Bloggin' On: Updates and Observations for January 21, 2020

Hey, there, Dear Reader. Hi and welcome to another installment of Bloggin' On, the blog-within-a-blog section of A Certain Point of View where I step out of my usual roles of media product reviewer and political commentator and share my thoughts and observations about other topics that I think might be of general interest.

Well, my friends, a cold front has passed through the part of Florida where I live; the current temperature is 39℉ (4℃) under clear skies, and the National Weather Service has issued a freeze watch for our area. It's still dark outside (it's not quite 7 AM as I write this), and it will warm up some by the middle of the afternoon; the forecast calls for a high of 54℉ (12℃) and, at night, a low of 32℉ (0℃). Inside the house, we will be relatively warmer, and I doubt that I'll have much reason to wander outside.

If you're a regular reader of A Certain Point of View, you probably remember that on January 10 I reviewed the Blu-ray edition of writer-director Kenneth Shapiro's 2013 documentary/music special Great Voices Sing John Denver, a film that chronicles the making of the eponymous 2013 tribute album produced by Milt Okun, Elisa Justice, and Lee Holdridge and released by MRI.

In my review, I gave the film a sterling "must-see" recommendation, saying:

I am not ashamed to admit that this is a deeply moving film that made me weepy-eyed throughout the 90 minutes of its total running time. Not only do I love Denver's music and lyrics, but each singer brings something to the table with his or her performance. One singer says that she heard her song for the first time when her mother sang it to her and a sibling as a lullaby. A tenor born in what was then East Germany (René Pape) says that he only discovered John Denver's songs at the end of the Cold War and explains why he chose to sing Follow Me in the album. And of course, director Shapiro shows a clip from the original Perhaps Love video from 1981, which is a throwback to the origins of Great Voices Sing John Denver. 

However, I also had to address some issues with my copy of the Blu-ray itself in my review:

In one of our Blu-ray players - a Sony Blu-ray player connected to our house's Samsung 1080p high definition set and a home theater sound system - the Great Voices Sing John Denver plays well and without hiccups of any kind throughout the main feature. The images shot by cinematographer Matt Bass are always compelling to watch, and the sound recording by Josh Morton is both crystal clear and without flaws.

However, I had to resort to going to IMDb.com to look up the cast and crew of Great Voices Sing John Denver because once the main feature ends, the credits freeze when the list of producers comes on the screen. This happened the first time I played the disc, so I ejected the Blu-ray, examined it, noticed it had a fingerprint smudge (probably mine), and carefully cleaned it with a soft non-abrasive cloth. I put the disc back in the player, skipped to the credits, and lo and behold! It froze at that point again even though the disc was clean and had no smudges or scratches. I tried again earlier this morning - the disc's playing surface looks fine to the naked eye, but it still freezes at the same spot in the credits rollup.

In my other player, a Samsung Blu-ray player that's connected to my Samsung smart TV and a soundbar, the playback is, well, spotty. The sound and image are fine, but it tends to skip and even freeze at odd times. Maybe it's because I rarely use that TV/Blu-ray player combination, or maybe it's the HDMI cable acting up, but playback was not as good in this setup as it was in the main TV's.

Promotional poster for Great Voices Sing John Denver. © 2013 Great Voices Film Company and CDK Productions

Anyway, after I posted yesterday's blog post on A Certain Point of View I visited the Great Voices Film Company's website, checked my order, and headed directly to the "Write a Review" section. I didn't want to spend a lot of time writing an all-new review of Great Voices Sing John Denver, so I copy-pasted bits of my January 10 blog post (one of which praises the film, the other being the section in which I mention the playback issues with the Blu-ray) and added the URL to the complete blog post for good measure.

I then left the site, thinking that if anyone read my remarks, it would more than likely be a customer service representative. "If I get a response, it will probably be just a standard 'thank you for your input' comment from a low-ranking company employee."

About an hour later, I checked my email account to check on the status of an Amazon order I'd made earlier in the day, as well as to see if any personal emails from friends or family were in my inbox. To my surprise, I saw that I had an email from Great Voices Film Company.

"It's probably from the Great Voices customer service department," I thought.

Nope. It turns out that it was not from Customer Service at all, but from the film's director, Kenneth Shapiro.

Here's the email that Ken Shapiro wrote:

Great Voices Film Company & cdk films gvsjd.thefilm@gmail.com
To alexfardreamer (my email address)

Hi Alex,

I was quite moved by your review of my film, Great Voices Sing John Denver, and I was happy to read that you enjoyed it so much. I am sorry to hear about the issue you are having with the blu-ray disc you recently received. We are sending you a replacement so you can enjoy every moment. 

Best wishes and keep spreading the word.

Best regards,

Kenneth Shapiro
The Great Voices Film Company
CDK Productions

Whoa!

So not only did I get a personal reply from the film's director, but I'm also getting a free replacement disc!

It's stuff like this that reaffirms my love of reviewing and sharing my thoughts with the world.

 And if you have not yet read my review of the film, you can read it here: Great Voices Sing John Denver film

Well, I'm off to go have breakfast and do other things around here, so catch you on the sunny side!