Johnny Carson: King of Late Night (American Masters)

When Johnny Carson bid farewell to The Tonight Show on May 22, 1992 it wasn’t simply the marked retirement of a beloved pop icon, but the real end of an era; a spectacular run as the 20th century’s most revered, admired, and undeniably, treasured figures in the history of television. Certainly, nothing before or since has come to rival Carson’s legacy.Watching Johnny Carson – The King of Late Night is like visiting an old friend not seen in far too many years, catching up on the past, living vicariously through the ‘good ole days’ and coming away from the experience with that warm – yet strangely sad – and far-away tear caught in the eye; perhaps in the realization the times have moved on; that what once was, can never be again. Jones’ documentary has done more than pay homage to Johnny Carson, the man, the entertainer and the legend. It has resurrected a sumptuous memoir (a valentine, actually) to the golden age of Johnny Carson’s America. Here is a potpourri of moments sure to make us smile; Sotzing’s complicity in the endeavor allowing Jones (and by extension, the rest of us) an unprecedented backstage pass into Johnny’s world. Perhaps, Carson would have hated this; his penchant for privacy superseding any perceived entertainment value from the exercise. And yet, entertainment is exactly what’s to be had herein; with a capital ‘E’ and not just for ‘effort’ either.Owing to a bitter and ongoing feud Carson had with NBC for most of their tempestuous alliance (Johnny even threatened to walk off The Tonight Show, buying back the rights to all his archived episodes after NBC admittedly ‘lost’ several early seasons) The Tonight Show: starring Johnny Carson remains diligently mothballed in an underground vault in Kansas – roughly 3,500 hours, since digitized and made available as an online pay-per-view. What remains fairly perplexing is just how little of The Tonight Show has been released to home video in all these many years since Johnny’s passing. Only a few heavily truncated offerings, featuring little more than selected sound bytes from Johnny’s tenure, many poorly mastered at that, have surfaced on DVD, with ‘Tonight’: Four Decades of The Tonight Show – starring Johnny Carson being the biggest transgressor. Will we ever see The Tonight Show justly anthologized as complete and unedited whole seasons on Blu-ray? Hmmmm.Debatable, since Carson Entertainment Group seems wholly disinterested in the prospect. The various DVDs currently in print are but wan ghost flowers of The Tonight Show in its prime; excising virtually all of Doc Severinsen’s orchestral performances. We also have yet to see any of Bette Davis’ memorable appearances on ANY of these DVD sets. The Vault Series presently being circulated as ‘complete’ episodes are actually slightly altered from their original broadcast length. Hence, the first real competent assessment of Johnny Carson’s legacy remains this American Masters bio. It too may not be comprehensive – but it is by far the most heartfelt and legitimate attempt to critique, understand, and ultimately celebrate Johnny Carson as the national treasure he so obviously was, is and will always be.Prepare to be royally entertained.PBS’s Blu-ray is presented in 1.78:1 with most of the vintage Carson clips retaining their 1.33:1 framing. The home movie footage, as well as stills are all reframed and the newly instated interview footage is, of course, formatted for widescreen presentation. Arguably, you’re not watching reruns of The Tonight Show for their video quality, and yet there is some remarkable effort put forth herein to bring these vintage materials into line with modern expectations for audio/video clarity. Bottom line: you won’t be disappointed by this disc. While some inevitable image ‘banding’ remains the overall BD retains a brightly graphic quality; the older footage looking remarkably clean and free of distracting age-related artifacts. Wow and thank you!The image is both colorful and detailed, revealing – at times – a startling amount of information in clothing, hair, etc. with video noise kept to a bare minimum. Hence, this is Johnny Carson as we’d like to remember him: the undisputed king of late night in a princely presentation on home video. The 2.0 Dolby Digital sound mix is, of course, largely at the mercy of vintage materials. The newly recorded interviews, as well as Kevin Spacey’s narration are all frontally placed, presumably to keep their fidelity in check with the vintage clips; no jarring jumps from the show’s original mono to stereo surround.Parting thoughts are rather obvious but worth mentioning. While Carson Entertainment continues to sit on a goldmine, the legacy of Johnny Carson comes across loud and clear in Peter Jones’ exquisite biography. Johnny Carson was more than a late night talk show host. He was a legend in his own time – one that continues to ripen with age and is still primed for the podium. As good as Leno and presently, Jimmy Fallon are, either from a lack of good material or even more astutely observed – the absence of those truly inimitable Hollywood icons who once shared the stage with Johnny - they’ve paled by comparison. It isn’t entirely their fault. For Johnny Carson gave aspiring late night television talk show hosts an act virtually impossible to follow. Heeeeeeeere’s (to) Johnny!Bottom line: very highly recommended!

...who dominated late night television for almost 30 years, but who is at risk of fading into obscurity without the efforts of writer/director/producers such as Peter Jones. With the cooperation and blessing of the Carson Estate, Jones has created a two-hour biographical gem of the broadcast comic whose effortless skill and grace provided nightly comfort to a nation and inspired countless aspiring young comedians. The King of Late Night does not gloss over Carson's flaws--he was, especially earlier in his career, a heavy drinker and womanizer who found little time for his children, to his great regret later in life--but it does not let Carson's darker side define him. For all that Carson has been described and "shy and aloof", he was loved and revered by many who knew him personally and professionally, even as Carson seemed to hold most at arm's length. Betrayed by a few in whom he'd placed unconditional trust, and feeling unaccepted by a distant mother who refused to express pride or joy in his accomplishments, the expression of emotional closeness was difficult, yet friends and colleagues reveal he was capable of genuine warmth and great generosity. Interviewees include many of the young comics whose lives were changed after an appearance on the Tonight Show--Joan Rivers, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Drew Carey, Garry Shandling, Conan O'Brien, and late-night competitor Arsenio Hall. Also interviewed are Doc Severinsen, Don Rickles, Bob Newhart, Angie Dickinson, Carson's ex-wife Joanne Carson, nephew Joff Sotzing, Tonight Show producer and president of Carson Entertainment, and others. Bonus footage includes a behind-the-scenes look at voiceover sessions of narrator Kevin Spacey, and additional interview footage featuring personal memories of David Letterman, Claudia McMahon, Drew Carey, and many others. No other print or video biography published about Johnny Carson comes close to matching the quality of American Masters Johnny Carson: King of Late Night in depth or in scope.

Extremely interesting life story of Johnny Carson whom I have enjoyed thoroughly when I lived in the US. I happened to be in the US when the last show was broadcasted. I miss Tonight Show very much but I think Johnny closed it at the right timing. He was the greatest of all the talk show hosts.

Jeder Johnny Carson Fan wird sich unheimlich über diese DVD freuen. Qualität ist 1A, Ton auch, Die DVD ist nur in English und code 1, also nicht überall abspielbar. Ich habe sie genossen da ich immer die "Tonight Show" in der USA angeschaut habe.