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BOB HOPE: AMERICA'S ENTERTAINER
Review by Michael Jacobson
Audio:
Dolby Digital Stereo
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Studio: A&E
Features: None
Length: 100 Minutes
Release Date: August 26, 2003
“There
will never be another Bob Hope.” – Milton Berle
Bob
Hope was an extraordinary man who lived an extraordinary life.
He spent most of his 100 years on this planet making us laugh, raising
our spirits, and generally making the world a better place.
Would that we
could all could go out saying the same thing.
A&E’s
Biography program has been television’s standard bearer for bring us
close to the people who made an impact on our world, and their special episode Bob
Hope: America’s Entertainer has to be considered a landmark chapter.
It had an amazing subject to work with, and it presented that subject
with all the warmth, memories and dignity it deserved.
From
stage to radio, from film to television, Bob Hope tickled our funny bones.
But though he did indelible work in all of those media, he found arguably
his truest calling in World War II. Wanting
to enlist, but heeding Franklin D. Roosevelt’s suggestion that he would better
serve the boys by entertaining them than fighting along side him, Hope did just
that. And he continued to do it as long as time allowed him to do
so.
This
program is an excellent retrospective of all areas of Hope’s career, but
it’s the moments he had on stage and under fire that are the most inspiring.
From the second World War to Korea, from Vietnam to the Middle East,
whenever America’s service men and women were putting their lives on the line
for the cause of freedom, Hope was there, bringing laughter, music,
entertainment, and a message of love and support.
He had a quip for every occasion, from Vietnam (“The folks back home
are behind you 50%”) to the Gulf War (“I’ve got sand in places I didn’t
even know I had places”).
But
it wasn’t just his stints on stage that endeared him to the military.
Bob Hope always took himself and his fellow performers into the hospitals
where the carnage was sometimes disheartening, but where Hope’s presence and
kind words always lifted morale.
Despite
accolades and honors that recognized his achievements throughout his life, the
one that mattered most to him was when President Clinton and Congress made him
an honorary veteran…the first time in the country’s history that such an
honor was presented to him. Hope
always said it made him proud to finally be considered one with the men and
women he had considered his heroes his entire life.
Bob
Hope saw many of the years of the 20th century.
His life was witness to some of mankind’s greatest leap forwards and
some of its darkest moments. Yet he
never turned away from doing what he loved, and he never turned his back on
those who served our country.
That’s
quite a legacy he left behind; one that I don’t think will ever be matched.
Video
***
As
with any documentary that encompasses footage from many decades passed, the
video quality varies. That being
said, this is still an impressive offering, and the older footage from the 20s
and 30s doesn’t have to look incredible really…just be there.
No complaints; the presentation is well served.
Audio
**
The
audio is level and competent throughout, with no spoken word problems, even with
the variety of footage from different decades past.
Unspectacular by nature, but rightly suited.
Features
(zero stars)
Nothing.
Summary:
