The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration DVD Review

Written by General Jabbo

It’s been 36 years since the release of Francis Ford Coppola’s classic mafia film, The Godfather, and in the ensuing years, the trilogy of films have not only come to be recognized as examples of great filmmaking, but have also become ingrained in American popular culture, influencing everything from movies to television shows to music. Movies such as Goodfellas owe, at least in part, their existence to the success of the Godfather trilogy. The Simpsons parodied the Don Fanucci scene in The Godfather Part II with Don Homer accepting a gift of donuts instead of a necklace and an orange while The Sopranos regularly quoted the three films (some of these examples are shown in the 2008 bonus features on the DVD). In addition, former Guns ‘n’ Roses guitarist Slash has been known to play The Godfather theme in his live guitar solos.

With such influence, The Godfather films deserve to be seen in the best possible light, yet, as shown in the bonus features, the original film had deteriorated. Now they have been completely restored to their original glory in The Godfather – The Coppola Restoration.

The Godfather tells the story of Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) and his struggle to stay in power as other families vie for his territory and branch out into narcotics, which he was always against. After a failed hit attempt, Vito is in poor health and hospitalized. When his youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) sees the guards have been removed from the hospital, he realizes his father is being set up to be assassinated. When the police finally arrive, Michael gets into an altercation with the corrupt Captain McCluskey, who proceeds to break Michael’s jaw when he insinuates that McCluskey has been bought off by rival Don Virgil Sollozzo. After this encounter, Sollozzo arranges a meeting with the Corleone family in which he, McCluskey, and Michael will attend. Michael convinces his family to plant a gun in the men’s room and kills both men in an Italian restaurant. Upon learning Michael was responsible for the murders, Vito is very disappointed. Michael was a war hero and he had hoped for him to be a legitimate power as perhaps a senator. Still, after an exile in Italy, Michael is given control over the family by Vito upon his return, with Vito serving as consigliere, replacing Tom Hagen (played by Robert DuVall) who would now serve as the family lawyer. The movie ends with Michael orchestrating the murders of the other five mafia families.

Michael’s rise to powerful Don is documented in the The Godfather Part II. He has relocated the family to Nevada and gotten into the casino business. Michael’s brother Fredo, bitter at the lack of respect he gets in the family and resentful that his younger brother is in charge, betrays him by making a deal with Johnny Ola (an agent of rival mobster Hyman Roth). An assassination attempt is then made on Michael’s life, which Fredo claimed no knowledge of. However, Michael disowns him when it is revealed he had been withholding information from him. After their mother’s death, Michael has Fredo murdered, a crime that would haunt him during the third film. Michael grows increasingly introverted the more powerful he gets, until he is alone by the end of the movie. At the same time, through a series of flashbacks, we learn the history of his father Vito, played by Robert De Niro, and how he came to power.

Finally, in the oft-maligned The Godfather Part III, Michael attempts to go legitimate, only to get sucked back into the mafia underworld. Michael is now consumed by regret for his past deeds and Pacino is very convincing in these scenes, even if Sofia Coppola (in a role originally intended for Wynona Ryder) as his daughter Mary is not. Michael turns control of the family over to his nephew Vincent (Andy Garcia) and, after his daughter is murdered right in front of him, ends up dying alone with only his dog by his side. It is a parallel to Vito’s death scene from the first movie and all three endings deal with themes of isolation. While Part III is the worst of the three films, the bar was set so impossibly high by the first two, there’s no way it couldn’t have been.

The first two films have been completely restored and all three films feature a new 5.1 Digital Surround Sound track as well as the original director’s commentary. Included are two discs of bonus features — the first of which was included in the 2001 Godfather box set. The second bonus disc is new for 2008 and includes featurettes about the restoration process, The Godfather’s place in pop culture, “Four Short Films on The Godfather,” and a documentary about how the original film almost never happened. The bonus discs in my package were mislabeled, with the new features on disc 4 and the old ones on disc 5. Hopefully they did not all get printed this way as that would be an embarrassing blemish on an otherwise fine collection.

As for the restoration itself, the movies look phenomenal, and that is based on the standard definition DVD used for the purposes of this review. One can imagine the Blu-ray looks even better. The bonus disc does a comparison between the new version and various releases of the films and the difference is staggering. Where the previous releases of the film often had a dark and murky picture, particularly in the Italian restaurant assassination scene, the current DVD is rich in color and detail and allows the viewer to really see Pacino’s nervous expressions before killing the two men.

If you don’t own The Godfather movies, this would be the time to get them. If you do own the movies, this is still an upgrade and the bonus features make it worth buying again. The picture and sound are now worthy of this legendary story.

