Elly Roberts reviews
Frank Sinatra: His Life And Times
Distributed by
Demon Vision
- Cat.no: DEMONDVDM008
- Released: March 2006
- Format: DVD 9
- Rating: Main feature 6/10; Bonus 6/10
- Running time: 120 minutes (plus 50 minutes bonus material)
- Region: 2, PAL
- Fullscreen: 4:3
- Sound: Dolby Stereo 2.0
- Classification: E (Exempt)
- Languages: English
- Retail price: £9.99
- Extras: None
'Ol' Blue Eyes' is back,
as Francis Albert Sinatra gets yet another
dust-down with the release of a documentary originally released in 1997. His
Life And Times, released March 20, is a timely coincidence as the new
high-tech show hits the Palladium in London. It can never be said that this
DVD provides us with anything new about his career or personal life,
obviously, due to the date it was made.
Part one, comprising his most significant events, is crammed with endless
film clips, mostly 'Theatrical Trailers', which become more and more
irritating as the chronology or time line unfolds.
Rising through bands like Harry James then onto Tommy Dorsey, followed by
his solo work we get a celebration of his career, and little about his
controversial side.
In terms of actual Sinatra input, there's snippets of radio interviews that
don't always marry-up to the visuals which is equally as irritating. We do
get to see 'The Chairman' reflecting on his role in the legendary film, The
Manchurian Candidate along with the writer and producer. It doesn't shy away
from the horrendous gaffs either, like the monumental disaster Dirty Dingus
Magee.
If you're looking to advance your knowledge, forget this. If you're
starting-off, it's a more than adequate package, but it's a bit of a slog.
You simply can't knock the research - the archive footage is splendid, but
the outcome is very 'dated'. The narrative is very 'Hollywood', with some of
the sound quality woefully inadequate. One concluding observation is
Sinatra's progression from band singer to Grammy award winner, then on to
Oscar winning actor (From Here To Eternity), who could handle the serious
/ comedic roles to musicals. A remarkable achievement for a man with a
perforated eardrum.
Part two looks at his live TV appearances on the Bob Hope, Dean Martin shows
and his charitable work.
Bonus features include more TV snippets from the Bob Hope show and others.
This final part could be run as a CD listening experience, though not on
your conventional CD player.
Coming in at a whopping 3 hours, (a condensed version of 80 hours worth of
footage from the video series) it's far too long for the casual viewer.
Definitely one for Sinatra anoraks.
The full list of tracks included are :
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.