You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story

Rating:
Summary: This DVD is the Top !
Review: 'You're the Top' is a short, but worthwhile trip through the turbulent life of a 20th Century Icon. A great deal of depth and insight is communicated by sharp editing and carefully selected film clips. Originally this was an hour long Television special. Don't let that put you off, the word 'special' is very appropriate here. Why should you buy this Documentary? To appreciate and enjoy his musical talent chiefly by a bewildering number of rare excerpts from films and TV shows (notably a Kinescope of the original cast of 'Kiss Me Kate') and see the ironies of someone who lived a private life very different from his public persona. Even today, the classy image of Porter as generated by his timeless songs and music hide a veil of a tragic and melancholy man, who was born into success, but died unhappy. His story is not just of music, but of a struggle against life itself. What makes this a special event is that the combination of good interviews with contemporaries, the relaxed and adult approach make for repeated viewing and a thirst for more. Whether you are a Porter fan, or have never heard of him, you will gain something special from this documentary, and perhaps learn a little in the moral sense of the pitfalls and unhappiness that can come, even with great wealth. What lives on is his music, which history will never erase. Watching this Documentary will leave you feeling better for the experience.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect Documentary
Review: If you want to know Cole Porter, this is a better introduction than the recent film effort, "De-Lovely," and far better than the old Cary Grant fiction. Both movies fudge on Cole's character, with "De-Lovely" trying to depict Porter as a guy working out his gay issues through marriage, which is total nonsense.

Cole Porter was arguably the greatest of all the composers of American Standards, for reasons explained in "You're the Top". And to explain this, as well as to outline one of the most colorful celebrity lives of the 20th century, are people who actually knew Porter, knew him socially, worked with him and performed his music - people like Bobby Short, Kitty Carlisle (Mrs. Moss Hart), Brendan Gill, Linda Ronstadt, Harry Connick, Jr., Porter's family from his childhood, etc. Especially insightful are the observations of Porter's childhood and his marriage. They go far in explaining both the people and the era that nurtured his talent and later provided the milieu from which he drew his "delightful, de-lovely" themes.

No punches are pulled, nothing glossed over for the sake of image or box-office receipts. And of course the Porter music, complimenting the narrative, is a chronicle itself, for it captures the zeitgeist brilliantly, performed by the headliners of the times, from early sound to TV's Golden Age, when the audience was more up to Porter's level of elegance, style and wit than today's dressed-down, dumbed-down generation.

I suggest that if you have seen or are going to see either of the bio-flicks, that you treat yourself to this "wonderful, marvelous" look at a life and its era - alas, as intimate a look as we'll ever get. They truly broke the mold...

Rating:
Summary: Informative but limited
Review: This dvd was informative as a standard biography, however there is not much in terms of extras on the disk. The DVD format provides an opportunity for a topic such as this to be covered richly. Unfortunately that is not the case with this disk.

Rating:
Summary: Informative but limited
Review: This dvd was informative as a standard biography, however there is not much in terms of extras on the disk. The DVD format provides an opportunity for a topic such as this to be covered richly. Unfortunately that is not the case with this disk.

Rating:
Summary: I want more!
Review: This is really a wonderful treat for fans of Cole Porter or those who know little about him. It has a nice mix of rare and familiar songs mixed with thoughts and recollections about Cole by various friends, musicians, and performers. You get a nice sense of what his life was like along with a decent overview of his music.

If you have never heard of Cole (or know very little about him), you will probably be a fan after viewing this. Even if you are very familiar with Cole, you still will find some interesting tidbits in the DVD. My only complaints with this are the length (only an hour) the lack of additional material. It would seem that so much additional material could have been placed easily on this DVD; but the only additional material is a listing of the songs on the DVD (without any information about them) and quick list of his musicals. How about fleshing out some of that information?

Definitely recommended.

Rating:
Summary: This DVD is the Top !
Review: `You're the Top' is a short, but worthwhile trip through the turbulent life of a 20th Century Icon. A great deal of depth and insight is communicated by sharp editing and carefully selected film clips. Originally this was an hour long Television special. Don't let that put you off, the word `special' is very appropriate here. Why should you buy this Documentary? To appreciate and enjoy his musical talent chiefly by a bewildering number of rare excerpts from films and TV shows (notably a Kinescope of the original cast of `Kiss Me Kate') and see the ironies of someone who lived a private life very different from his public persona. Even today, the classy image of Porter as generated by his timeless songs and music hide a veil of a tragic and melancholy man, who was born into success, but died unhappy. His story is not just of music, but of a struggle against life itself. What makes this a special event is that the combination of good interviews with contemporaries, the relaxed and adult approach make for repeated viewing and a thirst for more. Whether you are a Porter fan, or have never heard of him, you will gain something special from this documentary, and perhaps learn a little in the moral sense of the pitfalls and unhappiness that can come, even with great wealth. What lives on is his music, which history will never erase. Watching this Documentary will leave you feeling better for the experience.