Pretty Good

I wanted to but couldn't!

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

People are seriously giving this 10 stars? I only give it two for the songs, and only some of them. The single biggest contrivance that stuck out to me was the idea that this seemingly level-headed, mature guy just throws a fit one day in a recording session for no good reason and bails out to become a homeless drifter. The second biggest was that after disappearing for two years, she just welcomes him back with open arms--no woman I know would do that. Or a record company. Or an orthodox Jewish father. As near as I can tell, this whole movie was created to showcase a few Neil Diamond songs; the money would have been better spent filming music videos, but I guess they weren't a thing yet in 1980. The level of suspension of disbelief required to appreciate this plot means one serious bong rip.

A Jewish cantor follows his dreams against his families wishes.Starring Neil Diamond and Laurence Olivier.Written by Samson Raphaelson (Play), Herbert Baker (Screenplay) and Stephen H Foreman (Adaptation).Directed by Richard Fleischer. I can't belief how lowly rated this is on IMDb,I love this film!Okay so it's as cheesy as a packet of Wotsits and there are a few movie clichés here and there but I enjoyed every second of this. I love the story. I love the acting. I loved all the cheesy romantic stuff.There's nothing not to like about The Jazz Singer. It's just good solid escapism. I'm also guessing that it was quite controversial in it's day.Did I tell you that I love this film? Now I need to go on Spotify to listen to more Neil Diamond!10/10

Charter cable's on-demand service usually provides films airing on FLIX and those titles are separated by decade. Last night I selected the menu for the 80s, and I came across the Neil Diamond version of THE JAZZ SINGER, from 1980. Since Dr. Goldman had recently screened the 1927 and 1952 versions on TCM as part of the Projected Image Series without even mentioning this later, more modern one-- I decided to watch it. I had never seen it before.Early in the picture, after Diamond's character starts to go off on his own and sing pop music, he is traveling with his band to a club. On the way there, he finds out it's a black club (which is what he says in the movie). All the guys in his band are black, except for him. When they get to the club and go backstage to get ready, someone has the idea of putting him in black face so he will blend in with the rest of them. We cut to them performing on stage and Diamond is indeed in black face for that number. The camera pans to the crowd and all the patrons are black and they are digging the music. At some point, a guy in the audience realizes Diamond is Jewish, not black, and he is exposed for being 'different.'Personally, I did not find this scene to be offensive-- and I thought it was a rather clever way for the writers to come up with keeping that portion of the Jolson version in the story. I can't remember if Danny Thomas appeared in black face in the second film, but I don't think he did. Neil Diamond's THE JAZZ SINGER was not a huge commercial hit, but it made $27 million at the time of its release ($78 million dollars today using an inflation calculator) and it earned another $4 million with domestic television broadcasts. Obviously a lot of people at the time saw Diamond in black face, and it wasn't enough for the project to fail. The soundtrack went multi-platinum, too. So in a way, this version did have a significant cultural impact, long after the days of Martin Luther King and the civil rights era-- but of course, before our current stranglehold of political correctness.

The Jazz Singer with Neil Diamond is one of my favorite movies. How can anyone say he can't act? Every time I suggest to my husband that we watch it, he usually doesn't want to because he reckons it is one of the saddest movies of all time. I keep saying "They are only acting and it does work out in the end after all" but I still have trouble getting him to watch it and I usually have to agree to watch 'Going my Way" first!!!! Neil Diamond in concert is fabulous. Neil Diamond acting is nearly as good. I also can't understand why Lucy Arnez didn't make it as an actress, having famous parents must be a disadvantage in some cases.