Central Movie Reviews

I had ran accross this title awhile back when it was first released in Japan.

Looking over the design work I had wondered, "WOW, what a cute and interesting looking show." Unfortunately at the time this film, was in the stage of, "Here's another interesting OVA series that might not make it over here." And it was a surprise that it was picked up and released here. I'm glad that they did.

I had the opportunity to view this title over the weekend with a friend. And all I can say is "wow". Very original in it's simplicity and complexity.

While some at first glance may look at it as being cute on the outside the series hides a dark side, a side that is "reality". The whole point of it looking cute was a cover-up. And I must say the creators did a good job at pulling at it off. This is not your typical anime film that manages to "spoon feed", it's viewers. Oh no, this is a very highly psychological piece of work. I say this because, while the film projects one view of things, what you're seeing is not what it appears to be. Many of the elements in this 4-part series are very "symbolic". It's key factor "ADOLESCENCE. The driving force behind what the film is trying to display in another light. Many will not get the references on the first watch taking it as it is.

For example, in one point of the film there is a scene where all the students gather in what appears to be a gym. All the kids there are practically naked except for their gym shorts. They get their measurements taken. Like taking a physical. Yuri Otani, stands on the scale to get weighed and height checked. She notices that she grew an inch or two. One of the girls from a neighboring class (if not the same class) hears this and makes a comment to some of her friends,

"I hear they say that the girls from class ... who wear 'Borgs' on their head, grow an inch taller."

Yuri overhears this. While some of the girls giggle about the comment her friend jumps to her defense even though they were only making fun and didn't mean anything cruel. Looking at this scene directly, it would look like you're typical scene of about something out in open, when in reality it's showing symbolism.

The 'Borgs'symbolically represent an extension or push into adolescence. Basically, the characters Kumi, Kasumi and Yuri are put into these roles that are meant for adults. In other words growing up sooner than they would like. The constant licking of the back area that they get from the 'Borgs' looks like in one view "feeding", when in actuality they are the stimulus to growth. If anyone knows anything about the 'brain's anatomy,that the hypothalamus and pituitary glands are responsible for the secretion of GROWTH hormones. And thus given the understanding behind, "girls who wear 'Borgs' on their head grow faster than everyone else".

You really have to pay close attention to what's said and the visuals in this series to draw a conclusion about some of the elements. Nothing is to be taken literally. This film was meant to make you think.

Although the rating on the case states that the film is for ages 13+ and up, I would not expect anyone under that age to understand this series. Especially, due to some of the more mature if not disturbing issues, that I will not mention. Older viewers may find this a challenge. But eventually understand and enjoy it. Giving insight to younger individuals.

But all in all it's an excellent purchase and worth seeing. I've even recommended this video to our institution's library [School of Visual Arts--NY, USA] video collection. We've just getting courses for anime as part of the animation curriculum. Such film recommendations as this one are a must for students here. We are in the process of getting the manga's as well. Although different from the OVAs, will present a another view of the same story.

Just to clear up some confusion, 'Alien 9' was not created by the same team that did 'Excel Saga'. It was created at the same studio that did 'Excel Saga', but not by the same creator. The same goes for the 'Cowboy Bebop' creator. Just the director for the movie 'Cowboy Bebop: KOHD', worked on this project. The creator of 'Alien 9' is Hitoshi Tomizawa'. He is the true creator. The others were responsible for animated work. Companies here that release anime of such titles, need to be more clear about these things. Vague information can send people the wrong information about a project.

Wow. Notice the thingy that says 'From the Creators of Excel Saga'. That tells you right there that this is WEIRD. But I loved it. I can't imagine having a job like Yuri, Kumi, and Kasumi (did I spell that right?). The whole time, I felt sorry for Yuri. At times, I could relate her to myself. I wouldn't reccommend Alien Nine to everyone, but if you liked Excel Saga, you'll like this. It is amusing and sometimes pretty funny, but it's also very disturbing. It had a very nice ending song. I don't really like how the people are drawn. They have huge eyes, no noses, and big ears. It's strange. Oh yeah, and watch out, parents. There is a lot of violence and alien guts, disturbing images, and some minor nudity, but nothing major. I'd rate it PG-13. Well, overall, I give it an A-.

