no TV, to speak of, and that you got your entertainment either by radio or going to the movies. These "Panaram" machines was a breath of fresh air, inside of Cafes, Dinners, Bars and Juke Joints!!
Granted, there were booth-side radios and Juke Boxes...but NOTHIING even came close to what these machines offered. The brain child of the Milles Novelty Company in Chicago, decided to add these machines, made in their facility, and offered them as well as the more traditional Juke Boxes that they sold as well.

These machines offered 8 different "sounds" per week and the company found out very quickly that they needed help to keep the supplies of these "3 min wonders" fresh and updated. Unlike the large studios taking weeks and months to create a music or dance number, these were more like one take wonders, mostly doing the sound first and then having the band/artist/dancers come back and lipsync the song for the sound. Which can result in some ammusing situations.

This wonderful collection of historical routines grabbed from Big Band, Jazz, Rythum & Blues, Bebop, Vaudeville and Country musics, just to name a few. Giving us an up close and personal love letter from 1940-1946. Many of these, in various levels of quality are curated, along side with TLOC, and themed to better showcase the barrage of amazing talents. Many of whom left only these examples on these soundies to remember them by.
Each section is introduced by either Susan Delson & Ellen C. Scott or Mark Cantor, offering insight and memories that add context and insight to the soundies being offered.
some of the take-away that I got was why they inserted a longer intro piece, before the soundies...becuase this was pre transistor so the tubes had to warm up before they could play. So it was done to show you somthing before the soundie started...giving you your full dimes worth!!
And some of the singers might seem familiar to many older ones...they were used later by Disney, in many of his movies and features in the wonderful world of Disney and even the Micky Mouse Club, see if you can pick them out?

If you ever wanted to know where Rock & Roll came from or love this era, you need to get this collection. For me this could be shown as a special series on PBS, it may have, Ted Burns could not have done a better job!!! This release is well worth adding to anyones collection!!

 

[Robert Harris]

Was the book from Mark Cantor? This collection is a blast!! I got an advanced copy for review just a heads up, the restoration levels varies but they explain why it varies and seemed fair, better less than perfect then none...but there are some that are pristine, others not so much...BUT, when your further and further from the work print or OCN/OCP stuff happens.

This set is less about restoration, and more what has survived. Numerous little gems. Back in the ‘70s I purchased a 16mm collection that probably had 30-40 of these little productions - some wonderful fun.

Kino has released a superbly curated collection with some top talent. Superb background and extras. Get hooked on these and you’ll end up needing the book.

 

[Peter Neski]

Its a shame "Jam Session" the excellent Ellington soundie looks like it was run over by a car frame by frame

 

[Capt D McMars]

Its a shame "Jam Session" the excellent Ellington soundie looks like it was run over by a car frame by frame

really like RAH said, it's less about restoration and more about...Wow!!! this exists!! I'm thankful for the surviving elements that have been lovingly curated within this collection. To quote one of the soundies, "What do want for a dime?"

 

[Peter Neski]

really like RAH said, it's less about restoration and more about...Wow!!! this exists!! I'm thankful for the surviving elements that have been lovingly curated within this collection. To quote one of the soundies, "What do want for a dime?"

sorry this has been out there many ,many years we all know what can be done to restore old films with what's available today Thats not a way to look at this set

 

[SD_Brian]

I watched disc one of this set last night. Great stuff, and adjusted for inflation this set is a steal! It cost $0.10 per short to watch these on a Panaram back in 1946, which is $1.56 in 2023 dollars. To see all 200 in 1946 would set you back $312.00 in 2023 currency, whereas this set can be had for less than $30.00. It's a bargain!

The icing on the cake is that this is one of the most entertaining Blu-ray compilations I've seen. Highly recommended!

 

[Peter Neski]

This set has no chapter marks for each Soundie!!!! what a stupid mistake!!!
Instead, you get groups of shorts as chapters, While most look good
a few look great, and some look Fair at 27 dollars it's a deal!!!

 

[SD_Brian]

This set has no chapter marks for each Soundie!!!! what a stupid mistake!!!

As originally presented on the Panaram, they had no chapter stops either and you had to cycle through 8 of them to get to the one you wanted to see. So maybe it's not a mistake, and they are simply trying to recreate that experience?

 

[Peter Neski]

As originally presented on the Panaram, they had no chapter stops either and you had to cycle through 8 of them to get to the one you wanted to see. So maybe it's not a mistake, and they are simply trying to recreate that experience?

sorry, If Thats the reason,they are nuts.