Jazz Singer

One of the most emotional relations in the spectrum of human interaction is that between a father and his son. This relationship is so intense that it transcends mere humanity deep rooted within the inherent biological makeup at the core of a myriad of species we share this planet with. Being a father or a son comes with not only a huge amount of emotional baggage that stems from trying to reconcile the near impossible dilemma of trying to raise a boy to be his own man and the all too natural urge to have your son follow in dad’s footsteps. If you look at societies in what is considered less civilized than ours or even packs of predatory animals that the alpha male has taught his heir apparent everything he can and the younger male must replace his father assuming the lauded social position. While the methodology for the transfer from one generation to the next may now be less violent it remains a situation full of dramatic potential and therefore ideal as the basis of a story for the movies. Back in the very beginning of the art form called cinema there was a little movie concerted with the eternal struggle between father and song called ‘The Jazz Singer’. This may have been relegated to a footnote in the history of movies except for one little fact; it was the first commercial motion picture to have sound. Prior to that people lived in the world of silent pictures. While this may seem more like some unbelievable urban myth in today’s world of multi-channel home theater audio but the fact remains when people sat in a dark movie house in 1927 and heard Al Jolson sing it was a major paradigm shift that forever altered the entertainment industry. It took longer than usual but in 1980 there was a remake of this ground breaking film. While that later film could never come close to the historical significance of the original the fundamental story is such a classic that it deserved being revisited. I remember seeing the 1980 film when it first came out so it did so my age to get a copy of the thirtieth anniversary edition DVD for review. The film is notable for being the remake of history but unfortunately does not manage to make it on its own merits.

The screenplay by Herbert Baker was based on the play by Samson Raphaelson basically holding true to the spirit of that work. Prior to this script Raphaelson had quite an eclectic career span both the large and small screen venues. He wrote the screenplays for the Matt Helm spy flick staring Dean Martin. He also wrote the Elvis Presley vehicle ‘King Creole as well as being one of the primary writers for ‘The Flip Wilson Show’. While this represents considerable experience it did not translate over to the requirements demanded by this particular format or story. For one thing the story has a structure where the theme of the generation gap between father and son is a microcosm of an expansion of the theme with immigrants. When people leave their ancestral home land they are faced with balancing a new country and hopes for the future with the comfort and security of retaining cultural and religious customs to provide a connection with their past. In this case the culture highlighted is the orthodox Jewish community, one of the oldest and most tightly knit populations in the world. This should have provided sufficient drama for a compelling movie but thing just don’t work out right in this incarnation.

While some of the responsibility lies in a script that was too loose the director, Richard Fleischer, seemed to had a similar difficult in altering his usual genre of film. Fleischer was an accomplished director when he took on this project although little of that experience would prepare him for a movie so dependent on songs. Before resurrecting this film he concentrated on action flicks such as ‘Mr. Majestyk’, ‘The New Centurions’and ‘Tora! Tora! Tora!’ as well as some excursions into science fiction with ‘Fantastic Voyage’ and ‘Soylent Green’. In fact I have greatly enjoyed most of his films. This is why I was so disappointed with the pacing and stylistic choices he made here. The film focuses on Jess Robin (Neil Diamond), an aspiring sing in New York City. His dreams of becoming a popular singer fly directly against his real identity of Yussel Rabinovitch, an orthodox Jew. Like his father before him he serves at the synagogue with his strict, very conservative and demanding father (Laurence Olivier). The son wants to cast aside tradition in favor of popular music; an abomination in the eyes of his father and a course of action that will diminish poppa cantor’s high status in the neighborhood.

The music does include many songs that have become standards in Diamonds’ play list but it not enough to save the film. It is basically a vanity piece to provide a framework, a meager as it may be, to bide time between musical numbers. The anniversary edition DVD is well done with a mastering of both video and audio that is reasonably well done.

Posted 11/11/09