Warner's "The Jazz Singer" restoration (1 Viewer)

[Mark Zimmer]

Even though Warner was pretty low-rent at the time, Jolson was still one of the biggest names in the country; it's not difficult to imagine them considering pulling out all the stops and at least considering the film as not only talkie but two-strip Technicolor as well.

 

[Charles H]

Warner Brothers issued THE AL JOLSON COLLECTION back in the 1990s that consisted of THE JAZZ SINGER*, THE SINGING FOOL*, SAY IT WITH SONGS, MAMMY*, BIG BOY, WONDER BAR*, GO INTO YOUR DANCE, and THE SINGING KID.

*also issued on VHS.

 

[Derek_McL]

Charles H I would be all over a set like that if it appeared on DVD ! Did anyone know that The Jazz Singer is coming out in region 2 shortly ? But horror of horrors its the Neil Diamond version ! Not sure where that leaves us in the UK concerning the Jolson. Of course it might mean nothing and I did buy a VHS of The Jazz Singer (1927) a while back only thing was it was the only Jolson Warner production available on VHS in the UK ! Maybe a chance of the Special Edition The Jazz Singer (1927) this year ?

Certainly seems that way and more early Talkies coming too but mainly the Gangster films. I'd love to see more of those early Warner and MGM musicals before 1933. Apart from The Jazz Singer and Broadway Melody which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1929 I wonder if there is much chance of seeing anything else from this generally forgotten period ?

 

[Jack Theakston]

I agree that Technicolor was a probable option (and no doubt considered), but there's no way WB at the time would have spent the money to have the film photographed in Technicolor (then a very expensive process) and then decide not to go through with it. Making release prints for even just the roadshow houses (which were the only ones that were wired for sound anyway) wasn't going to be very economical.

On a technological standpoint, imbibition prints weren't being made until 1928, and Technicolor was still using the double-cement method, which would have run hell on the already sensitive Vitaphone projectors.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Maybe they figured that out only after they'd already shot the musical sequences?