Moviecut—King of Jazz

source: King of Jazz

King of Jazz

The print is very sharp on the version I'm watching right now on TCM. Add the colorizing, and these long-gone folks I remember much later in their lives =come= to life as youngsters, including famed band leader Paul Whiteman and singer/actor Bing Crosby. Likewise the drum skin dance scene preceding Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," which looks right out of the 1960s. The art deco sets most of associate with black & white cinematography are fascinating in 2SC. Light up and enjoy this almost 90-year Trip Back in Time.

What true film buff would not love "King of Jazz"? This film was really quite advanced for an early talkie. The photographic effects are marvelous, from Paul Whiteman's band coming out of a small suitcase to the shadow effect in the "Voodoo Drum Dance" to the Melting Pot montage, there was some real imagination at work here. It is so pleasant to see one of the few remaining two-color Technicolor features. It is fun to see Bing Crosby in his first feature film appearance. The "Rhapsody in Blue" sequence is also impressive. It is a shame that Universal has not seen fit to give this film a proper release on DVD, but I managed to locate a very good quality DVD at a decent price. A beautiful film revue from the early days of sound film with Oscar-winning sets and wonderful music. The tagline for this film reads: "Once in a lifetime...a show like this!"