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6.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Ben Pollack & His Orchestra remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you are deeply obsessed with early jazz history or have a weird itch to see what musicians looked like while performing in 1929. If you want a story or even a hint of personality, you will be bored stiff.
It is barely a movie. It is more of a recorded audition.
Ben Pollack is fine, I guess, but the whole thing feels incredibly stiff. Everyone is standing around like they are worried the camera might explode if they move too much. 🎺
There is this one moment where the vocalist is singing and she just keeps staring directly into the lens. It’s a bit unsettling. You can almost see her wondering when the lunch break starts.
Compared to something like Murders in the Zoo, which at least has a pulse and some weird energy, this is just flat. It’s like watching a high-end home movie from a century ago.
I found myself looking at the background more than the band. There is a weird shadow on the curtain that kept distracting me. Does that make me a bad critic? Probably.
It reminded me a bit of those old Screen Snapshots, Series 10, No. 1 segments where you just catch a glimpse of someone famous doing something mundane. This just happens to be a longer version of that. 🎷
If you have ten minutes and you really like brass instruments, go for it. Otherwise, you aren't missing a hidden masterpiece. It is just… there.
Kind of like Weary Winnie, it feels like it belongs in an archive box that hasn't been opened since the Truman administration. Interesting to hold, but you don't really want to live with it.