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Winter Film FestivalMusic and Song: Sacred vs. Secular The story of the cantor’s son who rejects traditional Jewish ways for the enticements of the modern world has been told many times. During our Winter Film Festival, we will explore the diverse themes addressed in the film adaptations of the Sam Raphaelson play The Jazz Singer, from the famous 1927 version all the way to the 1980 pop music production. According to Entertaining America: Jews, Movies, and Broadcasting, The Jazz Singer is more than a popular play or the first talking picture, it is a story that explores the “charged issues of patriarchal order, family obligation, secular success, assimilation, and racial identity in one melodramatic package”. In each of its various reincarnations, these principal themes are revisited and reinterpreted, highlighting important cultural issues that remain relevant today. As Raphaelson wrote in his preface to the play, “You find the soul of a people in the songs they sing. You find the meaning of the songs in the soul of the minstrels who create and interpret them. In The Jazz Singer, I have attempted an exploration of the soul of one of these minstrels.” Sunday, January 11, we will view the original 1927 film The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson as Jakie, a cantor’s son who rejects his family’s wishes and traditions by heading for Broadway. more info... Sunday, January 25, we will see the 1940 film Overture to Glory, starring the great, real-life cantor Moishe Oysher as a cantor who leaves behind his prayers to perform in the Warsaw Opera. more info... Sunday, February 8, we will view the second screen adaptation of The Jazz Singer, starring Danny Thomas as a cantor who returns home from military service during the Korean War and decides to pursue a career in theater. more info...
Sunday, February 22, we will show the rarely seen film Singing in the Dark. Produced in 1956, this post-Holocaust version of The Jazz Singer tells the story of a concentration camp survivor (once again played by Moishe Oysher) who has amnesia, emigrates to the United States and becomes a night club singer.
Sunday, February 29, we will see the third film version of The Jazz Singer, starring pop singer Neil Diamond as Yussel Rabinowitz, the son of a cantor, who sings and writes songs for a black soul group and moves to California to find success through his music. more info... For more information, including times and ticket prices, please visit our Calendar of Events. |
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