Part 1 

Some documentaries work because of the craft of the film-maker. Usually in this (rare) category, you find talented artistes who eschew the traditional (and easy) doc style (head and shoulders interviews) in favor of clips, anecdotes, news stories, TV segments, and all the small details which make the viewer feel like they are actually there, living it.

Check!

And, on the other hand, some documentaries succeed because of the passion of the film-maker, a passion so obvious that even the most boring subject on the planet can become vibrant and full of life. (See for example the recent production Antarctica, also in my review database)

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And finally (the third leg of the tripod) some succeed because the subject matter itself is so overwhelming, so much a part of the life of the viewer, that each frame, each cut, becomes almost personal to the audience, a movie of themselves, perhaps, as much as the subject.

Check!

This production hits all three bases and is nothing less than brilliant, moreso if you were actually alive in the mid or late 20th century.

My final note (observation) is that singers like Sinatra (a talent so revered that recently, in our century, a car wash employee won a million dollars in a talent-seeking TV show simply for doing a Sinatra imitation) are a once-in-a-lifetime blend of charisma and skill.

I revere Sinatra, I have mp3s of my favorite Sinatra songs, yet I do not believe that, if he were alive today and starting his career, he would last more than a single round on shows like THE VOICE or IDOL.

Why? Because his voice was far from perfect. Yet nevertheless he became a star, an icon, a brand name, and a legend.

This film does him justice. Recommended.