I'm quite astonished by this title. The story is among the most unique I've seen and frankly, I'm having a tough time figuring out the reasons why I liked this show. The execution of it as a whole was just something that I did not predict. I was expecting a cute anime and got a rather dark one. I found that the characters moved me. Our heroine Yuri is a whiny, cry baby scaredy cat but instead of being dislikable and annoying , she drew me in to her fears and insecurities so that I sympathized w/her. Her relationship w/Kumi augmented the sweetness and dynamics of the show, so much so that I wanted it perpetuated. Instead, I get an unnecessary and aggrevating ending sequence. ...

Wow. After seeing this on the back of my magazine cover, and hearing it described as "Hello Kitty" on acid, I decided to check it out. And all I can say is: WOW. It is a great short film, and very thought-provoking. Even after watching it several times, there are things I discover that I previously had missed. I would recommend this to anyone with an open-mind, a love for niche anime titles, or a strange sense of humor. I would not recommend it for children under the age of 14, however. Despite the cute cats on the cover, it is a tad bit bloody, and the youngun's probably wouldn't sit through this mature anime, anyway.

Cat soup is basically about a young cat trying to get his sister's soul back, or his sister's dream while she is sick. You can interpret it any way. Either way it has an odd assortment of er...adventures, like the water elephant incident.
This DVD is very, very random, so if you don't like random stuff, then you shouldn't buy this. But if you do, go ahead. You'll probably enjoy this. I know I did.

Wow, that was all I could say after watching this! Possibly the best film to ever be imported, you can't even tell if the strange animations are you severely hallucinating or just the movie. The twists and turns and morphing creatures of this film are absolutely bazaar. I can't even explain how neccesary it is that any person who is a fan of film- anime or not- see this work. Spectacular!

Wow. After seeing this on the back of my magazine cover, and hearing it described as "Hello Kitty" on acid, I decided to check it out. And all I can say is: WOW. It is a great short film, and very thought-provoking. Even after watching it several times, there are things I discover that I previously had missed. I would recommend this to anyone with an open-mind, a love for niche anime titles, or a strange sense of humor. I would not recommend it for children under the age of 14, however. Despite the cute cats on the cover, it is a tad bit bloody, and the youngun's probably wouldn't sit through this mature anime, anyway.

Cat soup is basically about a young cat trying to get his sister's soul back, or his sister's dream while she is sick. You can interpret it any way. Either way it has an odd assortment of er...adventures, like the water elephant incident.
This DVD is very, very random, so if you don't like random stuff, then you shouldn't buy this. But if you do, go ahead. You'll probably enjoy this. I know I did.

Wow, that was all I could say after watching this! Possibly the best film to ever be imported, you can't even tell if the strange animations are you severely hallucinating or just the movie. The twists and turns and morphing creatures of this film are absolutely bazaar. I can't even explain how neccesary it is that any person who is a fan of film- anime or not- see this work. Spectacular!

This volume of Shoujo Kakumei Utena explores the backgrounds of two of the very-much-supporting (even third-tier) characters of Mitsuru -- Nanami's worshipper -- and Wakaba -- Utena's best friend. The Black Rose strikes again, tempting these two characters with the lure of creating a world in which their deepest desires come to life.

