Product Description

Frank Sinatra directed this 1957 Christmas special in which he joins forces with Bing Crosby to run through a bumper crop of holiday favorites. In cozy production numbers set both in Victorian England and present-day 1950s America, these American legends duet on "Jingle Bells," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "O Come All Ye Faithful," "White Christmas," and more. This is swinging holiday history that will never go out of style!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2834 in DVD
• Brand: VIRGIL FILMS AND ENTERTAI
• Released on: 2003-10-07
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Customer Reviews

Slight but nice at the price.
Another packaging of Sinatra's 1950's television footage, once again by Hart Sharp Video, the producers who earlier this year brought us "Sinatra: The Classic Duets." Again, the show itself is under 30 minutes with the remaining 60 minutes allocated to interviews with Nancy, Tina, and other friends and associates familiar with the circumstances of the original show.

As usual, the producers are particularly unhelpful about providing documentation, but by perusing the video contents, it can be determined that the show is from 1957, which should have been "a very good year" for Old Blue. Unfortunately, this is definitely not a performance for making the case that Sinatra was the "Entertainer of the Century." He looks rather tired and stiff, and the voice, at least by Sinatra standards, sounds rough, lifeless and "played out." By contrast, Bing lights up the screen, radiating warmth, looking far more composed than the host, and singing flawlessly.

At these prices (under the cost of many CD's), this is a worthwhile pick-up for the Sinatra-Crosby collector. In fact, it rates above the earlier "Classic Duets" release because of print quality (a stunning clarity, even if the colors are often "wrong"), the extended sequencing (as opposed to stitching together bits and pieces from different Sinatra shows), and the extemporaneous, often surprising, remarks of the Sinatra daughters at a Q&A event following the initial screening of this restored footage. (At one point, in explaining Frank's troubles with TV ratings, Nancy says, "Dad didn't do well on television." Tina responds, "He had to fail somewhere.")

Bottom line: Don't even consider this if you don't already have "The Sinatra Christmas Album" or "A Jolly Christmas." And if it's Sinatra television footage you crave, be sure to pick up first the 1967 special with Frank, Ella, and Jobim. As for the Sinatra family members who, I understand, are largely responsible for this release: how do you explain going to such lengths to restore and mass-market this sort of footage while letting a Sinatra "concept" album like "All Alone," a project worthy of Sinatra's name in every respect, fall into oblivion?

A Christmas present from the past!
This is amazing....what a find! Nancy Sinatra found this FULL COLOR episode from Frank Sinatra's 1957 television series, and it's simply a wonderful treat. Frank invites Bing Crosby over to his house for Christmas Eve and the two sing all the great holiday songs. What a retro-christmas gift! 15 songs in all, the entire DVD is about 90 minutes with extras. Of course it closes with Bing singing WHITE CHRISTMAS and Frank joining in - it's like a re-teaming from the film HIGH SOCIETY, they look and act about the same. There is a Q&A session from the Museum of Television with Nancy and Tina Sinatra, and the show's Producer William Self who answer some questions about the program. Also included is a photo gallery of Christmas Cards with Frank's original artwork. Don't miss out on this terrific holiday treat, you'll watch it every year right along with WHITE CHRISTMAS and CHARLIE BROWN!

Great Music, Great Sound, So-So Video
Let me tell you Frank and Bing are at their best here. This disc is a true treasure. The 5.1 surrond sound audio is flawless. It is truly wonderful! The video, in some scenes is amazing!!! The scenes with them in ol England are GREAT! However, there are some scenes with blue specks that I KNOW could have been removed. All together, this is not a bad DVD. I do recommend it. It is well done considering the age, but the video could have been better in some spots. Regardless of the video quality, THIS IS A MUST BUY!