Queen: Rock Montreal & Live Aid [Blu-ray]
by Vincent Scarza
from Eagle Rock Ent
Billed as "the day music changed history," the Live Aid concerts of July 13, 1985, were held to raise money to fight the horrifying famines sweeping Africa. The brainchild of Bob Geldof and representing the efforts of countless musicians and technicians, Live Aid was a genuine and inspiring effort to help the victims of an overwhelming calamity. Twenty years after the twin concerts (one in London, one in Philadelphia) were broadcast worldwide, the 4-DVD treatment furthers the cause, with proceeds going toward the Band Aid Trust.
The DVD set opens with a heartbreaking documentary on the crisis, followed by videos of the two hit songs that represented the collaborative nature of Geldof's effortsBand Aid' s "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and USA for Africa's "We Are the World." Since Live Aid was never intended to be released in a recorded format, preservation of TV footage has been unreliable, resulting in some glaring omissions. Led Zeppelin's semi-reunion doesn't appear, and neither does a legendary session with Bob Dylan, Ron Wood, and Keith Richards. Some sets by performers who were popular at the time may inspire either nostalgic glee or head-scratching (Kiki Dee fans, you know who you are). Sprinkled amid these performances are a couple real gems, including a performance by Run DMC, the event's sole representative of the ascendant rap movement. Much of the music here was a passing fad, but the sentiment that brought it all together is timeless. -- Ryan Boudinot
"Queen Rock Montreal" will be released simultaneously in both high definition formats, HDDVD and Blu-Ray. This version includes the full Queen Live Aid performance, never before seen full performance footage of Queen rehearsing for Live Aid: Bohemian Rhapsody + Radio Gaga + Hammer To Fall and previously unreleased Live Aid interview with the whole band.
The Montreal concert is presented in high definition, while the Live Aid and all bonus materials will remain in standard definition.
Tracklisting: 1. Intro 2. We Will Rock You (fast) 3. Let Me Entertain You 4. Play The Game 5. Somebody To Love 6. Killer Queen 7. I'm In Love With My Car 8. Get Down Make Love 9. Save Me 10. Now I'm Here 11. Dragon Attack 12. Now I'm Here (reprise)13. Love Of My Life 14. Under Pressure 15. Keep Yourself Alive 16. Drum & Timpani Solo 17. Guitar Solo 18. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 19. Jailhouse Rock 20. Bohemian Rhapsody 21. Tie Your Mother Down 22. Another One Bites The Dust 23. Sheer Heart Attack 24. We Will Rock You 25. We Are The Champions 26. God Save The Queen
Bonus Features: * Brand new audio commentary by Brian May and Roger Taylor * The full Queen Live Aid performance * Never before seen full performance footage of Queen rehearsing for Live Aid: Bohemian Rhapsody + Radio Gaga + Hammer To Fall * Previously unreleased Live Aid interview with the whole band * 1982 news feature from US TV series PM Magazine * "Before & After" restoration comparison * Weblink to microsite.
Moulin Rouge! (Widescreen Edition)
by Baz Luhrmann
from 20th Century Fox
A dazzling and yet frequently maddening bid to bring the movie musical kicking and screaming into the 21st century, Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge bears no relation to the many previous films set in the famous Parisian nightclub. This may appear to be Paris in the 1890s, with can-can dancers, bohemian denizens like Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo), and ribaldry at every turn, but it's really Luhrmann's pop-cultural wonderland. Everyone and everything is encouraged to shatter boundaries of time and texture, colliding and careening in a fast-cutting frenzy that thinks nothing of casting Elton John's "Your Song" 80 years before its time. Nothing is original in this kaleidoscopic, absinthe-inspired love tragedy--the words, the music, it's all been heard before. But when filtered through Luhrmann's love for pop songs and timeless showmanship, you're reminded of the cinema's power to renew itself while paying homage to its past.