Wakaba's two-episode arc is one of the highlights of the series. Her struggles as the "best friend of the heroine" is heart-tuggingly tragic, as Wakaba seems to know instinctively that she is not the main character in this or any other story. However, for two episodes, the focus is taken off Utena and the duels and put onto this lone, normal girl, adrift in the miasma of Ohtori Academy. Everything is thrown into a different light when you start to wonder just why the duels, the Rose Bride, and Utena seem to affect every aspect of life at Ohtori Academy.

ok to sum it up in two words if possible: completely mind-blowing. and of course i mean the entire black rose arc, not just these episodes. a lot have mention that the black rose arc is the most predictable and the weakest of the Utena story arcs. As a stand alone, it is predictable and formulaic but the twist at the end of Mikage's duel will leave you speechless or like me mind-[twisted]. But looking at this arc in terms of the greater context of the series, it is the most essential arc as it provides a mirror to how the rest of the series will unravel with a twist. i won't spoil it for the rest who haven't seen it but it's definitely worth watching Utena in its entirety.

as far as this DVD is concern, the Wakaba-centered episodes were my favorite.

In this DVD, we reach the middle of the complete Utena storyline and the middle of the Black Rose Saga. There are three episodes on this DVD which are mostly very impressive.

*18- This is about Nanami's follower Mitsuru and when he finally realizes Nanami mistreats him. SO he is drawn to duel. I don't care for most Nanami episodes but the animation in this episodes is gorgeous.

*19- This episode has not as great animation, but the storyline is pretty good and gives us an insight ito Wakaba's past.

*20- This is one of my personal favorites. Wakaba is hiding Saionji but when Saionji is accepted back into school, he will forget all about her, which drives Wakaba to duel him.

The whole of the Slayers series is built to be more fun and funny than any other anime series that actually involves a plot. Slayers Next (season 2) is the fulfillment of that goal, with infinitely more character development than the original series (season 1) and a far more even storytelling keel than Slayers Try (season 3). The end of the Next storyline is powerful and beautiful without disrupting the flow of the world-building. Their silly "we need to take a break from the drama" episodes in the middle of the series are, as mentioned, fairly even-keeled and continue to flesh out the characters (unlike those in Slayers Try, which were fun and silly, but little else).

This isn't to say that the rest of the Slayers stock is bad -- it's not, they're a whole lot of fun -- it's just that Slayers Next is the best what the Slayers universe has to offer.

Of course, I'm also of the opinion that Slayers Next is the overall single best season of anime available on DVD, perfectly blending character consistency, Camus-style existentialism (which is quite intense in Slayers Try), comedy and action -- even beating out the also-fantastic but not-quite-as-satisfying Trigun. (I also enjoyed Cowboy Bebop and Love Hina; Lain defies comparisons to any type of comprehensible anime, but it's still quite respectable.)

Slayers rules! This 26-episode DVD gift set is the pinacle of the series, and anime fans have to see this series which is pure gold! Even if you haven't seen the first season(like me), the current one is pretty easy to follow. This season also introduces Xellos, mysterious priest(mysterious ally is more like it), who comes in at different times to aid Lina and the group. Martina, an annoying rival for Lina, also shows up. She's a pain, but you can get used to her. This series is mostly episodic with a few fillers in between. It has a great blend of comedy, fantasy, action, romance, drama, and even has a muscial number or two thrown in for good measure. This is a great TV series, and fans have to see it to see the best adventures of Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, and Amelia.

I've seen all three seasons of Slayers (Slayers, Slayers NEXT, and Slayers TRY). And in my opinion, NEXT is easily the best. TRY was a lot more serious (with the exception of a few REALY bizarre episodes). And Slayers was a lot sillier. NEXT blends the sillyness and seriousness excellently.

Everyone's favorite characters return with better powers, cool outfits, and hilarious situations. The introduction of Xellos and Martina (along with many others) makes this season, by far, one of the best seasons of any anime ever released.

