Le chanteur de jazz

Yeah, Neil Diamond wasn't really much of an actor here, but Lucie Arnaz was great. Not only fun and charming, but she really showed she could act. Great screen presence-- you just wanted to hang out with her!

I wish more people had seen her in this.

Wonderful version of a cantor's son in conflict over his orthodox Jewish beliefs and his desire to be a singing star.

The only major flaw that I had with this film is that by the orthodox Jewish people, there is no accommodation made whatsoever in the field of intermarriage. If it occurs, the person intermarrying is regarded as dead as depicted in the film.

Caitlin Adams, who portrayed Jesse's wife Rivka, is true to life since she chose to break with her husband due to her orthodox beliefs. Others might argue that their marriage was headed towards a downward spiral anyway.

Laurence Olivier is absolutely mesmerizing as Diamond's father. His authentic Jewish accent and tearing his clothes are memorable.

Diamond's voice is superb and is acting is on par for the role. "Love on the Rocks," as well as "Acapulco," and "Coming to America" are wonderfully staged.

In the world of today, we need understanding and accommodation and that's exactly what we get in this fine film.

I try to go into a movie uncolored with opinions, and thankfully hadn't heard any negative reviews on this one prior to seeing it for the first time in 1980. That allowed me to view it with an open mind.

The score is superb. It's what makes the movie what it is. The songs fit the mood in every scene, and are all well-placed. The acting, while not the best I've ever seen, isn't nearly as bad as made out to be by critics. Let's face it. Neil Diamond is not an actor. He is a singer, a performer. In this movie he does that very well. And yet, he manages to pull off his character, Yussel Rabinovich, without a hitch. His scenes with Sir Lawrence Olivier are touching and believable. They are indeed a good match as father and son cantors. But for Yussel, his heritage isn't enough. His music roots drive him, and that's what he sets out to discover. Against the will of his father, and over the protest of his wife Rivka, he leaves his home in New York for L.A. and seeks his destiny.

Lucie Arnaz turns in a good performance as Molly Bell, a "retired" music promoter who sees potential in Yussel and takes him under her wing. What follows is a tug-of-war, a battle of values---old and new---as Neil's character, now Jess Robin, climbs the charts professionally, yet never really forgets where he came from.

Watching Neil perform in this movie is like seeing one of his concerts. He's all-show, and not a bit shy. When he picks up a guitar, you know you're in for a treat, and he does music as only he can. It's a great story, well-told and, on the whole, well-acted. Neil gives emotions where called for. But in this movie, the music's the star. That's where Neil really delivers.

A Jewish man, Yussel Rabinovitch, seems destined for a life in the synagogue. Every generation of Rabinovitches for five generations has served in the synagogue and his father can't imagine any other path for him. However, Rabinovitch would prefer to be a singer and gets finds success writing and playing secular music. When this leads to a recording contract he has to choose between his passion and tradition, a choice that will alienate him from his father.

The original The Jazz Singer was released in 1927 and starred the legendary Al Jolson in the lead role. It told roughly the same story and was an historic movie in that it featured the first ever audible words uttered on film. (For the next Trivia evening, those words were "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet!"). The story itself was rather dry, predictable and trite - it is only really watchable for the history attached to it.

This, the 1980 version, updates the story and casts Neil Diamond, at the height of his powers and fame, in the lead role. The story remains fairly basic, however - there's nothing too profound, original or engaging about it.

However, what makes the movie is the music. Neil Diamond wrote the soundtrack and it includes some his greatest songs. These get a lot of airtime, in one form or another. More than just good in isolation, the music gives the film energy. The minutes seem to fly by due to the music.

Not a must-see, but certainly not dull.

I love Neil Diamond. I had always heard of this film, but never knew what it was about, what type of reviews it got... anything. So I Netflixed it this weekend, and I loved it. There were even times where I got choked up in parts.

So I came on here, saw the negative overall reviews, and was SHOCKED when I learned Neil won the Razzie Award for Worst Actor for this. I thought he did a very fine job. The story unfolded very nicely, the love story was genuine... I would say this film was even better than the "music" genre film Dreamgirls.

Sure it had it's glitches here and there, but for the most part I was very pleased.