Product: Birth Of The Blues/Blue Skies - Double Feature (1941)
Rating: 4.0
LACK LUSTER MOVIES IN GLORIOUS TRANSFERS
"Birth of the Blues" is the rather unispiring tale of a New Orleans musician who 'discovers' jazz. "Blue Skies" is the completely uninspired musical that mixes low melodrama with some incredibly awful tunes from Irving Berlin. Neither film can lay claim to any sort of greatness, although "Blue Skies" does contain three very dynamic performances. The first of these is Fred Astaire's brilliantly staged rendition of "Puttin' On The Ritz" in which he nimbly dances with 10 copies of himself, using the split screen process. The second musical number of merit is the Astaire/Crosby duet, "A Couple of Song And Dance Men" in which both performers lampoon the other's artistry through a series of skits. The final spark of greatness is "Running Around In Circles", a tender poignant ballad that is wholly wasted on the tripe of this movie's dead end plot.TRANSFER: "Blue Skies" was shot in Technicolor, and although the original camera negative is nearly 70 years old, there is little in the way of age related artifacts to suggest that much time has passed. Colors are exceptionally bold, vibrant and well balanced. Black levels are...well, black and contrast and shadows are gorgeously rendered. There are no digital artifacts to worry about, although a bit of video noise is present. "Birth of the Blues" is somewhat more problematic. A B&W production, there is a visible grain structure evident throughout the film, as well as scratches and other age related artifacts. In a few scenes there is slight shimmering and edge enhancement. The audio for both movies is MONO but very nicely balanced.EXTRAS: NONE! What were you expecting?BOTTOM LINE: If you're a Bing Crosby or Fred Astaire fan than you might want to consider adding this DVD to your collection. While the film's are nothing to write home about, their transfer quality - particularly "Blue Skies" is worth taking a second look!