Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 26, 2025

For those who may have reached a certain age and feel like their best days are behind them and there's little if anything to really look forward to, take heart from the encouraging story of Brenda Lee. Now, "Little Miss Dynamite", as she was branded evidently by none other than Steve Allen, had already had a pretty formidable and long lived career when she got a kind of special birthday and/or early Christmas present (Lee was born on December 11) in 2023 when her iconic holiday song Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree made it to the vaunted Number 1 position on the Billboard singles chart some 65 (!) years after it was first recorded. That feat broke all sorts of records for Lee, including making her the oldest person to have a Number 1 single, as well as holding the record for the longest span between Number 1 singles (Lee had previously achieved that position in 1960). This appealing if hardly revelatory documentary is exactly the sort of thing that PBS tends to broadcast during Pledge Week, and in fact the piece evidently began life as an episode of the network's American Masters series, though if the all knowing internets are to be believed, it has been utilized by some local PBS affiliates for Pledge Week enticement.

Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around covers the major highlights of Lee's rather amazing life and career in what might jokingly be called a "greatest hits" approach, and it certainly will provide enough biographical background for generalists wanting an introduction. The documentary probably does best in some of its first person material, including some great snippets with Lee herself, who is still spry and pretty darned feisty well into her eighties. There is a kind of unusual assortment of talking heads offered here, and if some like Jackie DeShannon certainly bear certain stylistic and even vocal qualities similar to Lee's, other participants like Pat Benatar might be thought of as more of a "fellow traveler" in terms of a kind of defiant stage presence that in Lee's case might be likened to a "toned down" mainstream-ized version of rock 'n' roll or rhythm and blues, and in Benatar's might be likened to a similarly at least somewhat homogenized punk-ish demeanor.

Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Mercury Studios with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. This is pretty much what you'd expect for an American Masters outing, culled from a variety of sources that have pretty widely variant quality. Even the new digitally captured interviews show a bit of variance. Some, like the ones of Lee sitting next to her piano (with the amazing autographed self portrait of Elton John next to her) look nicely burnished, with good contrast and an accurate seeming palette. Quite a few of the other contemporary interviews segments struck me as at least a bit too bright and blanched, as can be seen in some of the other screenshots, including the one of Lee seated in front of the piano. The archival video can also be in really ragged shape at times (I was actually kind of surprised there isn't better looking archival video available of such an iconic television presence). Archival stills perhaps understandably probably fare the best in terms of consistent quality of the older material.

Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around features a perfectly serviceable LPCM 2.0 track. All of the archival video performances are obviously culled from mono sources, and so are narrow and can sometimes be in somewhat less than perfect quality (typically nowhere near some of the shoddiness seen on the video side of things). All of the contemporary interview segments sound fine. Somewhat interestingly and I have a hunch problematically for some potential consumers, this disc does not offer any subtitles.

Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements offered on the disc. A DVD copy is included.

Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is a good, if generalist, overview of an amazing performer who has been experiencing a probably completely unexpected career renaissance in her eighties. There's some great archival footage here, albeit in sometimes iffy quality, and some really appealing interviews, including a totally engaging Lee. Technical merits are generally solid with some caveats outlined above. Recommended.