John Mellencamp - Life Death Love and Freedom CD Review

Written by General Jabbo

John Mellencamp delves into American folk, blues and country on his latest release, the moody Life Death Love and Freedom. Produced by T Bone Burnett, the album’s stark songs of life, death and hard living bare a similarity to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ Raising Sand, also produced by Burnett, but while that album featured all covers (one a Page/Plant song), all 14 tracks on Life... were written by Mellencamp.

From the opening notes of “Longest Days,” you know this isn’t pop fare here. Mellencamp laments life’s struggles when he sings, “Sometimes you get sick and you don’t get better. That’s when life’s short, even in its longest days.” The sparse acoustic guitar backing puts his vocals front and center in a song far too many people can relate to.

The mood picks up on the rocker, “My Sweet Love,” an ode to romance with a ‘50s feel and driving drums. The bluesy “If I Die Sudden” finds Mellencamp wishing to be left in peace should he pass away as he sings, “there ain’t nobody needs to know, that I’m gone.” He delivers the tune with the authority of a 75-year-old bluesman.

He tackles race on “Jena,” a song about the Jena Six trial in Louisiana where six black teens were accused of attempted murder against one white teen by an all-white jury. Racial tolerance is also the subject of “Young Without Lovers,” a menacing blues cut and standout on the CD.

“Troubled Land” harkens back to “Crumblin’ Down” musically with its swampy groove and sings of bringing peace while warning of the hurricane on the horizon. On “A Ride Back Home,” he pleads with Jesus to take him home, saying that his time has come and gone. It is the song of a weary man wishing for the end.

This album is not for the casual John Mellencamp fan. These tracks won’t be burning up the chart anytime soon, but that’s not the point. His take on the old American music largely succeeds. The record is one of the most compelling of his storied career and a rewarding listen.

Sinatra - DVD Review

Written by General Jabbo

It is difficult for any movie or television show to do justice to Frank Sinatra’s remarkable career, which spanned parts of seven decades, yet, the miniseries Sinatra largely succeeds at doing just that.

Sinatra stars Philip Casnoff in the title role and begins during his childhood in Hoboken, New Jersey. His parents, played by Olympia Dukakis and Joe Santos, ran a saloon during prohibition and Sinatra himself was no stranger to trouble, stealing cigarettes at an early age. He also had some sheet music with the cigarettes and while his friends kidded him about it, even at age 10 Sinatra knew he was going to be a star.

He met his first wife, Nancy Barbato (played by Gina Gershon) and went to work for her father while he pursued his singing career. He was not cut out for 9-5 work though and was shown falling asleep on the job. After he quit his job, Barbato’s father forbade Sinatra from seeing his daughter, as he’d be unable to provide for her. Still, the couple managed to sneak out to see each other and was eventually married, with Barbato bearing all three of his children — Nancy, Frank Jr., and Tina.

After quitting the Hoboken Four, Sinatra joined Harry James’ group and toured with his orchestra, his wife Nancy traveling with him on the tour. That gig was short-lived however as Tommy Dorsey’s band suddenly had an opening which Sinatra filled. James was gracious in letting Sinatra go, as he knew Dorsey was much bigger than he was. It was during his time with Dorsey’s orchestra that Sinatra began to emulate Dorsey’s trombone with his voice. Dorsey’s demands and tour schedule put a strain on Sinatra’s marriage and, in spite of Dorsey trying to get 43 percent of Sinatra’s earnings for life (which Sinatra fought against and won), Sinatra left the group to pursue a solo career.

Trends change though and Sinatra at the end of the 1940s was nowhere near as popular as he was at the beginning of the decade. His very public affair with actress Ava Gardner (played by Marcia Gay Harden) hurt not only his popularity, but also his marriage. Just days after his divorce from Nancy, Sinatra married Gardner. Their relationship was stormy at best, with her popularity on the rise while his was at an all-time low. She had to loan him money so he could fly out for a screen test. While Sinatra wanted her to settle down with him, she was focused on her career and had an abortion, much to Sinatra’s dismay. Drinking heavily at this point, at a show at the Copacabana, Sinatra lost his voice due to vocal cord hemorrhaging and wasn’t supposed to sing or even speak for several weeks.

Gardner and Sinatra split up in 1953 after two years of marriage and were divorced in 1957. It is at this point that Sinatra begins to gloss over the rest of his career. His brilliant Capitol period is represented by a short montage, which is unfortunate as many of the darker themes on those concept albums were a direct result of his relationship with Gardner. We also don’t get to see the formation of the Rat Pack aside from a brief meeting with Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. some years back, though we do get to see them perform.

Sinatra’s alleged mob ties are explored with Rod Steiger playing Sam Giancana, who helps Sinatra’s friend John F. Kennedy get over 100,000 votes on his way to the White House. Giancana is none-too-pleased however when Bobby Kennedy starts prosecuting mobsters and tells Sinatra to watch his back.

