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Releasing Today! “Soundies: The Ultimate Collection”

 

Cover image for "Soundies the Ultimate Collection," coming soon from Kino Lorber

It’s here! All 25 programs and 200 films’ worth. Roughly 10 hours of viewing, pulled from the full breadth of the Soundies catalog.

Each DVD in the 4-disc set explores a different theme, from “Introducing Soundies” and “Musical Evolutions” to “Life in the Soundies Era” and “Women, Sexuality, and Gender.”

Many of the Soundies you’ve enjoyed on this site are included in the package–some of them in spiffy 35mm versions–along with some amazing discoveries and rediscoveries.

Beyond the iconic performances by Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Ricardo Montalban, and other stars, there are Soundies with entertainers you may never have heard of: terrific all-women big bands like the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, early rock n rollers like Maurice Rocco and Harry “The Hipster” Gibson, comic singer-songwriter Cindy Walker, and a washtub solo by Florence Gill, probably the only performer to make a living by clucking like a chicken. 

Ready to  order? There’s a deep discount on Amazon … and a discount on the Kino Lorber website, too.

 

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Soundies Now Streaming on Max

 

Soundies programs streaming on Max

Last summer I did some program consulting for Turner Classic Movies, capped by two nights of Soundies and related feature films in September.

Now, several of those September Soundies–and others that I suggested–are available for streaming on Max (formerly HBO Max).

The 5 programs include an all-star lineup in Season 1, followed by sets on big bands, dance, country-western, and wartime life.

With a little over two weeks to go before the July 25 release of Soundies: The Ultimate Collection, these programs are a terrific preview for Max subscribers.

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Coming Soon! 200 of My Favorite Soundies

 

Cover image for "Soundies the Ultimate Collection," coming soon from Kino Lorber

Exciting news! The Soundies package I’ve been curating for the past two years is headed for release this summer.

On July 25, Kino Lorber will roll out “Soundies the Ultimate Collection,” a 25-program extravaganza showcasing some 200 films. That’s roughly 10 hours’ worth of viewing, pulled from the full breadth of the Soundies catalog.

Each DVD in the 4-disc set explores a different theme, from “Introducing Soundies” and “Musical Evolutions” to “Life in the Soundies Era” and “Women, Sexuality, and Gender.”

Many of the Soundies you’ve enjoyed on this site are included in the package–some of them in spiffy 35mm versions–along with a slew of new discoveries.  As the back-cover blurb puts it:

“Never have so many Soundies been celebrated in one collection, or presented with such care: thematically organized, accompanied by on-screen introductions and a booklet of essays, photos, and credits.”

Ready to put in your advance order (at a 20% discount)? For details, see Soundies the Ultimate Collection on the Kino Lorber website.

More to come as we head toward summer.

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A Soundies Conversation at the Academy Museum in L.A.

 

I’m honored to be part of the Regeneration Summit, a celebration of Black cinema coming to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles this weekend.

I’ll be speaking on the panel “Soundies 101: A Hidden History,” talking about the films, performers, and cultural history that I wrote about in the book.

I’ll be in conversation with artist and media conservation specialist Ina Archer, who did several of the intros for the upcoming Kino Lorber Soundies collection (see the post just below this one); archivist and jazz-on-film scholar Mark Cantor, who was so vital to the book; film researcher Manouchka Labouba; and our moderator Doris Berger, co-curator of the museum’s milestone exhibition “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971.”

The panel is at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 4, followed by a meet-and-greet in the museum bookstore at 2.

If you’re in the LA area, I’d love to see you there.

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Sneak Preview: Shooting the Intros for a New Soundies Collection

 

Ina Archer and Susan Delson in the Library of Congress theater in Culpeper, VA

Last week I was at the Library of Congress Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Virginia with Ina Archer, an artist and media conservation specialist at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

This spring, Kino Lorber will release a collection of Soundies that I curated—24 programs worth. Ina and I were in the LC’s gorgeous Packard Campus Theater to shoot some of the on-camera intros.

We had a blast talking Soundies—everything from Paddy Callahan Has Joined the Army to Emily Brown.

Thanks to everyone at the LC, especially Rob Stone and David, the theater projectionist. And to our indefatigable crew, production manager Heather Buckley and DP Eric Thirteen.

More news about the Kino Lorber Soundies package to come.