Johnny Carson: King of Late Night Blu-ray delivers great video and mediocre audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
No synopsis for Johnny Carson: King of Late Night.
For more about Johnny Carson: King of Late Night and the Johnny Carson: King of Late Night Blu-ray release, see the Johnny Carson: King of Late Night Blu-ray Review published by Brian Orndorf on August 9, 2012 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.0 out of 5.
As a child, it was a badge of honor to slowly acquire access to late night television. As bedtimes grew later, entrance to a world of comedians, monologues, and celebrity interviews was provided, commencing an education in timing and talent few prime time shows could offer. While David Letterman possessed an appealing wackiness and genial subversive quality, nothing could come close to Johnny Carson, an iconic figure who owned late night programming, making his nightly adventures an illuminating display of confidence and enchanting cocktail-hour routine, killing nightly with a triumphant sense of humor. Even at a young age, I understood Carson's superiority, while "Johnny Carson: King of Late Night" fills in the rest of the man's experiences decades later. An "American Masters" production, the documentary is a swift but loaded look at the television host's life and times, inspecting emotional wounds the fueled his early years and the seclusion that marked his later ones. In the middle, there are enormous laughs and a few tears as admirers and insiders gather to recount their experiences with Carson, and how his quest to command a television show helped to shape the industry and touch numerous lives along the way.
To acquire access to the Carson Empire (much of it stored inside an underground vault in Kansas), director Peter Jones tried valiantly to persuade his subject to cooperate with a dissection of his history. For 15 years, Jones wrote to Carson, hoping the famous recluse would sit down for an interview, only to be either ignored or politely rebuffed. When Carson passed away in 2005, it appeared all hope was lost. However, in 2010, Carson's nephew finally unlocked the gates for Jones, hoping to keep his uncle's legacy alive with the production of a documentary, offering the filmmaker the chance to pore through thousands of hours of television and revealing home movies. "King of Late Night" (narrated by Kevin Spacey) is the result of a masterful puzzling job from Jones, who takes 79 years of existence and somehow manages to squeeze a satisfying appreciation into 114 minutes of screen time. Pieces are predictably missing, yet the soul of the performer remains in this riveting study of one of television's biggest stars.
Of course, such a rise to fame commenced humbly. Born in Iowa and raised in Nebraska, John William Carson faced a difficult childhood with emotionally distant parents (Homer and Ruth), taking refuge in comedy and performance, an education triggered through a study of magic. Taking the stage name "The Great Carsoni," the boy developed a way with audiences, using his love for Jack Benny to inform his timing and desire to investigate show business. After a broadcasting stint in Omaha, Carson found his way to Los Angeles, climbing the industry ladder with appearances on "Carson's Cellar" and "The Johnny Carson Show," helping to sharpen his sense of humor. While unsuccessful, the ambitious comedian found his way to a game show, "Who Do You Trust?" -- a spirited program that also involved the talents of announcer Ed McMahon. Finally landing a popular gig due to his skills with ad-libbing, Carson created a name for himself, eventually working his way to an impossible opportunity: asked to replace Jack Paar on "The Tonight Show" in 1962.
As expected, "The Tonight Show" era eats up a majority of the documentary. With 30 years of guest interactions and behind the scenes confrontations, Jones strikes oil with his examination of television history, employing footage of the show to communicate Carson's work ethic and his effortless ability to interact with celebrities, intellectuals, zoo animals, and comedians. Interviews also support the investigation, with important late night personalities such as David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, and Arsenio Hall sharing their admiration for Carson's gifts, while friends and family fill in the details, including journalist Bill Carter, Dick Cavett, Don Rickles, Steve Martin, Drew Carey (who tears up when recalling his first show appearance), Bob Newhart, and Doc Severinsen. The conversations are celebratory but insightful, unafraid to reveal pure love for Carson while maintaining a critical view of his professional behavior and backstage woes. Even Joan Rivers joins the discussion, open about her friendship with Carson, which soured when she attempted to become his talk show competition in 1986.
Carson's troubles are itemized, including a deflating relationship with disapproving mother Ruth, while his four marriages are discussed with a certain degree of playfulness, despite suggestions of violence and abandonment. Carson's drinking is perhaps the documentary's greatest revelation, with alcoholism turning the man into a monster, darkening his personality (despite McMahon's reputation as a drunk, Carson was the one who couldn't hold his liquor). There's also a history with womanizing that surprises, finding Carson frequently cheating on his wives for reasons vaguely defined, while Angie Dickinson reveals her interest in an affair that never came to be, despite pronounced flirtations on the air. A private man, Carson led a complex life beyond the show, uncomfortable with the demands of celebrity, shutting down his public interests as the years passed, with "King of Late Night" a solid summation of his itchy side and destructive tendencies as the demanding schedule for "The Tonight Show" swallowed his life for three decades.
The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation does a successful job funneling decades of performance footage, home movies, and contemporary interviews into a single stream of remembrance. Some banding is detected during the program, yet the overall appearance of the BD is clean and fresh, with a brightly graphic look about it to assist in the celebratory, time-traveling mood. Older footage is spiffed up to satisfaction, making transitions between eras as smooth as possible. Interviews (with talk show hosts shot on their respective sets) are colorful and detailed, finding subtle emotional responses easily surveyed, while clothing provides varied hues and texture. Again, it's a show built out of numerous film and video sources, with the puzzle pieces smartly assembled to avoid jarring changes in visual quality.
The 2.0 Dolby Digital sound mix is lacking a needed circular hold to make the material pop through jubilant and mournful times. It's a frontal mix without much personality, preserving Spacey's narration with a deep, clean sound that's free of distortion, balanced well with subtle scoring cues that tend to fall back until absolutely needed. Older clips keep their inherent harshness without hurting the ears, softened some to fit the audio requirements of the documentary. A more expansive sonic presence would've been appreciated, yet what's here is satisfactory, just very straightforward.
"Behind the Scenes Outtakes with Kevin Spacey" (6:00, SD) catches up with the actor and show narrator in the recording booth, studying his vocal effort and ability to bat around Carson trivia between takes. Spacey goes on to recount his history with "The Tonight Show," eventually viewing footage of his very first appearance in 1990.
Interview Outtakes (16:31, HD) returns to the likes of Letterman, Rivers, and O'Brien for extended conversation about Carson, with most of the interview participants (12 in all) sharing stories of intimate interactions with the legend, basking in the glow of his power and wisdom. A few of the comics (including Carey and Ray Romano) offer extended memories about their first shot on the show, while the veterans (Cavett and Martin) bring an analytic approach to their anecdotes.
With a dissection of the monologue process, a clarification of the relationship between McMahon and Carson, valuable evidence of the legend's private interests, and talk of his final years, "King of Late Night" is an extraordinary display of artistic commitment, human fallibility, and professional confidence wrapped up tightly inside a sincere, hilarious, and eventually mournful documentary. For those new to Johnny Carson, it's a sublime education, while longstanding fans will delight in familiar clips and television highlights, perhaps even learning a thing or two about a man who simply wanted to entertain an audience, only to end up charming an entire nation.
Johnny Carson: King of Late Night Blu-ray, News and Updates
No related news posts for Johnny Carson: King of Late Night Blu-ray yet.
Johnny Carson: King of Late Night Blu-ray, Forum Discussions
