It's far too difficult to find a non-blackface picture for this.
A Jewish man chases his dream of singing popular music despite his devout father's disapproval.
Well, I've crossed that one off the list. At least I
can say that now. It's a shame that so many of the early triumphs of cinema are
marked by really ugly things. The Birth of a Nation is
virtually unwatchable for how incredibly racist it is. The Jazz Singer
isn't as mean-spirited, but it sure is tough to watch Al Jolson in blackface as
a triumphant moment. I get that it was different times and all that, but I
can't stop myself from watching through a modern lens. Now, I have no idea how
they got away with doing it in the 1980 version of this movie.
In hindsight, my understanding of this movie was
pretty dumb. I didn't realize that this was a silent film with bits of recorded
sound mixed in. I've always heard it called the first talkie, so I just
imagined it was all spoken dialogue. But, of course it was a mix. Change
doesn't happen all at once.
Without the
historical significance of being the first major talkie movie, I don't see much
that's special about the movie. The story is simple. The performances are meh.
Some of the music was nice. It's good to
check the movie off my list. That's what I like the most about it.
Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend
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