I'm doubting that we're going to get a better DVD of this, and it's too bad. The source material is presented from a crappy looking (and sounding) 16MM television syndication print, and the movie itself was originally presented in nice, wide Cinemascope. The lack of widescreen is blatantly obvious here, as the cinematography is all over the place, as is the pathetically primitive panning and scanning. Now grant it, this film was never out to win any "that sho' is purty!" awards, but this print looks like poop. Combine that with some HORRIBLE DVD Compression artifacts, and you're sure to figure out that you've got a long way to go to get to high def here.
Good thing the content is what it is. RTN was one of a series of "jukebox" movies which were being pumped out of Nashville in the 60's, and these films, while rare to see nowadays, give us great looks into the time that was 1960's-era Nashville. You see vintage acts that were being pushed aside by Chet Atkin's and Owen Bradley's Countrypolitan style which was hot at the time, and you see up-and-comers who are obviously here to get any break they can.
Great clips here are a couple of performances by Connie Smith (although that gold suit she has is a tad, well...dated), Johnny Cash and the Carter Family (showing Johnny in the midst of his downward drug-fueled spiral, but still good enough to pull it off musically), and a young very-pre-outlaw Waylon Jennings doing "Anita".
Even the lesser acts are worth it, like Porter Wagoner's Pre-Parton "Girl Singer" Norma Jean doing "I Wouldn't Buy A Used Car From Him", and The Stoneman Family song "Tupelo County Jail" in stage outfits that look somewhere between the lines of The New Christy Minstrels crossed with Laugh-In. (Both of the above mentioned tunes were minor hits around the time this flick was shot, although the DVD didn't even bother to hunt down the actual title to the Stoneman's tune, giving it the cop-out title of "Write Me A Letter").
If you can get passed the cheap bargain-bin quality of the DVD, the music makes it worth every penny.
Good thing the content is what it is. RTN was one of a series of "jukebox" movies which were being pumped out of Nashville in the 60's, and these films, while rare to see nowadays, give us great looks into the time that was 1960's-era Nashville. You see vintage acts that were being pushed aside by Chet Atkin's and Owen Bradley's Countrypolitan style which was hot at the time, and you see up-and-comers who are obviously here to get any break they can.
Great clips here are a couple of performances by Connie Smith (although that gold suit she has is a tad, well...dated), Johnny Cash and the Carter Family (showing Johnny in the midst of his downward drug-fueled spiral, but still good enough to pull it off musically), and a young very-pre-outlaw Waylon Jennings doing "Anita".
Even the lesser acts are worth it, like Porter Wagoner's Pre-Parton "Girl Singer" Norma Jean doing "I Wouldn't Buy A Used Car From Him", and The Stoneman Family song "Tupelo County Jail" in stage outfits that look somewhere between the lines of The New Christy Minstrels crossed with Laugh-In. (Both of the above mentioned tunes were minor hits around the time this flick was shot, although the DVD didn't even bother to hunt down the actual title to the Stoneman's tune, giving it the cop-out title of "Write Me A Letter").
If you can get passed the cheap bargain-bin quality of the DVD, the music makes it worth every penny.