DVD The Frank Sinatra
Collection
Happy Holidays from Frank and Bing
Vintage Sinatra
Review by Joe Viglione
DVD: The Frank Sinatra Collection
Happy Holidays from Frank and Bing
Vintage Sinatra
Review by Joe Viglione
This beautiful package from Eagle Vision/Universal is unique
in that new magic is injected into what are over-played
holiday favorites when this time of the season rolls around. “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” as performed
here embracing unique nuances, as does Frank Sinatra’s rendition of “Santa
Claus is coming to Town.” Be it the
audio playing with its big band brass or the wonderful film texture pleasing to
the eye (such a lost art in the digital age,)
the 1957 Christmas TV special is remarkable in its warmth and how it
captures these talents without distractions. This critic was a mere three years
old when the Sinatra/Crosby presentation aired so if it played on the family TV
it didn’t register until viewing this DVD package. Bing Crosby and Frank engaging in The
Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) has the two icons merging
their deep voices into a timeless interpretation of the timeless classic, with
a quiet segue into Bing’s all-time multi-million selling smash “White
Christmas.” A solitary figure against the window, joined by Frank for a chorus,
perfectly framed and looking like it is out of an expensive Hollywood movie.
They just don’t make them like this anymore.
With music from Nelson Riddle and directed by Frank Sinatra himself,
there are no quick cuts every ten seconds as you find today. Just a delightful
collection of music that is perpetual every December put together with love and
care. Performance, technical expertise and magic. A wonder why this is not a perennial favorite
on television and radio, but that’s the times we are in. Pure class.
The DVD then flips to black and white with “Come Fly with
Me,” a selection from the 1950’s TV show which is narrated by Frank Sinatra
Jr., Nancy Sinatra and Tina Sinatra.
Elegant reminisces by the children and rare takes of melodies that this
generation would know from use in modern films, these black and white
performances give a glimpse into a past when significant performers were using
this medium before it became cluttered on the “information superhighway”
decades later. “Night and Day” oozes out
with exquisite majesty, smoothly and in an attractive fashion missing from the
plethora of concerts taped and aired as if off an assembly line in the new
millennium. The textbook is here for
that superhighway of information, the contributions from his offspring as
enlightening as their dad’s work is entertaining …and equally historical.
A collection for the ages.
