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Title: Williams can do SO much better!
Review: I got this tape in an attempt to find something worthwhile to show my Jazz History class. Sadly, there's little here of factual "history" about Scott Joplin. The dialogue and direction were pretty poor, events jump from one to another with little explanation of what happens in between, and Billy Dee Williams' acting is terrible. I grant that he's pretty young here, but still...I'm going to chalk it up to a poor script, because I know he can do MUCH better than this stinker. Add to that the fact that he is awful at faking his piano playing, and there really isn't much that's believable about this film. As a history it's worthless, and as entertainment it's stilted & dry. If you like Joplin's music, buy a CD and a book biography, you'll get much more out of them.
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