Also recommended: Ah! My Goddess, Cowboy Bebop, DNA2, Full Metal Panic, Fushigi Yuugi, His And Her Circumstances, I My Me! Strawberry Eggs, Inu Yasha, Love Hina, Outlaw Star, Please Teacher, Ranma 1/2, Rurouni Kenshin, Trigun, Yu Yu Hakusho

Last year I went to an anime store to rent some anime. They had one of those rent two get two free special deals and I couldn't resist. I didn't know about this OVA (Original Video Animation, its not a series, nor a movie, it has a budget somewhere in between and its made specifically for the home video market, going straight to release. In this case a real shame.), I noticed it because of the character of Orgun in the front cover, a mechanoid that reminded me much of Teknoman Slade or as he's known in much of the world Tekkaman Blade.
Anyways I wasn't too interested until I read the back of the DVD case, and I learned about this great sci fi story. Forget about all the sci-fi American live action movies you've ever seen, their all horrible, with no real story to tell, yeah, you heard me, when you compare them to Detonator Orgun that is. There's no competition, Detonator Orgun takes the cake. When I saw the first part of it I was blown away. All I could keep thinking was: "Damn I can't believe he did that, I've never seen anything like that." Sure many would say it doesn't look like the real thing, and the animation compared to current anime is poor, but when the action gets going, you just shut up, and you know its real.
While in our western culture its all about the Judeo/Christian ideas of good versus evil, the eastern Hindu/Buddhist culture expressed in many anime is all about the balance at the core of everything, the balance between good and evil, nature and machines, and life and death, really an advance way of thinking. Such a dichotomy between the western and the eastern ways of thinking is interesting to look at, you might notice it in the anime.
This anime (Forget about traditional animation.) has got one of the most complicated, Mythic Nietsche Freudian symbolic stories of all time, about the truth behind the human spirit, well if you're a real college student you'll notice what I'm talking about.
Continuing on, the story is so good it puts American live action movies to shame and makes our animation look like dirt, yep it really does, it shows us the future, that the way things are going anime from Japan will eventually do away with American animation, we are so damn behind them with our made for kids animation, its pathetic. Someday maybe even live action movies will go the way of the dinosaurs, replaced by anime inspired live action movies, its already happening with such a movie as the Matrix. Its probably for the best, after all its our fault for not even trying to dish something that even comes close, yeah you heard me.
At first I had an inkling that the story was going to be like that of Tekkaman Blade, but it was way beyond that. This anime is just about three hours long split into three parts, originally each part was on a seperate VHS, lucky for you, now you get the whole thing on one DVD. Each part was done at a different time.
If you compare Orgun to Tekkaman he looks like an older model, even his fighting style is similar, some would call this a rip off of Tekkaman, because of how close the main mechanoids of each series look alike, no kidding they could be related, but in reality, but most of this OVA except for the last part, was done even before the Tekkaman of the 90's debuted in Japan. Its incredible how much Tomaru looks like Blade's brother Saber from Tekkaman. There is, but one instance where you know for sure they are ripping off Tekkaman, but by then you really don't care.

It is the 3 best anime in the world!
Thouse that beat it, is Macross do you remember love? and Macross pluss. Just bye it, you wil love it
!

This OAV (original animated video) is exelent. It has great art, story, and characters. Orgun himself is one of the coolest heroes ever. Some people may not like it, but I did. see it.

