Made
On Broadway
(1933/MGM/Warner Archive DVD)/Rock
& Roll Hall Of Fame In Concert DVD Box Set
(2009 - 2017/Time Life)/Room
37: The Mysterious Death Of Johnny Thunders
(2019/MVD/Cleopatra Blu-ray/DVD/CD Set)
Picture:
C/C+/B & C+ Sound: C+/C+/B C+ B Extras: C-/B/C Main
Programs: C+/B+/C+
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Made
On Broadway
DVD is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the links below.
The
following music related titles are not necessarily filled with music,
but are definitely associated with them...
Harry
Beaumont's Made
On Broadway
(1933)
has Robert Montgomery extorting money from all kinds of people
because of the way he secretly controls Broadway, but he breaks from
his usual pattern when a young woman (Sally Eilers) is down and out
and about to self-destruct and gets an interest in her. He even gets
his ex-wife (Madge Evans) to help out, making her suddenly a big star
on the Great White Way. However, a few twists, turns and a subtle
helping of melodrama kick in to make this more interesting than it
first seems.
MGM
was trying to launch a few stars here, but it is Montgomery who
became the big success in the long run and this is somewhat glamorous
and glitzy for its time, well handled by legendary journeyman
Beaumont. It is a backstage drama with some corruption in the mix
and has some good moments, but it is still short at a mere 68 minutes
and maybe it could have used another reel or two with a richer script
to match.
The
1.33 black and white image shows that the film looks good the way it
was made, but this is a copy that is not in the best of shape and the
film needs restored. Despite that the lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
sounds a bit better than expected. An Original Theatrical Trailer is
the only extra.
The
Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame In Concert DVD Box Set
combines three previously-released sets, the latter two being issued
on Blu-ray as well, but we only get DVDs here. The first part is a
3-DVD set called The
25th
Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame In Concerts
that took place over two days (October 29th
and 30th,
2009) and celebrate the great success of the Hall and the music it
honors. Crosby, Stills & Nash do two hits, then are joined by
more with Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and James Taylor. Stevie
Wonder isa joined by Smokie Robinson, John Legend, B.B. King, Sting
and Jeff Beck. Paul Simon does one of his great solo hits, then is
joined for more with Crosby/Graham and Dion. Then he is joined by
Art Garfunkel for two more classics. Aretha Franklin performs Baby
I Love You
and Don't
Play That Song,
then is joined by one-0time duet partner Annie Lennon of Eurythmics
(Sisters
Are Doing It For Themselves)
to sing Chain Of Fools.
Metallica
perform Enter
Sandman,
then are joined for more by Lou Reed, Ozzy Osbourne and Ray Davies.
U2 play two of their hits, then are joined by Bruce Springsteen,
Patti Smith and Roy Bittan for Because
The Night
and then by Mick Jagger, Fergie and will.i.am for Gimme
Shelter.
Jeff Beck has his own moment with Sting, Buddy Guy and Billy Gibson
of ZZ Top, then Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band finish the
5.5 hours of content with Jungleland
and many other songs as joined by Sam Moore, Tom Morello, John
Fogerty, Darlene Love and Billy Joel, closing it all with a tribute
to Jackie Wilson.
Hope
this comes to Blu-ray at some point, but it is a must-see set, yet we
get two more sets as great.
The
In
Concert
set covers the inductions from 2010 to 2013 and we reviewed that set
on Blu-ray at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15282/Arthur+Fiedler/Boston+Pops+Greatest+Hits+Of+Th
Lastly
is the In
Concert
set without 'encore' attached to it (also issued separately on
Blu-ray) and it covers the ceremonies from 2014 to 2017. Technically
recorded a bit better, inductees include Peter Gabriel, Cat Stevens,
Linda Ronstadt (who was not there, so the late, great Glenn Frey
gives an unforgettable speech not knowing she would live to sing
again, followed by Carrie Underwood, Stevie Nicks, Emmylou Harris,
Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt and Frey singing her hits), The E Street
Band, Nirvana (Micheal Stipe gives a bold speech then the surviving
members perform their hits and are joined by the likes of Kim
Gordon), Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Paul Butterfield Band, Bill
Withers, Green Day, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble, Lou Reed
(with Laurie Anderson giving a powerful acceptance speech), Ringo
Starr (joe Walsh and Paul McCartney join him), Deep Purple, Bert
Berns, N.W.A., Chicago, Cheap Trick, Electric Light Orchestra (Dhani
Harrison gives us a great speech about them), Joan Baez (who gives
one of the greatest speeches in the history of the Hall),
Tupac Shakur, Journey and Pearl Jam (inducted by David Letterman,
substituting at the last minute for the original speaker) and it
should be added that Paul Shaffer plays on almost everything here.
Again,
more excellent, classic, unforgettable moments and all must-see.
This is a great gift set for serious music fans and I hope more are
on the way soon.
The
anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 image and lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes on all the
sets are fine for the format, though the later two sets are just not
as rich as the separate Blu-ray releases of the same. I cannot
imagine these playing better on DVD, so those who are fine with the
format will have few complaints.
Extras
include booklets with illustrations, tech info and essays for all
three sets.
Finally,
based on a true story and set in New Orleans, Room
37: The Mysterious Death of Johnny Thunders
(2019) follows the troubled musician Johnny Thunders (Leo Ramsey) who
retreats to the town to escape his life, but instead ends up going
down another dark path. Staying at a bizarre hotel, his room gets
robbed and he loses a ton of cash and his stash of methadone,
spiraling to a series of events and hallucinations that lead to his
untimely death.
Room
37
also stars Jason Lasater, Jimbo Barnett, and Robert Fleet.
The
film is presented in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect
ratio of 2.35:1 and two standard audio mixes in lossy Dolby Digital
5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0. The film is well shot and looks pretty
cinematic on disc for being a lower budgeted production. Not too
many gripes about the presentation here but more detail could be
found in upscaling it to 4K. There's also a lesser, compressed
version of the film on standard definition DVD with the same
widescreen and audio specs. The biggest comparison can be seen on
darker moments, when more compression is evident on the DVD than the
Blu-ray.
Special
Features: Slideshow and Trailer.
Also
included is the CD soundtrack of the film with songs by New York
Dolls, Walter Lure and the Waldos, Sylvain Sylvain, Rusted Robot, and
of course original songs by Johnny Thunder and the Heartbreakers.
While
it mixes fact with fiction, Room
37
starts out interesting, but ultimately has one too many scenes of
overacting that get a bit tedious. Still, the film is shot and
produced surprisingly well considering this is a film I hadn't heard
much about prior to this release. Worth a watch.
To
order the Made
On Broadway
Warner Archive DVD, go to this link for them and many more great
web-exclusive releases at:
http://www.wbshop.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo and James
Lockhart (Room
37)
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/