The Incomparable Lena Horne
Picture: C-
Sound: C Extras: C- Episode and Film: B
In another good DVD with archival materials, no matter
their age, The Incomparable Lena Horne is a fine set of items on the
legendary, groundbreaking singer. The
main program is actually around a half-hour, from British TV that serves as a
fine biography on her life and history professionally and personally. It packs all kinds of footage and facts into
its short space, but is the best crash course anyone will likely ever come up
with to tell her story. The fact that
it is British makes it more informative due to the “intelligent outsider”
factor.
The Duke Is Tops is an independently produced
feature film, made in 1938 for the Million Dollar Productions group and was
later reissued as The Bronze Venus in 1943. William L. Nolte directed the Harry M./Leo C. Popkin-produced
film. Oddly, the film has two A.S.C.
cinematographers: Robert Cline and Henry Kruse. This is an example of the segregated “Negro Cinema” that existed
until certain powers did what it could to crush it, but is not a bad film at
all and one of the more interesting entries in that production era. Besides its historical importance, it is
more or less a Backstage Musical.
Though some would complain that it relegates African Americans to
entertainment performers, it is not as simple as that. This is a good film where the characters are
portrayed with dignity and intelligence, something most films I have seen this
year lack. That is a great combination
of key programs on Horne fans will especially want. The film is about 75 minutes long.
The full frame 1.33 X 1 image quality is not great, with
the color bleeding a bit on the documentary and the monochrome footage there
and in the feature film being on the weak side in its gray scale. In the case of the film, that it survives at
all is amazing, but there has to be a better copy and this one is not a digital
High Definition version, so a restoration should be done later. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is varied, with
the British documentary having the best moments, as expected. Extras beside the feature film include a
brief filmography that mistakenly omits The Wiz (1978, though the
documentary does not) and a stills gallery set to music that goes just over 2.5
minutes. That is a nice extra touch for
such a good disc.
- Nicholas Sheffo