Last year I went to an anime store to rent some anime. They had one of those rent two get two free special deals and I couldn't resist. I didn't know about this OVA (Original Video Animation, its not a series, nor a movie, it has a budget somewhere in between and its made specifically for the home video market, going straight to release. In this case a real shame.), I noticed it because of the character of Orgun in the front cover, a mechanoid that reminded me much of Teknoman Slade or as he's known in much of the world Tekkaman Blade.
Anyways I wasn't too interested until I read the back of the DVD case, and I learned about this great sci fi story. Forget about all the sci-fi American live action movies you've ever seen, their all horrible, with no real story to tell, yeah, you heard me, when you compare them to Detonator Orgun that is. There's no competition, Detonator Orgun takes the cake. When I saw the first part of it I was blown away. All I could keep thinking was: "Damn I can't believe he did that, I've never seen anything like that." Sure many would say it doesn't look like the real thing, and the animation compared to current anime is poor, but when the action gets going, you just shut up, and you know its real.
While in our western culture its all about the Judeo/Christian ideas of good versus evil, the eastern Hindu/Buddhist culture expressed in many anime is all about the balance at the core of everything, the balance between good and evil, nature and machines, and life and death, really an advance way of thinking. Such a dichotomy between the western and the eastern ways of thinking is interesting to look at, you might notice it in the anime.
This anime (Forget about traditional animation.) has got one of the most complicated, Mythic Nietsche Freudian symbolic stories of all time, about the truth behind the human spirit, well if you're a real college student you'll notice what I'm talking about.
Continuing on, the story is so good it puts American live action movies to shame and makes our animation look like dirt, yep it really does, it shows us the future, that the way things are going anime from Japan will eventually do away with American animation, we are so damn behind them with our made for kids animation, its pathetic. Someday maybe even live action movies will go the way of the dinosaurs, replaced by anime inspired live action movies, its already happening with such a movie as the Matrix. Its probably for the best, after all its our fault for not even trying to dish something that even comes close, yeah you heard me.
At first I had an inkling that the story was going to be like that of Tekkaman Blade, but it was way beyond that. This anime is just about three hours long split into three parts, originally each part was on a seperate VHS, lucky for you, now you get the whole thing on one DVD. Each part was done at a different time.
If you compare Orgun to Tekkaman he looks like an older model, even his fighting style is similar, some would call this a rip off of Tekkaman, because of how close the main mechanoids of each series look alike, no kidding they could be related, but in reality, but most of this OVA except for the last part, was done even before the Tekkaman of the 90's debuted in Japan. Its incredible how much Tomaru looks like Blade's brother Saber from Tekkaman. There is, but one instance where you know for sure they are ripping off Tekkaman, but by then you really don't care.

It is the 3 best anime in the world!
Thouse that beat it, is Macross do you remember love? and Macross pluss. Just bye it, you wil love it
!

This OAV (original animated video) is exelent. It has great art, story, and characters. Orgun himself is one of the coolest heroes ever. Some people may not like it, but I did. see it.

I watched it the second time one night last week since the first time years ago. I remembered it was a sad, sad story (I probably was on the verge of crying while watching it back then) but had no idea what new impact I would feel watching it the second time round.

I found myself crying like a hurt person throughout most of the film. I couldn't explain it to myself, much less my wife (when I told her about the experience the next day). There were parts of the show where I cried so whole-heartedly and so hard my heart hurt literally (e.g. seeing the worsening rashes on Setsuko's back; how she slipped away from life's suffering - but not before thanking her brother for the little bit of water melon he brought her for the last time). I can't stop my eyes from swelling with tears even as I'm typing this.

I was a carefree student years ago when I watched it the first time but now I'm a working father with a 16 months old daughter. Circumstances have changed. I have grown. Something stirred in me while watching the film that I can't pinpoint. Perhaps I see my baby daughter in Setsuko and "resonate" with her innocence and suffering. Perhaps I see myself in Seita for the frustration and helplessness in not being a fantastic brother to my own sister. This film opens the door to an emotional depth that I have yet to come to terms with.

It may open the door for you too.

Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988)

There are nine animated films on IMDB's top 250 of all time list (as of this writing). As one can surmise with a little reflection, the majority of them are new releases that have gotten, perhaps, an overenthusiastic response (this is also true of live-action films; Pirates of the Caribbean, of all things, is swimming around in the lower ranks as I type this). It takes a true classic to stay in the list if it's over ten years old. When you narrow it down like that, only three films remain. Two are Disney's Beauty and the Beast and Fantasia. The third is Grave of the Fireflies.

Takahata's tale follows a young brother and sister, Seita and Setsuko, through the last days of World War II. During an air raid, they're separated from their mother (their father is serving in the Imperial Navy), who is injured when her shelter is bombed. She ultimately perishes, and with their mother dead and their father off fighting the war, Seita and Setsuko are forced to make their way as best they can, scrabbling for what little food they can find and having only each other for solace.

