Sinatra at Palm Springs

Director- Leo Zahn

Cast- Frank Sinatra

Country of Origin- U.S.

Distributor - Shout! Factory

Number of discs –  1

Reviewed by - David Steigman

Date- 07/18/2019

Sinatra in Palm Springs: The Place He Called Home is a 2018 documentary that explores the iconic singer Frank Sinatra and the history revolving around his humongous home in Palm Springs, California. Tom Dressen, Barbara Sinatra, Mel Haber and a host of other celebrities and friends of Frank Sinatra all reflect about the history of the house with some fascinating stories about both Sinatra and his home. On top of that, there are discussions about his films, with footage from pictures he was in, including From Here to Eternity, The Detective and the two Tony Rome films. We get to see the house in various eras during its glorious history, with footage of the house in films such as The Damned Don’t Cry, 711 Ocean Drive and others.

The 92 minute documentary was a lot of fun to watch and listen to the stories about Frank Sinatra. For those who love and admire his work, this is an essential Blu-ray to own.

Shout Factory releases Sinatra in Palm Springs on Blu-ray.  In the aspect ratio of 1:78:1, overall the image is quite sharp with vivid colors. The new footage of Sinatra’s home and interviews with his friends and colleagues is beautiful with vivid, bright and cheerful colors. Some of the vintage footage of the documentary isn’t quite as sharp, ultimately depending on the source materials. Some of the footage is in black and white and looks rather stunning.

The 5.1 DTS-HD master audio sound mix is loud and clear with no difficulties listening to all the people talking about their memories of Frank Sinatra. The audio is also clear during the moments where stock footage is used without any issues. 

The extras include nine featurettes consisting of The Actor, The Compound, Sinatra Style, Traveling in Style, The Best Tipper, The Worst Driver, Golf Tournaments and Jack Daniels, Friendships, and lastly, Funeral.

These featurettes are just short interviews with the same people from the documentary discussing Sinatra’s acting ability, the aesthetics of his home, his traveling, his particulars and style in the clothing he wore. A trailer rounds out the extras.

Sinatra in Palm Springs: The Place He Called Home is a great watch and does a great justice to Frank Sinatra, one of the greatest entertainers ever. The coverage, the interviews, the image quality all contribute to making this a fantastic presentation courtesy of Shout Factory. There is no reason Sinatra fans and collectors shouldn’t pick this gem up. Highly recommended!