Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
A mixed blessing for Alma fans, 25 Oct 2006
A big part of Alma's success was her visual appeal, for example those dresses. Now anyone who isn't familiar with her glamourous performances can go and buy this DVD. It's the only commercially available one, and may well remain so. So Odeon have done us a great service in that respect - any Alma Cogan DVD deserves a thumbs-up in my opinion.
The main feature is of course Alma's "Fabulous" story. Her story isn't so fabulous when you consider the fact she never married, had declining success in the 60s, and died at a tragically young age. Having said that, I suppose her 50s story, when she was one of the biggest names in British showbiz, WAS rather fabulous. Anyway - to those of us familiar with Alma's story, a lot of this is a retread. As for the talking heads, well, any appreciation of Alma is good in my book.
First of all, it wasn't made clear that you aren't hearing Alma on the voiceover, it's an actress. Secondly, it wasn't made clear that it wasn't even Alma's words she was reading. Unless they had access to unseen memoirs she wrote!
My main problem with the documentary was that the footage of Alma singing in colour is taken from the two Eric Winstone Stagecoach shorts she appeared in. These two shorts are included in full as extras on the DVD. So we get the same footage twice. Those shorts are great when Alma's singing. As for the rest, Eric Winstone's Orchestra wasn't my cup of tea - and that makes up a large fraction of the films, as they were HIS films! Marion Ryan and Ray Ellington also appear and sing songs. Ray I wasn't so keen on, but it's a valuable record of him performing. Marion's number is great. If you're into 50s nostalgia, these films being included in full is a great bonus.
The documentary was also rather misleading in other parts. Discussion of Alma singing on the Ed Sullivan show. Followed by a British performance of Alma singing (IIRC) 'I Got Rhythm'! Discussion of Alma's famous parties - followed by footage from a Variety Club luncheon with stars who were seen at her parties. 'Some of These Days' was also NOT performed by Alma when the 'music historian' claims it was. She sung it a long time before that. And I'm all for Alma holding records, Paul Gambaccini, but please don't attribute records to her that she doesn't hold!
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Seen before clips/stills/'footage'.., 22 Oct 2006
A bit of a let down this DVD on singer Alma.
It is almost a carbon copy of the BBC's Lime Grove Bank Holiday screening in 1991! There is very little new footage (of which there is considerable)
in this release.Anecdotes are few and far between, altogether dissapointing.
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