Luhrmann's overall success with his third "red-curtain" extravaganza (following Strictly Ballroom and William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet) is wildly debatable: the scenario is simple to the point of silliness, and how can you appreciate choreography when it's been diced into hash by attention-deficit editing? Still, there's something genuine brewing between costars Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman (as, respectively, a poor writer and his unobtainable object of desire), and their vocal talents are impressive enough to match Luhrmann's orgy of extraordinary sets, costumes, and digital wizardry. The movie's novelty may wear thin, along with its shallow indulgence of a marketable soundtrack, but Luhrmann's inventiveness yields moments that border on ecstasy, when sound and vision point the way to a moribund genre's joyously welcomed revival. --Jeff Shannon
A spectacle beyond anything you've ever witnessed. An experience beyond everything you've ever imagined. Behind the red velvet curtain, the ultimate seduction of your senses is about to begin. Welcome to the Moulin Rouge! Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor sing, dance and scale the heights of passionate abandon in the year's most talked-about movie from visionary director Baz Luhrmann (William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, Strictly Ballroom). Enter a tantalizing world that celebrates truth, beauty, freedom and above all things, love.
Moulin Rouge! (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
by Baz Luhrmann
from 20th Century Fox
A dazzling and yet frequently maddening bid to bring the movie musical kicking and screaming into the 21st century, Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge bears no relation to the many previous films set in the famous Parisian nightclub. This may appear to be Paris in the 1890s, with can-can dancers, bohemian denizens like Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo), and ribaldry at every turn, but it's really Luhrmann's pop-cultural wonderland. Everyone and everything is encouraged to shatter boundaries of time and texture, colliding and careening in a fast-cutting frenzy that thinks nothing of casting Elton John's "Your Song" 80 years before its time. Nothing is original in this kaleidoscopic, absinthe-inspired love tragedy--the words, the music, it's all been heard before. But when filtered through Luhrmann's love for pop songs and timeless showmanship, you're reminded of the cinema's power to renew itself while paying homage to its past.
Luhrmann's overall success with his third "red-curtain" extravaganza (following Strictly Ballroom and William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet) is wildly debatable: the scenario is simple to the point of silliness, and how can you appreciate choreography when it's been diced into hash by attention-deficit editing? Still, there's something genuine brewing between costars Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman (as, respectively, a poor writer and his unobtainable object of desire), and their vocal talents are impressive enough to match Luhrmann's orgy of extraordinary sets, costumes, and digital wizardry. The movie's novelty may wear thin, along with its shallow indulgence of a marketable soundtrack, but Luhrmann's inventiveness yields moments that border on ecstasy, when sound and vision point the way to a moribund genre's joyously welcomed revival. --Jeff Shannon
A spectacle beyond anything you've ever witnessed. An experience beyond everything you've ever imagined. Behind the red velvet curtain, the ultimate seduction of your senses is about to begin. Welcome to the Moulin Rouge! Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor sing, dance and scale the heights of passionate abandon in the year's most talked-about movie from visionary director Baz Luhrmann (William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, Strictly Ballroom). Enter a tantalizing world that celebrates truth, beauty, freedom and above all things, love.
Live Aid (4 Disc Set)
by Vincent Scarza
from Rhino / Wea
The Day The Music Changed the World 1. Bob Dylan 2. David Bowie 3. Mick Jagger 4. U2 5. Queen 6. Paul McCartney 7. Madonna 8. Elton John 9. The Who 10. Eric Clapton 11. Neil Young 12. Dire Straits 13. Beach Boys 14. Sting 15. Tina Turner 16. Bryan Ferry 17. Bryan Adams 18. Joan Baez 19. Keith Richards 20. Ron Wood The Biggest Rock Event in History 1. Pretenders 2. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 3. George Michaels 4. Hall & Oates 5. INXS 6. Crosby Stills & Nash 7. Phil Collins 8. Style Council 9. Black Sabbath Featuring Ozzy Osbourne 10. Sade 11. Status Quo 12. Elvis Costello 13. The Cars The Greatest Live Concert of All Time 1. B.B. King 2. Duran Duran 3. Simple Minds 4. Alison Moyet 5. Paul Young 6. Boomtown Rays 7. Ultravox 8. Spandau Ballet 9. Albert Collins 10. Patti LaBelle 11. Teddy Pendergrass 12. Ashford & Simpson 13. George Thorogood & The Destroyers 14. Run DMCFormat: DVD AUDIO Genre: MUSIC DVD/CONCERTS Rating: NR UPC: 603497038329 Manufacturer No: 970383
Billed as "the day music changed history," the Live Aid concerts of July 13, 1985, were held to raise money to fight the horrifying famines sweeping Africa. The brainchild of Bob Geldof and representing the efforts of countless musicians and technicians, Live Aid was a genuine and inspiring effort to help the victims of an overwhelming calamity. Twenty years after the twin concerts (one in London, one in Philadelphia) were broadcast worldwide, the 4-DVD treatment furthers the cause, with proceeds going toward the Band Aid Trust.