Sinatra’s brief marriage to Mia Farrow is briefly touched on and provides some of the miniseries’ more humorous moments as Farrow irritated Sinatra with her peace signs and loud rock and roll. The couple was to shoot a movie together, but Farrow could not get out of her schedule for Rosemary’s Baby. Sinatra, feeling a sense of déjà vu from when he didn’t have time for Nancy due to his own movie career, got a divorce.

The miniseries ends with Sinatra returning from his two-year retirement to sing “My Way” at Madison Square Garden in 1974. While Sinatra’s Rat Pack and Capitol years could have been covered in greater detail, Sinatra remains an excellent look at this legendary performer; pulling no punches and offering an excellent look at a legendary career.

Buckcherry - 15 CD Review

Written by General Jabbo

Buckcherry came out of the late '90s Hollywood music scene as seemingly a breath a fresh air to those fed up with grunge and longing for the gritty rock and roll of yesteryear. Their self-titled debut didn’t disappoint. With infectious riff after riff and sing-along choruses, the band drew comparisons to Aerosmith, AC/DC, Guns ‘N Roses and The Sex Pistols. Their breakthrough single, “Lit Up,” was all over rock radio and owed a musical debt to Ace Frehley’s “Shock Me.”

The band suffered a commercial sophomore slump however with its second release, Time Bomb, and broke up in 2002. After singer Josh Todd released a solo album, he and guitarist Keith Nelson were recruited by ex-Guns ‘N Roses members Slash, Duff, and Matt Sorum for their new group – called The Project at the time. That group eventually became Velvet Revolver with Todd and Nelson being replaced by Scott Weiland and Dave Kushner.

Todd and Nelson decided to reform Buckcherry with new members and released 15 (named for the numbers of days it took to record) in Japan in November of 2005 and the U.S. in April of 2006. More than two years later, 15 still has life on the charts and rock radio. To date, it has spawned five singles, from the controversial sleaze-rock of “Crazy Bitch,” to the current hit single, “Sorry” – remarkable for a band that didn’t even have a record label in the U.S. at the time 15 was initially released.

Buckcherry have always worn their influences on their sleeves and 15 is no different. “So Far” sounds like a raunchier version of '70s Aerosmith while “Out of Line” would be at home on Highway to Hell. This isn’t a bad thing, though. The band pays tribute without totally aping the originals. Buckcherry is about as rock and roll as it gets these days.

Buckcherry have secured a slot on Motley Crue’s 2008 festival tour, Crue Fest as they continue to grow in popularity. If 15 is any indication, great things lie ahead for the band.

Sinatra at the Movies CD Review

Written by General Jabbo

Throughout his remarkable singing career spanning parts of seven decades, Frank Sinatra also appeared in 58 films, winning three Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actor for From Here to Eternity, and four Golden Globes, including Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Pal Joey. Sinatra contributed some of his best-loved music to these films, with 20 of those songs collected on Sinatra at the Movies.

Covering his brilliant Capitol years only, Sinatra at the Movies includes the title themes to The Tender Trap, From Here to Eternity, Young at Heart, Three Coins in the Fountain, and Not as a Stranger. Also from Young at Heart is the classic “Just One of Those Things,” which is done with its more familiar up-tempo arrangement (In later years, Sinatra sometimes performed the song as a ballad, or "saloon song" as he called them).

Four other movies are represented by two songs each, with “I Love Paris” and “C’est Magnifique” from Can Can, “How Deep is the Ocean” and “All of Me” from Meet Danny Wilson, “I Could Write a Book” and “The Lady is a Tramp” from Pal Joey, and “All the Way” and “Chicago” from The Joker is Wild.

It should be noted that while all of these songs are from Sinatra movies, they are not the versions recorded for the movies. Rather, they are the versions from his Capitol albums (“Chicago” is the version from Come Fly With Me for instance). To get the tracks from the movies, one may consider the Sinatra in Hollywood box set.

Sinatra at the Movies is part of a larger media blitz that includes a U.S. postage stamp (entering circulation in May) and television programming spotlighting Sinatra’s movies and television specials. While many of the tracks on Sinatra at the Movies are timeless standards, the CD barely scratches the surface of Sinatra’s recorded legacy, making it a bad starting point for new fans and a must-own for completists only.

The Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder: John, Paul, Tom & Ringo DVD Review

Written by General Jabbo

In the near decade The Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder aired on NBC, Snyder had a number of cutting-edge performers appear on the show. Not many American talk shows would have ever touched the Plasmatics or Johnny Rotten, yet there they were in interviews and performances with Snyder trying to establish a rapport with them as well as understand them (While a good interviewer, Snyder could come across as a bit square on occasion). The most famous of these musicians were arguably the three former Beatles he interviewed: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. Those interviews make up the contents of this two-disc set.

