Tony Bennett - An American Classic [Blu-ray] | ![Tony Bennett - An American Classic [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41uV-p2BJqL._SL500_.jpg)
| Director: Rob Marshall
Actors: Tony Bennett, Christina Aguilera, Billy Crystal, k.d. lang, Chris Botti
Studio: Sony
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy New: $10.25
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Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 23779
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: Blu-ray
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 42 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 5.1 x 0.5
MPN: 88697028329
UPC: 886970283298
EAN: 0886970283298
ASIN: B000K7UG16
Theatrical Release Date: November 21, 2006
Release Date: December 12, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | This television program examines the life and career of Tony Bennett. Revisiting all the hotspots where Bennet established himself and built a reputation, AN AMERICAN CLASSIC makes stops in Greenwich Village, the Columbia recording studios, Las Vegas, and Carnegie Hall. The film consists of re-recreations of key moments in the singer's life, with special appearances by artists including Stevie |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
High concept and high class, An American Classic is a worthy visual complement to Tony Bennett's 2006 duets CD of the same name. The notion of pairing veteran artists with a variety of singing partners is nothing new, of course (cf. B.B. King and Frank Sinatra, among many others), but this one goes a step further; under the direction of Rob Marshall (Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha) and his team, Bennett appears in what's described as a "docu-musical," faithfully re-creating a variety of performance settings much like the ones in which the 80-year-old singer has appeared in the course of his long, fruitful career. Thus we find him on a concert stage with Barbra Streisand ("Smile"), in a nightclub with John Legend (a swinging, uptempo "Sing, You Sinners"), in the studio with k.d. lang and trumpeter Chris Botti ("Because of You"), on a '60s-style TV variety show with Diana Krall (a classy "The Best is Yet to Come"), in Vegas with Elton John ("Rags To Riches") and then Michael Buble (an amusing "Just in Time"), and so forth, on up to Bennett's triumphant shot on MTV Unplugged with Christina Aguilera (no jazz singer, but she keeps most of her excesses in check on "Steppin' Out") and the inevitable "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (Bennett with piano accompaniment only). It's all very respectful, well staged, and entertainingly choreographed, but if this 45-minute cavalcade has a significant shortcoming, it's that it mostly lacks fire and spontaneity; the only time Bennett cuts loose is during an audio-only "I Got Rhythm" heard under the various DVD menus. Viewers may also be disappointed that Sting, Bono, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, the Dixie Chicks, and several others on the CD do not appear here, and it's a notable drag that not a single one of the composers or arrangers of the material is identified. Bonus features include a "making of" documentary and other featurettes. --Sam Graham
Product Description
This television program examines the life and career of Tony Bennett. Revisiting all the hotspots where Bennet established himself and built a reputation AN AMERICAN CLASSIC makes stops in Greenwich Village the Columbia recording studios Las Vegas and Carnegie Hall. The film consists of re-recreations of key moments in the singer's life with special appearances by artists including Stevie Wonder Elton John Barbara Streisand and Christina Aguilera.Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: MUSIC DVD/CONCERTS UPC: 886970283298 Manufacturer No: 88697028329
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
 Rob Marshall's Creative Energy Sparks a Worthy, Ultra-Stylish Celebration of Bennett's Career November 26, 2006
Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA)
25 out of 26 found this review helpful
To accompany his lustrous "Duets" CD, perennial crooner Tony Bennett recruited some first-rank talent behind and before the cameras to help him produce this remarkable TV special to commemorate his 80th birthday. It is at once a throwback to the network variety specials from the 1960's and 70's (before pay-cable rendered them obsolete) and a reinvention of the format incorporating biographical elements within the context of mini-video performances. The result aired on NBC earlier this week as an hour-long special. Without commercials, the program scarcely runs forty minutes, but it remains a superbly crafted showcase for a timeless singer. Thanks to Rob Marshall's innovative conception and immaculate direction, the show follows a roughly chronological timeline of Bennett's career with nine starry-eyed duets connected by brief snippets of his professional milestones.
Things start on a high note with Bennett in an empty theater singing Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" joined by a mellifluous-sounding Barbra Streisand, his most accomplished partner for the evening. In a jazz nightclub setting, he is surrounded by the acrobatic Tony Bennett Dancers and swings though "Sing, You Sinners" with a confident John Legend. In a recording booth at Columbia Studios, Bennett sings his first hit, "Because of You" accompanied by smoky vocals from k.d. lang and a languorous trumpet solo by Chris Botti. Visually, my favorite part of the program is the black-and-white recreation of the 1960's-style variety show complete with dancers in sailor tops and Capri pants. In this segment, Diana Krall joins Bennett on a finger-snapping "The Best Is Yet to Come" followed by a sonorous version of "The Shadow of Your Smile" given a samba-accented makeover by Columbian rock singer Juanes.
The inevitable Vegas sequence features a bevy of feather-fanned showgirls. In this milieu, Bennett is joined by Elton John on a jaunty "Rags to Riches", by new-jack crooner Michael Bublé on a swinging "Just in Time" (whose Dean Martin-style behavior may rankle the more feminist-minded), and finally by a surprisingly stationary Stevie Wonder leaning heavily on his melisma on his own "For Once in My Life" (which includes his trademark harmonica interlude). To show his popularity with the current crop of chart-toppers, Bennett is joined by a retro-styled Christina Aguilera and the dancers in full Fosse mode on "Steppin' Out". It all ends appropriately with a shimmering solo of Bennett's signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco".
Providing the spoken interludes between the performances are Billy Crystal, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bruce Willis, John Travolta and Robert DeNiro. At about 45 minutes in total, the extras on the DVD actually last longer than the special itself. They start with a 2 1/2-minute trailer and go right into footage of the dancers rehearsing their four production numbers. What follows is an extensive making-of featurette which features interviews with Marshall, choreographer John DeLuca and other key members of the creative staff interspersed with behind-the-scenes footage.
Where are the clowns? November 24, 2006
Bruce London
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
I've seen Tony 5 times live and have all his records. The dvd was great, what there was of it! PLEASE, what happened to the filming with Sting, Bono, Celine, Mcgraw etc??????If time was a problem then I have no problem with the edited program-a one hour special on TV. BUT, why didn't Sony film the rest and offer it to us on a full length dvd???I would gladly have paid for a complete film. Shame on you Sony!
 Tony Bennett American Classic December 24, 2006
R. Stapleford (Nashua New Hampshire)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
This DVD was excellent as far as it went. However I saw the show when it was presented on TV. I was very disappointed that when veiwing the DVD at least four maybe more artists were left off . I never would have bought this product had I known that it was not complete. I feel cheated and want others to realize that they are not getting a complete show.
Tony B Blu-ray February 21, 2007
Cherilyn A. Jepsen
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Outstanding duets. Tony Bennett again multi-generational. That's why he's still winning awards. LOVE the blu-ray format.
This disc is encoded for a 16x9 anamorphic picture... December 22, 2006
Al Lutz (West Hollywood, CA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
...and offers the choice of a rich sounding PCM Stereo (default) or an atmospheric (and tastefully restrained) 5.1 Dolby Digital surround mix (offered via the audio set-up menu). All of the bonus material is also presented in 16x9 anamorphic and in stereo - "enhanced for widescreen televisions." The show really takes advantage of this movie-like format - adding to the classy elegance of the, alas, much-too-short presentation.
I only note this here because nowhere on the packaging or on the disc itself is this information offered. It's obvious this was shot in HD, and apparently there will also be a Blu-Ray release of this title.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
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