Movin' with Nancy

Long before MTV started, Nancy Sinatra walked right ahead of the pack with a wonderful TV Special containing videos of her hit songs with imaginitive scenery and precise staging. This special will soon be re-released I am told and would be a welcome addition to video collectors world wide. Top rating to a talented performer!!

When this Emmy Award-winning NBC-TV special first aired back in 1967, another part of the entertainment industry was celebrating its 40th anniversary: Warner Bros.' "The Jazz Singer", the first "talking" motion picture starring Al Jolson had its premiere in 1927. Unfortunately, that slice of cinema history held up at the time like a lead balloon. But with "Movin' With Nancy," the reaction today is quite different. The show actually looks better in the present and reflects what we are seeing in the current musical front, fitting in surprisingly well. At the time of it's original airing, a well-known film and television critic lambasted the show, accusing Ms. Sinatra of looking like a pizza waitress and describing her talent as a performer as "a hash slinger slumming it up in an Andy Warhol movie." So, her voice didn't measure up to Barbra Streisand; maybe not even Petula Clark. But her own particular style was certainly pleasant enough and she (lip-synced) quite well to many of her hits including "Sugar Town", "Friday's Child", "Jackson" and "Some Velvet Morning" (the latter two with the legendary Lee Hazlewood). My only regret was that she didn't perform her biggest hit "Boots" on the special, a decision that she also later regretted. Alas, maybe when this DVD gets a well-deserved re-issue, she'll include the sparkling video she made of the song back in 1966 as one of the "extras." The Swinging Sixties never looked so good!

Nancy Sinatra's TV special (originally aired on the night of Dec. 11, 1967) has arrived on DVD in immaculate condition. It has built up such a mystique over the years that most people probably expect GENIUS. Well, there's a touch of genius in it. It's campy, most of all, and could benefit from better pacing, but if you love Nancy Sinatra you'll love "Movin' With Nancy". To review it is to review her. She wears a variety of wigs and outfits, incredible eye make-up, she shakes her groove thang with Sammy Davis, Jr., cuddles up with father Frank (who is delightfully loose, warm and paternal), and trades stiff quips with so-droll-he's-drifting-off Dean Martin. My favorite part of the show is Nancy singing "This Town" to a host of mannequins. I enjoyed "Younger Than Springtime" and the tribute to Ol Blue Eyes. The RC Cola commercials from 1967 are included as well, and are wonderful (Nancy in the white "cell" is breathtaking--striking poses like Mariah Carey's big sister). But the show just doesn't MOVE! There's no urgency in her singing, no passion in the staging of the songs, odd and/or awkward touches and cut-aways, variety-show choreography. The songs play well on CD, but coupled with the visual, you ache for more excitement in both. It's a mixed-bag. Nancy-fanatics will just rate it a '10' and end the argument.

I bought this dvd for my dad as he is a devoted Dean Martin fan. Dean Martin sings one or two songs on this show. But what really surprised me was the stunning performance of Nancy Sinatra. This dvd really has some great songs. Everything is filmed in that typical 60's style with a bit of psychedelic atmosphere. Great to watch and a must buy for Nancy fans.

This is a vignette into "mainstream" 60's pop culture --- mid 60's really. It's a gem for what it is, even though it's contrived throughout and Nancy is obviously feigning emotion in many of the scenes. But it captures a part of 60's culture that is fading away these days. Mike Myers incorporated snapshots of this time into his Austin Powers films, but this is the real thing as it was --- unadulterated by later re-interpretation. There is an overarching sense of white-gloved grace combined with restraint and yet also fun --- which is hard to describe until you see this and can understand the feeling. That was the mid 60's. It was a time with the culture of the 50's still lingering, yet current times were changing significantly. It's definitely worth seeing to be able to experience the feeling of that period.

Now that this DVD is unavailable (unless you're a collector and want to pay $$$), you should keep any copies you can find for a reasonable price.