Disc one is a tribute to John Lennon with his interview from April of 1975, which Snyder rebroadcast on December 9, 1980, one day after Lennon’s death. In it, Lennon discusses his time with the Beatles, his solo career, his life in New York with Yoko Ono, and his immigration status (His immigration lawyer, Leon Wildes, joins the interview during that segment). It was to be Lennon’s last televised interview. The rebroadcast added then-new interviews with journalist Lisa Robinson and producer Jack Douglas, who produced Double Fantasy and had done a session with Lennon the night of his murder.

Disc two begins with an interview with Paul and Linda McCartney just before one of their 1979 concert appearances in London, England. Wings were on the road for Back to the Egg (The video for “Spin it On” is included in the broadcast) and were about to play the Concert for Kampuchea. The interview was taped the day after the Who concert at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati where 11 people were trampled to death as fans rushed to their seats. McCartney said the key to better security at such shows where festival seating is used such as the Who concert, is have more entrances for fans, so everyone isn’t all going into the same doors. Paul also talked a little about his time with the Beatles and life at home with the kids and how he enjoyed having a family and being able to take his kids on the road with him. Snyder asked Linda McCartney how she met Paul and asked Wings members Laurence Juber and Denny Laine how they came to be in "the Wings organization" as Snyder called it.

The final interview on disc two is with Ringo Starr from 1981. Ringo was promoting his then-new album, Stop and Smell the Roses, which featured contributions from Paul McCartney and George Harrison (the video for Harrison’s “Wrack My Brain” is shown) and was to have also included songs written and produced by John Lennon. The two were to work together in January of 1981, but Lennon was killed the previous December. This interview was less than a year later and Starr was still very shaken up at the loss of his friend. The interview also includes Ringo’s wife Barbara Bach, who he met on the set of the film Caveman. Angie Dickinson fills up the second half of this episode where she promotes her series, Cassie and Company, and discusses why she returned to television.

For Beatles fans, John, Paul, Tom & Ringo serves as an interesting time capsule, both in terms of the various Beatles careers at that point, as well as world events of the time. It’s nice to have the interviews all in one collection and is well worth owning.

Cloverfield DVD Review

Written by General Jabbo

On a recent trip to Japan, producer J.J. Abrams saw a number of Godzilla toys in a toy store and realized the impact the fictional creature has on Japanese culture to this day. He then thought, “what if America had such a creature?” It was this thought process that led to the creation of Cloverfield, an American monster movie that owes a lot to its Japanese counterparts.

Set in New York City, Cloverfield begins at a going away party for Rob Hawkins (played by Michael Stahl-David), who is leaving for a job opportunity in Japan. Among the guests present are Rob’s brother, Jason; and Jason’s girlfriend, Lily; Rob’s friend, Hud, whose home movie serves as the documentation of not only the party, but of the monster’s attack; the object of Hud’s affections, Marlena; and Beth McIntyre (played by Odette Yustman), who brings a date in spite of the fact she once had a fling with Rob. Hud films testimonials from the guests about Rob and it is here we learn from Beth’s reaction that she still has feelings for Rob. When Rob reacts angrily to the fact that Hud is inadvertently taping over video footage of him and Beth, it is revealed that Rob shares Beth’s feelings.

The party seems to be going fine when tragedy hits New York City. Buildings shake and there are explosions as the city reacts in panic, not knowing whether it was an earthquake or possibly a terrorist attack. It is here that Cloverfield does a good job of playing on post-911 fears, showing the chaos that would take place were such an event to actually occur. The monster rips the head from the Statue of Liberty, hurling it down a busy street and at this point, we first get our first glimpses of the creature as captured by Hud’s camera.

A group of New Yorkers tries to flee via the Brooklyn Bridge and Rob gets separated from Beth who is trapped in her apartment building. Desperate, Rob goes back to try and save her while the military is called in to fight the creature. In spite of being a monster movie, at its heart Cloverfield is really a love story between Rob and Beth. In a series of flashbacks (shown from Rob’s original tape, which wasn’t completely erased), we get glimpses of the playful nature of their relationship and, after the attack, see the lengths Rob will go to save her.

Cloverfield runs about 75 minutes – a short film by today’s standards – but that enables the film to keep its frantic pace throughout. With its shaky, first-person perspective (Think The Blair Witch Project), Cloverfield is not for those who get dizzy easily, yet it is this very technique that enables the viewer to see what Hud sees as he sees it and helps Cloverfield manage a fresh take on the monster-movie concept.

The DVD has a number of bonus features, including: deleted scenes, alternate endings, featurettes and commentary by director Matt Reeves. Those looking for drastic differences in the alternate endings however will be disappointed as it is merely the flashbacks that have been changed, though the commentary provided by Reeves offers interesting insight as to why they were left on the cutting-room floor.