Sinatra DVD Review

Frank Sinatra, Old Blue Eye, The Chairman of the Board is one of music’s biggest icons. Frank Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Frank showed an interest in singing at a young age, and would often sing for the customers at his mother’s speak-easy. While in his teen years, Frank decided to pursue singing as a profession, making several attempts to break into the business through auditions and try-outs.

Crest-fallen, Sinatra retreated to the Jersey shore, where he met Nancy Barbato a young girl next door type who was fell instantly for Frank’s charms. Nancy’s father took Frank under his wing, giving him a job as a plasterer and exposing him to opera. Frank used the money he made working for Nancy’s father, to take voice lessons. Frank soon began singing with a trio, together they made up the Hoboken Four until their differences caused them to break-up. In 1939, Tommy Dorsey, famed trombonist and band leader approached Frank Sinatra, inviting him to join his band. Frank joined the band, and began touring. Around the same time, Frank married Nancy Barbato, his first of three wives. It was with Nancy that Frank had his three children, Nancy Sinatra, Frank Sinatra Jr., and Tina Sinatra.

Frank Sinatra soon began to act in Hollywood films, winning roles in several films including From Here to Eternity, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

The 1992 biographical mini-series simply titled Sinatra tells depicts the tumultuous, topsy-turvy career and personal life of music’s most famous performer. It starts with a young Frank creating mischief on the streets of Hoboken and singing in his parent’s saloon. The mini series quickly transitions into a teen aged Frank, (Phillip Casnoff, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Material Girls). During his teenage years, Frank began pursuing music and his first love, Nancy Barbato (Gina Gershon, Bound, Face/Off). Frank’s aspirations were lauded by his mother Dolly, (Olympia Dukakis, Mighty Aphrodite, Mr. Holland’s Opus) and despised by his father, Marty, creating a great deal of tension and self doubt in the young performer. As the young Frank became more and more famous another starlet caught his eye, the world famous Ava Gardner (Marcia Gay Harden, The First Wives Club, Miller’s Crossing).

Sinatra, the mini-series, received a Golden Globe in 1993 for its portrayal of the man by the same name. Now, 16 years later it is being released on DVD for the first time. No expense seems to have been spared in the production of Sinatra. The series is exquisitely filmed and boasts outstanding performances from the cast. Sinatra was produced by daughter Tina Sinatra and boasts more than two dozen Frank Sinatra standards, most of which were taken from master recordings.

The only criticism that can be made about Sinatra is the quality of the DVD release. Little to no effort was made in restoring the film, allowing a great deal of film grain and damage to make it to the final scan. Similarly, the film is simply presented with a stereo soundtrack.