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The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong

starring: Louis Armstrong

: The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong
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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780794200671
Format: Black & White, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 0794200672
Label: Winstar
Manufacturer: Winstar
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Winstar
Region Code: 1
Release Date: June 26, 2001
Running Time: 65 minutes
Sales Rank: 51909
Studio: Winstar
Theatrical Release Date: 2001



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Editorial Review:

Description:
With archive footage, interviews, home movies and performances from television and movies, Danny Glover narrates this biography of the most recognizable and interesting figures in jazz and the history of the 20th century.

Amazon.com:
You would think there couldn't be anything else to say about Louis Armstrong after Ken Burns's Jazz, which elevated the trumpeter to the status of the 20th century's most important musical figure. But this hourlong program (produced in 1999, some two years before the Burns documentary began airing) equals and often surpasses Jazz by taking a less reverential, more personal approach. Not that Armstrong's monumental innovations and influence are neglected; inevitably, some of the same biographical and musical ground is covered, with several very familiar Jazz faces (like Wynton Marsalis and writer-critics Gary Giddins and Stanley Crouch) providing illumination. But we also get more clips from interviews with Armstrong himself (some from television shows hosted by the likes of David Frost, Jackie Gleason, and even Orson Welles) and those who knew him, like second wife Lil Hardin and longtime bassist Arvell Shaw, as well as some wonderful anecdotes (descriptions of Armstrong's first spouse, a razor-toting prostitute, who kept working after they married, and his audience with the Pope are priceless).

Those and other elements show us a more intimate side of the great man than that afforded by Jazz's hagiography. But the most unusual aspect of The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong may be its interpolation of photographs and film not strictly related to Satchmo and his story. Unlike the stock footage used in most such documentaries, these shots (including views of Los Angeles, Paris, Miami, and other locales) tend toward the arty and abstract; some are in black and white, while others use infrared and other post-production effects. They are occasionally a little incongruous, but overall they provide the artful icing on this entertaining and informative cake. --Sam Graham



Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong
This DVD Is An Intimate Portrait Of The Legendary Jazz Performer. With Interviews And Acquaintances ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Suprisingly good, Very Different
Definitely worth the watch. The use of abstract imagery crates a compelling backdrop to the life of ... Read More


Rating: 2 out of 5 stars - Too simplified-wasteful overview
This DVD was a big disappointment. It does not convey "why" Louis Armstrong was so great. The documentary ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Superior
I have seen many music DVD but Louis Armstrong is really different that others. He is a real classic and don't ... Read More


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Copyright ©2003, Mark Carey.