Search - Sing Brother Sing: The Mills Brothers & The Delta Rhythm Boys on DVD

Enjoyable with a flawed presentation.

D. Gilbert | Seattle, WA USA | 08/08/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this because I'm a fan of the Mills Brothers (the Delta Rhythm Boys are okay too). Many years ago, I saw most of these original soundies at a film festival from a collector who had the original reels shown on a good old fashion projector. Well, the remastered DVD versions look and sound far superior over most of the ones I saw before. Frankly, I'm grateful that they were digitally remastered and preserved on DVD at all, and that they're now available for purchase.

I bought my copy brand new from a reseller for $5.50 plus shipping, which was a fair price for what I got. My biggest complaint is that the producers cut the very beginnings and very ends from each movie, and then faded them from one to the next. Usually it seems like only a second or two, but on one particular film, "Caravan", there's some corny dialog between Harry Mills and an actress that appears to be partially cut from the beginning of the reel.

A little annoying also is that the shorts are presented like MTV videos, with info in the bottom left corner at the beginning and end of each film. Also, the DVD producers put a "Sing Brothers Sing" watermark on (at least) some of the films. Not very distracting, hardly noticeable and notable, but still- why put it there in the first place?

Maybe the producers were concerned with making sure that the value is limited to this presentation (thus discouraging illegal distribution). I simply wish the films were left alone, shown as they were originally. But maybe that's just me.

Again, as the last person mentioned, it's very short- about 40 minutes, but what can you do? They're fun to watch at least once or twice anyway (I personally can't imagine much more than that). Anyway, I'm happy for the most part with my purchase. As I said, I'm such a fan of the Mills Bros, and where else will I see these unique film performances (not the same commercially sold versions)?"

Harmony at It's Apex

Young Fogie | MPLS, MN United States | 03/23/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Short but sweet (48 Min.), this compilation is mostly made up from Soundies (precursor to music videos) from the 30's & 40's. The one exception is the Mills Brothers joined by Nat King Cole on "Opus One" gleened from "The Nat King Cole Show". The sound and picture rank in the acceptable range, due to technology of the day, and the march of time. Fun & highly entertaining."