Industrial Organization Movie Reviews

Dark and deep realization, bigger with the new music

If Gothic you want, then Gothic this is- a pleasant diversion from all the modern, glam, vampire poseur films. Filmed in 1922, Nosfartu is an historic, horror masterpiece. Without fast-action fight sequences, without high-tech special effects, without even dialogue (remember this was filmed in 1922) the film simply exudes gothic ambiance. The score from Cleopatra Records is the perfect audio backdrop to the visual stimulus; And, the music is continuous throughout the film (good thing, this is a silent movie otherwise). You may also want to buy "Bram Stoker's Dracula (Coppola)" and "Shadow of the Vampire" as they yield more storyline and provide a (fictional?) documentary prelude to Nosferatu. The three films together comprise an interesting trilogy (or shall we say, orgy) of vampire cinema. Having recently viewed these two other films made the viewing of this film far more meaningful. This is no ordinary movie; don't expect to be entertained in an ordinary manner. Nosferatu is more 'feel' and 'attitude' than blatant bite-my-neck action. After several viewings you may find yourself listening to the soundtrack as primary entertainment, while the movie visuals provide secondary allure. On the complaint side- there were no printed materials included with the DVD-- no track listing, no historical by-lines. Nor does the DVD have any additional features. For these small omissions, "Nosferatu" falls slightly short of perfection, but rates a great 4 out of 5 stars.

I bought this DVD online. Owning many Cleopatra releases on CD, I knew most of the songs all ready. The music is often great, but this does not imply that the video will be good as well. In fact, most of the videos are quite awful. Many seem home made, like with a handheld camera. This, coupled with little or no direction, adds an amateurish quality to the videos. Most seem chaotic, distracting from the harmony of the music. A good video supports the music. For instance, most editing cuts are done very quickly, sometimes to a split second, often creating a strobe effect that causes a headache just watching. This was most true on Clock DVA's 'Hacker' video. I had to skip it because my poor eyes couldn't handle it. Furthermore, the music of these bands is powerful enough in itself not to need powerful images. There were many shots of violent or frightening images that, with the music, reminded me of the kind of propoganda films used to brainwash third world torturers. Furthermore, a video by Spahn Ranch (A great band otherwise) was a homemade version of a scene from A Clockwork Orange. It featured forced sex, something I still cannot fathom. All in all, I found very little in this DVD to be of value, save a few rarities such as videos by Die Krupps (the only semi-professional videos I have seen of yet, as I cannot stomach to watch more than a few videos at a time). There was also an interview with a text artist that I found quite interesting, although how or why it belonged on the compilation was beside me. Additionally, even live performances were off the mark in my opinion. The song from Throbbing Gristle was overly long and repetitive. The cut from Foetus was underlit, etc. If you love industrial/goth music as I do, you may find this DVD to profane that love. Recommended only for the most serious collector of industrial/goth. Overall, it was sadly unprofessional, almost as if thrown together at the last minute. I expected greater things from Cleopatra. Just listen to Virgin Voices or the Goth Box CD compilation and you'll know what I mean.

I bought this disk off the shelf and had problems getting it to play. After 6 or so trys it played. It's a good disc although the sound could be better. I've exchanged my disc in hope of getting one that will play straight away. A booklet would have been very nice...

OK - I got my replacement DVD (the first one was defective) so here goes. This DVD compilation of 40 industrial band music-videos from CLEOPATRA is a cool compilation featuring such groups as Die Krupps, Einsturzende Neubauten, Spahn Ranch, Chemlab, Throbbing Gristle, Test Dept., Leaether Strip, Razed in Black, Clock DVA, Pigface and more. This DVD basically compiles ALL the videos that were on Cleopatra's earlier three VHS releases: Industrial Revolution Vol. 1, Industrial Revolution Vol. 2 and Gothic Industrial Alternative Visuals. The digital mastering of the DVD is average and I compared it side by side with the old VHS releases. In some cases the DVD looks sharper (although with some slight artifacts), but in other cases the VHS has much better contrast. Just compare the shot of the demon in Chemlab's "Codeine Glue & You" video....on the VHS it's crystal clear, but on the DVD you can barely make out it's face no matter how much you fiddle with the controls. Other videos suffer in the same way, but all in all, the DVD is definitely satisfactory. There is a simple menu where you can access each song (and if you do it manually by skipping you will find that the 40 videos are broken down into 3 separate sections --- from the old VHS releases --- and you will have to fast forward to get to the next set! --- very strange). There is also extra information on some of the bands listing other video releases that feature them. There is also no booklet. A bare-bones DVD, but if you like the old Cleopatra stuff, it's a good purchase and way cheaper than buying the 3 separate videos.