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List Price: $24.99Amazon.com's Price: $21.99 You Save: $3.00 (12%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0014381053524
Format: Black & White, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Label: Image Entertainment
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Image Entertainment
Region Code: 1
Release Date: May 08, 2001
Running Time: 80 minutes
Sales Rank: 18264
Studio: Image Entertainment
Theatrical Release Date: May 08, 2001
Editorial Review:
Description:
Before Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tom Jones, Tony Bennett or Engelbert Humperdinck ever played the stages of Vegas, there was Louis Prima. One of America's most hypnotic and original performers, Prima's career spanned several decades and turned out hits like 'That Old Black Magic,' 'Sing, Sing, Sing,' 'Just a Gigolo,' 'I Ain't Got Nobody' and 'Jump, Jive an' Wail.' In Disney's animated classic 'The Jungle Book,' Prima created the 'hep' voice of King Louie the orangutan. This film profiles the magnetic Louis Prima in a nostalgic historical journey through the music scenes of a racy New Orleans, the swinging jazz culture of uptown New York and Las Vegas's 'formative' years. As a solo act or with his wife, acclaimed singer Keely Smith, Louis Prima was and will forever be the 'wildest' man in show business!
Additional interviews; Full-length performances of 'Basin Street Blues,' 'Oh, Babe!' and 'Waitin' on the Robert E. Lee;' Audio-only bonus songs: 'Sing, Sing, Sing,' 'Robin Hood' and 'Please No Squeeza Da Banana'
Amazon.com:
He may have been 'just a gigolo,' but it's easy to understand why Louis Prima continues to find audiences both young and old. The trumpeter and bandleader was at the forefront of the rock & roll movement, he was the epitome of the cool, singing and swinging Italian crooner ('Oh Marie'), and he achieved immortality as King Louie in Disney's Jungle Book. But the entertainer also went through five wives, struggled to keep up with new musical trends, and, ultimately, will be remembered as one of the world's great lounge acts.
Louis Prima: The Wildest chronicles his rise to fame from his early years in the French Quarter of New Orleans to his glory days in Sin City. Interviews with jazz critics, former wife Keely Smith, and numerous bandmates abound in this well-made documentary. But the real highlight for Prima fans will be the live music footage, showcasing Smith and Prima singing in their prime, his crackerjack band that knew how to swing, twist, and (yes) rock when it mattered, and Prima's incredible stage presence. The fascinating footage is abundant here- -from 'Chinatown' to 'Sing, Sing, Sing' to an awe-inspiring performance of 'I'm in the Mood for Love.' No one can ever sum up what makes Prima so magical, but the music speaks for itself. Added DVD features include some uncut concert performances and a few audio-only bonus tracks. --Jason Verlinde
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - The Wildest at his Best!
If you enjoy the music of Louis Prima, buy this DVD - no ifs, ands, or buts. Rare photos, movie clips, and television footage document Prima's career from his early years in New Orleans up through his final performances in the 1970s. Interviews with Prima's brother, Leon, two of his five wives, Keely Smith and Gia Maione, saxophonist Sam Butera, drummer Jimmy Vincent, and others make this highly informative and enjoyable. Of course, it is the Big Man himself who steals the show. I guarantee that ... Read More
Rating: - The Perfect Prima Primer!
This DVD release of a film that won the audience award for best documentary at the Hamptons Int.film Festival in /99 is a welcome and most fitting tribute to one the best entertainers in the music world.
Watching Prima and his band was/is like watching a cross between a Mexican jumping bean and a volcano.They all jump around the stage until the time is right then they erupt with that beautiful musical explosion.The minute Prima sang he had you hook,line and sinker.I've seen very few entertainers ... Read More
Rating:  - Stupendous!
Boy, you are lucky guys out there; this is still not available in the UK region standard (PAL), so I actually had to go out and buy a multi-standard DVD player so I could watch this DVD from amazon.com USA. It was worth it! Just being able to see the great man live or on tv shows is a must, and kids should know what a big influence Louis was to everyone, from Sinatra on thru.
Rating: - LOUIS PRIMA: THE WILDEST and THE BEST!!!!
The filmakers chose to concentrate on the music here. And there is a great wealth of rare and fabulous LOUIS PRIMA performance clips in this film highlighted by extended clips from PRIMA's ground breaking 1959 ED SULLIVAN SHOW appearances..most having not been seen since the day they were first broadcasted I suspect. I am told that Louis didn't have too much to say except when his horn was in his mouth..I think this doc clearly brings that home. Good informative interviews with family memebers, managers ... Read More
Rating: - El Primo
It's all in the live footage. Interspersed among somewhat predictable interviews ( bar the talks with Sam Butera ) it's dynamite. For the ones of us who never got to experience King Louis in the flesh, this gives a hint of what it must've been like.
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