News

Tuesday, April 25, Showtime hosted the FYC event for the documentary “Personality Crisis: One Night Only.” The screening, panel and reception were held at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Los Angeles. Panel participants from the film included: Director and Producer Martin Scorsese, Director and Editor David Tedeschi, the one and only David Johansen, Producer Margaret Bodde, Executive Producer Mara Hennessey, and film interviewer Leah Hennessey. The conversation was moderated by Cynthia Littleton, Variety Editor-in-Chief.

“It was shockingly good,” Johansen said of the film about him. “I especially liked the fact that I didn’t die at the end. A lot of people, when they do documentaries about music, they ask me to be in them and I normally refuse because it’s the most horrible thing to have an opinion one day and then two years later see it in a film. Because, evolution and transcendence and all that jazz, you...

Johnny Crawford, who found early fame in the 1950s as an original Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club and even more success as the son of Chuck Connors’ title character in the 1959-63 Western series The Rifleman, died Thursday two years after an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and a recent battle with Covid-19 . He was 75.

Crawford’s death was announced on his website.

According to the Johnny Crawford Legacy website maintained by his family and friends, the “passed away peacefully” last night with wife Charlotte by his side. “Sadly, Johnny was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and he was living in a memory care residence before contracting Covid-19, then pneumonia,” the site states. “After a temporary placement at a skilled nursing facility, he was recently moved to an excellent smaller care home close to his wife.”

Born John Ernest Crawford in Los Angeles into a theatrical and musical family – his...

By Lee Pfeiffer

The good folks at the esteemed boutique video label First Run Features are generally known for making available films that relate to important and usually sobering social issues. Every now and then, however, they delve into areas that are considerably more light-hearted in nature. First Run has recently overseen the theatrical release of the acclaimed new documentary "Vince Giordano: There's a Future in the Past" by directors Dave Davidson and Amber Edwards. Giordano may not be a household name but he's a living legend among jazz purists who are devoted to the music of the 1920s and 1930s- the kind of upbeat, immortal tunes popularized by Paul Whiteman, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.  Giordano plays to packed houses at Manhattan venues where he performs with his band, the Nighhawks, which he formed decades ago. Like many creative types, he is eccentric, to be sure. The film's glimpses...

This year’s award season continues to yield a robust specialized bounty. The Oscar contenders are led by “La La Land” (Lionsgate) and “Hidden Figures” (20th Century Fox). The public, particularly older audiences, are coming out in big numbers for films that launched in limited release.

That doesn’t extend to new limited openings, with nearly all top distributors holding back until the awards noise dies down. Still, a few are venturing out with smaller less heralded films in New York (along with a plethora of Video on Demand releases). This week sees three of note, led by a very surprising total for “World’s Apart” (Cinema Libre), an under-the-radar 2015 Greek economic crisis drama.

Check out our Award Season video interviews.

(All figures for three-day weekend through Sunday January 15.)

Opening

Worlds Apart (Cinema Libre)

$14,000 gross at 1 theater; PTA (per theater average): $14,000

This Greek film, which tells three loosely related...

As this spirited film portrait makes vibrantly clear, Brooklyn native Vince Giordano doesn’t just play vintage jazz — he has devoted his life to it, amassing the sheet music for 60,000 big-band arrangements that otherwise would have moldered away in landfills or attics. It’s no wonder Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and Todd Haynes, among other directors, have relied on him for the right period sound, or that he played a crucial role, onscreen and off, in the early seasons of Boardwalk Empire.

With their affectionate tribute to this tireless aficionado of American music of the 1920s and ’30s, filmmakers Dave...

Chicago – “The Jazz Singer” has become something of a hot-button drama over the years due to its use of black face. The new, three-disc Warner Bros. Blu-ray release for the historic film doesn’t shy away from this aspect of the movie but does an amazing service to film fans by placing the work in the context of when it was released. With a stellar documentary about how sound came into the medium (“The Jazz Singer” was the first talky) along with 4 hours of shorts from the day, it’s much easier to appreciate this film for the important chapter it represents in the history of the form.

Television Rating: 5.0/5.0

Is “The Jazz Singer” a great movie? It’s certainly a better movie than I remembered and the perfectly balanced transfer from Warner Bros. certainly helps make the film feel less like a history lesson than you might expect. It...

Blu-ray Review

The Jazz Singer

Directed by: Alan Crosland

Cast: Al Jolson, May McAvoy, Warner Oland

Running Time: 1 hr 37 mins

Rating: Nr

Due Out: January 8, 2013

Plot: Jakie Rabinowitz (Al Jolson) is the son of a Jewish Cantor who must defy his father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer.

Who’S It For? Are you desperate to see where film came from? Then you should be required by law to see this film. Plus, you’ll see the roots for every father/son story Hollywood has recreated, and plenty of Jewish guilt.

Message from Warner Bros.

The Jazz Singer, the first feature-length film with completely synchronized dialogue and musical sequences, will mark another milestone January 8 when Warner Home Video releases the Blu-ray commencing the 2013 year-long 90thAnniversary of Warner Bros. Studios.

Official WB Shop Link: http://bit.ly/YZ0P8Z Images: http://warnervideo.com/art Like...

Carole J. Bufford in speak easy. Metropolitan Room, NY

Hearing Carole J. Bufford sing backed by Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks is a rare alignment of stars not to be missed. Chronicling the Prohibition Era through its music, speak easy. brings this bygone time of legal restraint and social release to life in a relevant manner that is laced with nostalgia but not dependent on it. Deep within Bufford's dazzling and somewhat puckish eyes is a spark that sets fire to the music that radiates from her. Exuding playful sexiness, her presence is well suited for this genre and her connection to it is displayed by her genuine grasp of every note. 

Bufford sings with a sincerity that is hard to match, coinciding with every expression on her face, every movement of her body, and every fiber of her being. There is love in her voice for these songs and it...

You may not even be a fan of the HBO show "Boardwalk Empire," but you could be a fan of the music culled from it. Exclusive tracks from Regina Spektor, Nellie McKay, Martha Wainwright and her dad Loudon Wainwright III, Leon Redbone and Vince Giordano grace the tracklist for "Boardwalk Empire Volume 1 - Music from the HBO Original Series." Elektra is releasing the 16-track set on Sept. 13, two weeks before the new season premiere on Sept. 25. There is the promise of a deluxe version with extra tracks as well. Regina Spektor's take on the 1920's track "My Man," made popular...