Tony Bennett - An American Classic [Blu-ray]

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Tony Bennett - An American Classic [Blu-ray]

Starring: Tony Bennett, Christina Aguilera, Billy Crystal, k.d. lang, Chris Botti
Directed by: Rob Marshall
Binding: Blu-ray
Published: 2006-12-12

$19.99

Tony Bennett - An American Classic [Blu-ray]

Editorial Review:

Following it's successful broadcast on NBC this past Thanksgiving, the Emmy and Grammy-award winning "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" was released on Blu-ray December 12, 2006. Created and directed by acclaimed director Rob Marshall (Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha), An American Classic is a ground breaking show staged as a contemporary reinvention of the variety special. In this "Docu-Musical", Marshall and his entire Academy-Award winning creative team take us on an emotional musical journey of this legendary entertainer's life by re-creating the seminal venues of Tony's career: from the 52nd street swing club to the early Columbia recording studio; from the classic TV studios of the '60's to the "rat pack" Las Vegas stage; from Carnegie Hall to his triumphant performance on "MTV Unplugged". Throughout, Tony performs his greatest hits while joined by many of the superstars that appear with him on his recently released, platinum-selling Duets album. This show invites us to celebrate the life of who Frank Sinatra called "the greatest singer ever." As the special ends, Tony Bennett takes the empty stage, this time alone, to deliver a definitive version of his signature classic "I Left My Heart In San Francisco".
High concept and high class, An American Classic is a worthy visual complement to Tony Bennett's 2006 duets CD of the same name. The notion of pairing veteran artists with a variety of singing partners is nothing new, of course (cf. B.B. King and Frank Sinatra, among many others), but this one goes a step further; under the direction of Rob Marshall (Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha) and his team, Bennett appears in what's described as a "docu-musical," faithfully re-creating a variety of performance settings much like the ones in which the 80-year-old singer has appeared in the course of his long, fruitful career. Thus we find him on a concert stage with Barbra Streisand ("Smile"), in a nightclub with John Legend (a swinging, uptempo "Sing, You Sinners"), in the studio with k.d. lang and trumpeter Chris Botti ("Because of You"), on a '60s-style TV variety show with Diana Krall (a classy "The Best is Yet to Come"), in Vegas with Elton John ("Rags To Riches") and then Michael Buble (an amusing "Just in Time"), and so forth, on up to Bennett's triumphant shot on MTV Unplugged with Christina Aguilera (no jazz singer, but she keeps most of her excesses in check on "Steppin' Out") and the inevitable "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (Bennett with piano accompaniment only). It's all very respectful, well staged, and entertainingly choreographed, but if this 45-minute cavalcade has a significant shortcoming, it's that it mostly lacks fire and spontaneity; the only time Bennett cuts loose is during an audio-only "I Got Rhythm" heard under the various DVD menus. Viewers may also be disappointed that Sting, Bono, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, the Dixie Chicks, and several others on the CD do not appear here, and it's a notable drag that not a single one of the composers or arrangers of the material is identified. Bonus features include a "making of" documentary and other featurettes. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

Tony B:

Bluray looks good on my 1080P, but I could have saved money by sticking with my regular DVD.

Good:

Excellent picture quality, the Blu-ray is outstanding.
Was somewhat dissapointed with the length of the disk, felt somewhat cheated.

Great DVD!:

Great performances both from Tony Bennet and the guests stars. Beautifully combined the songs with the introductions from the actors.
His voice is magic as usual.

Sinatra said, "he is the best singer because he moves me":

Everybody loves Tony Bennett. And see who he sings with:
- Barbra Streisand
- K.D. Lang plus Chris Botti in one number (Because of You)
- John Legend
- Diana Krall
- Elton John
- Michael Buble
- Christina Aguilera
And the Tony Bennett great dancers.
This concert is worth every invested dollar. Plus you get outstanding PQ and audio in 5.1 uncompressed PCM.

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