The DVD set opens with a heartbreaking documentary on the crisis, followed by videos of the two hit songs that represented the collaborative nature of Geldof's effortsBand Aid' s "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and USA for Africa's "We Are the World." Since Live Aid was never intended to be released in a recorded format, preservation of TV footage has been unreliable, resulting in some glaring omissions. Led Zeppelin's semi-reunion doesn't appear, and neither does a legendary session with Bob Dylan, Ron Wood, and Keith Richards. Some sets by performers who were popular at the time may inspire either nostalgic glee or head-scratching (Kiki Dee fans, you know who you are). Sprinkled amid these performances are a couple real gems, including a performance by Run DMC, the event's sole representative of the ascendant rap movement. Much of the music here was a passing fad, but the sentiment that brought it all together is timeless. -- Ryan Boudinot
The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 1: 1970-1978
from Sanctuary Records
This chronicle of the heaviest metal band of all time will be an eye-opener to those who only know Ozzy Osbourne as that goofball dad on MTV: 30 years ago, he fronted one of the hardest-hitting and loudest rock groups around. An hour-long compilation of interviews, videos, and performance footage that, while short on length, is long on substance, The Black Sabbath Story, Volume One unearths several vintage clips that show the band at its artistic and commercial zenith: "N.I.B." and "War Pigs," filmed at concerts in Paris; a performance of "Paranoid" from Belgian TV; and a rarely seen video of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath."
Ozzy, happily, doesn't have much to say beyond belting out the tunes in his trademark yelp. When a female reporter sticks a mike in front of him after Sabbath's performance at the legendary California Jam, his incoherence is truly sublime. It's up to guitarist Tony Iommi to more lucidly recount various aspects of the band's history. --Kevin Filipski
Black Sabbath - The Last Supper
by Jeb Brien
from Sony
There was something genuinely heartwarming about the decision by Black Sabbath's founding members to take to the road again in 1999. The fractious intra-band relationships that have characterized Black Sabbath's long career were a major inspiration for the writers of This Is Spinal Tap, and so the Sabs' reunion created something pleasingly symmetrical and evocative of the closing scenes of that fine film.
The concert footage was taken from six of the concerts on that tour. It is conclusive proof that the original quartet of Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, and Ward (or, in Osbourne's words, "four dickheads from Aston, near Birmingham") were every bit as exuberantly juvenile a rock & roll band in their early 50s as their late teens. Also included is a sketchy biography and interviews with the band by Henry Rollins, one of the countless contemporary musicians influenced by Sabbath. It's a nice idea, but the only real weakness of the package is that Ozzy is never granted time to wheel out any of his peerless reserve of grotesque rock & roll anecdotes. Nevertheless, the already formidable case for Osbourne's knighthood is strengthened further. --Andrew Mueller, Amazon.co.uk
The Last Supper is the first-ever live DVD from legendary Metal superstars Black Sabbath, which includes all of Sabbath's biggest hits performed live. The Last Supper features all of the original members of Black Sabbath--Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward--on their sold-out 1999 Reunion tour, and includes behind-the-scenes interviews and tour photos. 120 minutes.
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