NOT the first Sync sound talkie
Actually DW Griffith's DREAM STREET had sync sound in it first. This spoofed in Singing in the Rain. The Demonstartion of the Sync sound is actually spoofing DW himself in his Dream Street introduction.
shareRon Hutchinson from The Vitaphone Project here. Checkout our website on our restoration and research of 1926-30 Vitaphone disc synched shorts and features at www.vitaphoneproject.com
Actually attempts at synch sound began with Edison in 1896 (included in the phenomenal upcoming JAZZ SINGER 3 DVD set, by the way). There were literally hundreds of synch sound shorts made here and overseas through 1920, all using discs or cylinders except some early sound on film experiments by Lauste and others. So by the time of DREAM STREET (1921) which just had a disc synched prologue, there were easily a thousand or more sound films. Problem was threefold against success util Vitaphone: poor sound quality due to acoustic (horn) not electric (microphone) recording; failed unreliable synch systems, and no way to fill a theatre with sound. By 1925 and Vitaphone, that had been addressed. The feature length documentary in this DVD set, THE DAWN OF SOUND, covers this and much more. I am in it and also did the audio commentary (with '20's bandleader Vince Giordano) for the feature. At under $30 on Amazon and almost 10 hours of stuff (35+ shorts alone!) this is the ultimatef ilm buff bargain. If it does well, WB will do mpore early stuff.
So please spread the word!
Thanks.
At the end of the day, all that matters is that this was the film that caused enough of a stir to make studios think sound was financially viable.
*I was talking to myself.*
I've seen several dozen of the Vitaphone shorts at the Film Forum in the last 5-6 years. I suggest that anyone who can't get to NYC to see the shorts should pick up this DVD set. Mr. Hutchison and company do fantastic work. Eighty-year old films often look like they were released last month.
shareI have been chomping at the bit to see THE JAZZ SINGER and those Vitaphone shorts released on DVD. God bless everyone who let this happen.
*I was talking to myself.*
I am watching all the films from the AFI Top 100 list (original list) which is why I am watching this film. If Jolson was a star today, I would not watch films. Most on the list were good to great, this has to be one of the worst in terms of story/acting/directing. Sometimes you force your way through bad films because of their historical significance. I have been doing that since minute 2.
sharethe lights of new york was the first real talkie, all talking and complete motion picture
shareWhat old movies do you recommend then?
shareWhat movies?
Sorta depends on your likes: musicals? Westerns? romances? gangsters?
Try WINGS, which won the first Oscar for Best Picture. The aerial photography scenes are still stunning; And try:
THE BROADWAY MELODY
THE BIG TRAIL (John Wayne's first starring role and Tyrone Power SENIOR is the villain))
HALLELUJAH! (1929, all-black cast directed by King Vidor; not stagey like so many early talkies, several outdoor scenes)
LITTLE CAESAR
SMART MONEY (only pairing of Cagney & Robinson)
FRANKENSTEIN
SCARFACE (1932)
TRADER HORN (much of it filmed in East Africa; supplied stock footage for jungle films for several decades)
THE MASK OF FU MANCHU (as politically incorrect as it can be, but who cares? Karloff lisping/camping it up as Fu, Myrna Loy as his opium-smoking, whip-wielding daughter and plenty of pre-Production Code antics)
BABY FACE (Barbara Stanwyck humps her way to the top of the corporate ladder in one of THE best pre-Code flicks)
FOOTLIGHT PARADE (Busby Berkeley choreography and Cagney showing off his vaudeville dance moves)
THE LOST PATROL (1934; John Ford directs. A British platoon is lost in the desert of Mesopotamia, [that's Iraq nowadays] and Arab snipers pick them off one by one. Boris Karloff chews the scenery as a religious fanatic who eventually makes his own walk to Golgotha)
GRAND HOTEL (1932; one of the earliest "all-star" films: the Barrymore bros, Garbo, Crawford, Beery)
May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?
Thank you a lot. I will watch them. Have added it to my Watchlist. These movies sound awesome.
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