The Spoken Words That Caused A Sensation In "The Jazz Singer" (1927).

While reading "A Brief History of Cinema," I stumbled across a clip that I found very intriguing. The clip above is the first time sound and image synced together. Of course, that seems obvious to us now in 2023, but those were unheard of back in 1904. Sam Warner was the genius behind the idea and 1/2 of the Warner Brothers Co, one of the world's most successful and largest film-making industries. Nobody believed him, naturally. If someone approached me with something I had previously thought impossible, I would feel the same way.

Nevertheless, Sam persisted, and soon enough, he would plead for the funds to eventually fuel this dream that he would quickly make a reality. On October 6th, 1927, "The Jazz Singer" was released, and it was a huge success. Unfortunately, Sam was not there to witness his accomplishments, as he passed the day before the premiere. This clip is monumental and historic because it was the first time someone could have a visual recording of something along with an audio recording. It was like he broke the rules of life. Nobody has ever seen anything like this before. Because of his "discovery/research, he paved the way for thousands of filmmakers after him to make magnificent films and other media.  

Looking at the cinematography from this short clip, I noticed that there weren't a lot of switches in angles, especially in the scene in which the main character "Jakie" is playing the piano for his mother. The camera doesn't shift during their dialog, which would be highly peculiar for a movie nowadays. Directors tend to have the camera facing each person while they speak, getting close shots, long shots, medium shots, etc. I am assuming the reason for the so-called "lack" in cinematography is simply because they didn't discover its effect on the audience. Plus, I'm sure it was much harder to move a camera in the 1930s than now.

What I find particularly fascinating about movies from this era is the amount of physical emotions and body language required to portray an elaborate story before sound with characters, plots, and climaxes, all without the help of sound. That was incredibly impressive looking back. If someone told you to retell a story only using your face and body and a couple of props, could you do it? I couldn't. I think that's also part of the reason why things shifted culturally as well. The use of overexaggerated faces and slapstick comedy wasn't as necessary anymore. Someone didn't have to be hit over the head with a pretend hammer to get a laugh; now, a simple joke could have the same effect.

    Another thing I noted was that I didn't see a single black person in the clips I watched. That isn't exactly a shocker, given the era in which this was filmed. Still, it is unfortunate that the black community was left out of many monumental discoveries and pieces of time, specifically in the film era. Doing a bit more research, I found the main character, "Jakie," played by Al Jolson, did blackface frequently. As unfortunate as that was to discover, one must remember that this was socially acceptable back then, whether it was right or not. We know better now, but seeing someone do something so outwardly offensive is still shocking. Putting that aside, I'm sure watching this film when it first came out was a bombshell for everyone during that period. By this point, anyone alive when the movie came out or starred in the film is long gone. This artifact is a remembrance of a time before modern technology and allows us to see cinematography's great history.