Search - Django Reinhardt: King of Jazz Guitar on DVD

Don't bother! A waste of time!

Music Fan | Seattle WA | 09/25/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Ugh! Fair warning on this one! I'm attending the Djangofest Northwest festival this weekend and my wife was kind enough to rent this from the local video store in preparation because she knew of my interest in Django. We only made it through half the DVD before even she had to agree that it was terrible and insist that we shut it off. As "Real Fan Disappointed" noted, the graphics on this DVD are beyond bad. It's as if someone stumbled upon a (bad) graphics software program and proceeded to try every single effect, over and over. It's a shame, as the person who made it obviously has a great interest in Django's life and this was probably a labor of love. But this is just a terrible DVD, all but unwatchable. And if you do watch it, prepare to be mesmerized (I found myself falling asleep), or have your Dramamine handy. If you want to see all known footage of Django actually playing, along with learning about his longtime collaborator Stephane Grappelli, get Stephane Grappelli: A Life in the Jazz Century."

Not great...

koasterkid | Burlington, VT United States | 11/03/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"While it doesn't dishonestly advertise being a documentary, it offers little. The soundtrack, of course, is great. Keep some Dramamine handy, though...the effects, such as they are, are both dizzying and superfluous.
If it is actual footage of Django you seek, as little as there is, all known footage can be found on the "Swing Guitar" DVD, a far superior endeavor..."

Creative Documentary - with ONE big flaw - No Chapters

Steven I. Ramm | Phila, PA USA | 10/24/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This fascinating (though frustrating to watch) DVD is a must for fans of the gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt and the Quintette of the Hot Club of France will want to see. Released in Europe by the Quantum Leap label - and distributed in the US by Music Video Distributors - Django Reinhardt: King of The Jazz Guitar is really creatively produced documentary on the jazz guitarist, who was born in Belgium but who move to Paris in the 1930s to become a major jazz legend. Writer and Director Jordi Vall Escru knew that there is almost no performance footage of Reinhardt so he crafted his 108-minute documentary around still photos, images of record labels and some "recreations". The special effects swirl and move about the screen in time to the many recordings (beautifully transferred) of Reinhardt throughout his career. The narration is in English and read by Sterling Jones. The selection of records includes those made with the Quintette as well as American violinist Eddie South and Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. Sometimes the clever effect become too much so, but the major weakness in this disc is the lack of indexing and chapter stops. Even though this film was made in two parts, the DVD is one ling 108-minute track. You cannot revisit a recording, or even stop the film and return to that point at a later time. Someone really dropped the ball on this one. Still, the amount of work that Escru put into this effort should be commended.

Note: It lost at least a whole star because of the lack of indexing."