WITH "JERSEY BOYS" CLINT EASTWOOD CHALLENGES CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS TO "WALK LIKE A MAN"
From his lifetime of work with jazz legends / composers Lalo Schifrin and Jerry Fielding, to BIRD and THELONIOUS MONK: STRAIGHT NO CHASER and more, Clint Eastwood has emerged as cinema maestro in honoring America's popular musical art forms. Now with the underrated JERSEY BOYS he veers into the volatile personal harmony and disharmony behind the rise of rock and roll legends Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. More than a review of the film itself, Steve Vertlieb's blunt and penetrating mini-essay sees Eastwood's latest gem as a microcosmic commentary on the current pop music state-of-the-art in general, and the decline of the American musical (and modern music craft) in particular. Includes trailer, film clips and music excerpts.
This is the second in a series of articles written for a new website devoted to both film music and genre experience, created by writer/director Craig Jamison ("The Man Who "Saved" The Movies"), and promises to become a loving home to all who love film. Craig is a lifelong "fan" whose art design and layout craftsmanship are matched only by his knowledge and affection for film history. It is a beautiful site which is growing in prestige by the hour. Please do visit "Gull Cottage/Sandlot Films," and say hello.
