Not a musical as we know it, not really a movie as we know it but a very weird experiment. An experiment which, clearly by the fact that nothing like this was ever made again, was a total failure.
The premise was to take the biggest musical star of the era, a decent story by one of Hollywood's greatest screenwriters, a top Hollywood director and make a modern opera. Classic opera is (to me) bad enough but this is (in my opinion) beyond terrible. Even though it looks professional and polished, it's like they've all forgotten how to make movies. As a piece of innovative art it may have some merit but entertainment it is not.
This is not for fans of 1930s musicals, not even for fans of Al Jolson, it is strictly only for those with an academic interest in something which fortunately never, ever got made again.
The premise was to take the biggest musical star of the era, a decent story by one of Hollywood's greatest screenwriters, a top Hollywood director and make a modern opera. Classic opera is (to me) bad enough but this is (in my opinion) beyond terrible. Even though it looks professional and polished, it's like they've all forgotten how to make movies. As a piece of innovative art it may have some merit but entertainment it is not.
This is not for fans of 1930s musicals, not even for fans of Al Jolson, it is strictly only for those with an academic interest in something which fortunately never, ever got made again.