The Blues-Godfathers and Sons (2003) |
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The Blues-Godfathers and Sons (2003) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Documentary |
Main Menu Audio Additional Footage-Bonus Performances Music Highlights-Songs From The Film Audio Commentary-Marc Levin (Director) Interviews-Crew-Marc Levin (Director) Biographies-Crew-Marc Levin (Director) Filmographies-Crew-Marc Levin (Director) Trailer-The Blues Trailer Trailer-Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, Down By Law, Trailer-Shane Maloney-The Brush-Off & Stiff, Live Forever, Amandla! Trailer-You See Me Laughin' |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2003 | ||
| Running Time | 96:12 (Case: 133) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (65:02) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | Directed By | Marc Levin |
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Studio
Distributor |
Vulcan Productions Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Marshall Chess Chuck D |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
| RPI | $29.95 | Music | None Given |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 5.0 (448Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | Yes | ||
| Subtitles | None | Smoking | Yes |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
This entry in the series The Blues: A Musical Journey is directed by Marc Levin, a director with whom I am unfamiliar. This episode looks at the Chicago Blues scene through the eyes of two men: Marshall Chess and Chuck D. Chess was the son and nephew of the co-founders of Chess Records, who released pioneering blues and rock'n'roll recordings in the 1950s, and who later went on to work with The Rolling Stones. Chuck D is a member of the seminal hip-hop band Public Enemy.
This film looks at the development of Chicago Blues via Chess reuniting Electric Mud, a band that produced under his aegis an album that Chuck D claims was a big influence on him. That album featured the late Muddy Waters, of whom we see some footage in this film, as well as Howlin' Wolf and others.
The ever-smiling Chess leads us through a journey back to the original buildings where the records were made, while Chuck D enthuses over the old blues men that they meet. Unfortunately, this does not make for much of a film, and it tends to get either grating or boring or both at times. There is a bit too much talk and too little music, and the linkage between blues and hip-hop seems to be tenuous at best. If you are a fan of the music or the series, then you will want to check this release out, but I would not recommend it otherwise.
The programme is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
This is probably the best transfer of the five episodes in this series that I have reviewed. There are few artefacts and the video looks very good. While it is not as sharp as a native PAL original would look, the loss of detail is slight. Colour is acceptably realistic. Contrast and brightness levels are good.
Some of the archival footage shows lots of film artefacts. The only film to video artefact I noticed was some aliasing, but there is much less of this than in some of the previous episodes.
There are no subtitles. The disc is RSDL-formatted, with the layer change fairly unobtrusively placed during a dialogue sequence at 65:02.
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| Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
| Film Artefacts | |
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There are three audio tracks. Aside from the commentary, the main options are Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0. I listened to the former.
This audio mix does not use the full range of possibilities of the surround medium. Much of the programme is delivered across the front channels, with the rears used for ambience. There seem to be no low frequency effects at all, even when the music includes plenty of thumping bass. The subwoofer remains quiet throughout.
Dialogue is clean and clear, and the music comes across very well, if lacking in the last few ounces of clarity.
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The main theme for the series is heard under the static menu.
Several additional or extended performances, including some historical footage of Howlin' Wolf.
Basically extracts from the film, without any attempt to make the beginnings or ends clean.
An enthusiastic commentary from the director with few dead spots. Not bad of its type.
An interview with the director where he talks about how he came on board the project and what he was trying to achieve.
A five page text biography of the director.
As you would guess, a complete filmography.
The lengthy trailer for the series.
Madman propaganda.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The major difference between the Region 4 version and the Region 2 version from the UK is that the latter seems to have a Linear PCM track instead of the Dolby Digital 2.0 track. Not enough to recommend the Region 2 over the Region 4.
The Region 1 release seems to have the same specifications as the Region 4.
A fairly uninvolving entry in this series of programmes.
The video quality is quite good, as is the audio quality.
Pretty much the same range of extras as each of the episodes in this series.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-S733A, using Component output |
| Display | Sony 86CM Trinitron Wega KVHR36M31. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to DVD player, Dolby Digital, dts and DVD-Audio. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. |
| Amplification | Sony TA-DA9000ES |
| Speakers | Main: Tannoy Revolution R3; Centre: Tannoy Sensys DCC; Rear: Richter Harlequin; Subwoofer: JBL SUB175 |