The son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of being a popular singer.The son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of being a popular singer.The son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of being a popular singer.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 10 nominations
Walter Janovitz
- Rabbi Birnbaum
- (as Walter Janowitz)
- Directors
- Richard Fleischer
- Sidney J. Furie(uncredited)
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe scene where Jess Robin (Neil Diamond) performs "You Baby Baby" in the Cinderella Club with an afro and black makeup on was actually done as a minor tribute to Al Jolson, who did The Jazz Singer (1927) in blackface.
- GoofsJess sings to an audience in California in the middle of the movie. At the movie's ending, he is singing to an audience in New York (it is assumed from the progression of the film) and it is quite obviously the same audience and venue. A number of audience members are present in both scenes. There is a woman with glasses wearing a vest and white shirt, a man in the middle of the audience with a checked cap, and a large man having a great time down front clapping very excitedly.
- Quotes
Molly Bell: I'm with Keith Lennox productions. Molly. Molly Bell. That's what they call me. My real name is a lot longer.
Jess Robin: So is mine.
Molly Bell: Belengocavela?
Jess Robin: Rabinovitch?
Molly Bell: Oh. That's not bad.
Featured review
What's the Deal? Need more NEIL!
Okay... all these submissions below? Ignore them. Here's the real scoop.
The biggest problem most folks have with this film is that they're comparing the two male leads' acting ability. BIG MISTAKE.
One is Neil Diamond-- one of the greatest singers of all time. The other is Sir Laurence Olivier-- one of the greatest ACTORS of all time. Think of it this way: if Sir Larry accompanied Neil in a recording of "Cherry, Cherry"-- people would rave about Neil's performance, but then spend an hour going on about how much Olivier sucks.
The fact is this: neither of them suck. Everything is great! Neil Diamond is a fine actor. (Not an AMAZING actor, mind you... but a fine actor.) He'd even beaten out Dustin Hoffman for the role of Lenny Bruce in "Lenny", but turned it down... leaving the door open for Hoffman.
I made the mistake of reading all of the below jeers and whines about Neil Diamond's "terrible acting performance" in this movie. I then watched it over at my girlfriend's house with very low expectations. But I was very impressed, and greatly enjoyed the film. Granted, there are some times when Neil's performance isn't exactly as dramatic as it should be... (i.e., when his father shrieks "I HAVE NO SON!!", Neil doesn't exactly seem to be heartbroken.) But then, there are times when he manifests a great deal of emotional power... especially in the scenes where he gets angry.
Okay, so I'm a huge Neil Diamond fan, yes. I love his music, and I think it's cool that he's had a lead in a major motion picture. BUT-- from an acting perspective, he has my respect. From one actor to another. (YES, I consider him an "actor" too... and so does the IMDb.)
I only have two complaints: one is that this is the only movie he's been in until Saving Silverman-- where he had just a cameo. That sucks. I want to see Neil in more movies.
The other complaint is what everyone else doesn't like: "The Jazz Singer". AL JOLSON sung Jazz. NEIL DIAMOND sings Pop. Soooooo... couldn't it have been called "The Pop Singer", and had an addition in the credits that read, "Based on 'The Jazz Singer' by Al Jolson" or something?
Anyway... the music is great, (even "Love on the Rocks"-- and I'm not a big ballad fan... as they depress me. But I can't dislike a Neil song.) the movie is a great story, and the acting is FINE. Watch it. If you're a fan of Neil's, or even just a fan of 20+ year old movies that have good stories.... check out "The Jazz Singer".
--and by the way.... neil diamond rules. thank you.
The biggest problem most folks have with this film is that they're comparing the two male leads' acting ability. BIG MISTAKE.
One is Neil Diamond-- one of the greatest singers of all time. The other is Sir Laurence Olivier-- one of the greatest ACTORS of all time. Think of it this way: if Sir Larry accompanied Neil in a recording of "Cherry, Cherry"-- people would rave about Neil's performance, but then spend an hour going on about how much Olivier sucks.
The fact is this: neither of them suck. Everything is great! Neil Diamond is a fine actor. (Not an AMAZING actor, mind you... but a fine actor.) He'd even beaten out Dustin Hoffman for the role of Lenny Bruce in "Lenny", but turned it down... leaving the door open for Hoffman.
I made the mistake of reading all of the below jeers and whines about Neil Diamond's "terrible acting performance" in this movie. I then watched it over at my girlfriend's house with very low expectations. But I was very impressed, and greatly enjoyed the film. Granted, there are some times when Neil's performance isn't exactly as dramatic as it should be... (i.e., when his father shrieks "I HAVE NO SON!!", Neil doesn't exactly seem to be heartbroken.) But then, there are times when he manifests a great deal of emotional power... especially in the scenes where he gets angry.
Okay, so I'm a huge Neil Diamond fan, yes. I love his music, and I think it's cool that he's had a lead in a major motion picture. BUT-- from an acting perspective, he has my respect. From one actor to another. (YES, I consider him an "actor" too... and so does the IMDb.)
I only have two complaints: one is that this is the only movie he's been in until Saving Silverman-- where he had just a cameo. That sucks. I want to see Neil in more movies.
The other complaint is what everyone else doesn't like: "The Jazz Singer". AL JOLSON sung Jazz. NEIL DIAMOND sings Pop. Soooooo... couldn't it have been called "The Pop Singer", and had an addition in the credits that read, "Based on 'The Jazz Singer' by Al Jolson" or something?
Anyway... the music is great, (even "Love on the Rocks"-- and I'm not a big ballad fan... as they depress me. But I can't dislike a Neil song.) the movie is a great story, and the acting is FINE. Watch it. If you're a fan of Neil's, or even just a fan of 20+ year old movies that have good stories.... check out "The Jazz Singer".
--and by the way.... neil diamond rules. thank you.
helpful•6316
- Clint Ford
- Jul 10, 2002
- How long is The Jazz Singer?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $27,118,000
- Gross worldwide
- $27,118,000
- Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content