From the very first scene, it's easy to tell that Grave of the Fireflies is not your usual animated film, of either the Japanese (big robots battling one another, big-breasted bimbos having fun, or a combination of both) or American (standard, usually brainless, kid stuff) fare. For that matter, it's not the nonstandard fare (American Pop, Fritz the Cat) that pops up every once in a while. It's something completely different; a tense, devastating drama told in animation, perhaps simply because a live action film couldn't portray the devastation of the last few days before Japan surrendered with quite the same empty hopelessness as does the stark, beautiful animation with which we are presented here.

Grab a box of Kleenex before watching this film. You'll need it. But if you've never seen it, do whatever you need to do to see it as soon as possible. **** ½

...you absolutely haven't realized what the film wanted to express thoroughly. I was shocked and could not move myself from the sofa even though the film have ended. The deep affection between the brother and the sister was touching, and heartbreaking. My tear burst out when the boy gazed at his sister's face sadly before he closed the lid and cremated her.

It was said in the film that most of the villages and factories and schools in Japan have been destroyed near the end of WWII; the food supplies have run short, money and well clothing meant nothing. Yes, of course, the boy Seita could join the self-defense corps and earned something to eat, but how 'bout his sister Setsuko? He could not take care of her if he joined the army, just like his father. He could not leave her behind in the aunt's house either, because without the protection from him that ...aunt will no doubt treat his sister in a harsher way. And he chose to leave the house because his sister did not live a happy life there; have you forgotten that the one who talked about the leaving first was his sister? And YOU speaked like the brother's profound love toward his sister was just nothing more than an act of cowardice! Than I most say I feel SHAMEFUL for you because you could not even match up to a 14-year-old boy! Mind you this film was based on a true story of the writer himself, and he said during an interview that he never stoped blaming himself for unable to save his little sister's life.

This film tried telling us the cruel reality of war from the views of two innocent children. If you could not empathize with their situation, and just keep saying that this was a silly story, then I will tell you it was not because of the film; it was because of you, who refused to know about this film better.

When I originally saw the PATLABOR 1 movie listed on AMAZON,
I picked it up on the basis of good customer reviews. I was
a bit worried that it was just another "SGRA (Stupid Giant
Robots Anime)", but I found out that it well transcended the
limits of the genre.

While the TV series is not of the same standards as the movies,
it is not a bad piece of work, and in fact quite a bit more
intelligent than run-of-the-mill "machine made" anime. The
stories about the Tokyo "Patrol Labor" force are driven by
good, though not great, scripts and artwork, and very much
by well-developed characterization. Spunky little femme cop
Noa Izumi is particularly endearing. The giant cop robots
("Labors") are almost secondary elements in the stories.

If you have to choose between the PATLABOR videos, the PATLABOR
2 movie is the best -- very similar to GHOST IN THE SHELL in
style and artwork -- and the PATLABOR 1 movie is good as well,
though not quite in the same league.

However, if you like them, the PATLABOR TV series makes a
good addition to the set. If not exactly up to the movies,
the TV episodes are conscientious work and entertaining in
themselves -- I would have given this video collection five
stars instead of four if the movies hadn't been exceptional --
and they provide a lot of useful background for the
characters in the movies.

I am certainly planning to pick up the next set of episodes
when they are released on DVD.

It's difficult to say exactly why I rate this so high. I highly recommend Patlabor to anyone who likes giant robot movies, but even more so I recommend it to those who don't, those who think that all giant robot movies have to be the same. It's not true here. The labors take a back seat to the characters really giving them time to develop and grow on you. I can hardly wait for volume 2. Well worth it.

If you have had a chance to see the Patlabor theatrical features, you should definitely check out the series in order to better understand what the fuss is all about. Patlabor didn't get the recognition it deserved in North American over other worthy series, because it was not very well promoted and badly represented as a "mecha-action" show. This couldn't be further from the truth of what this program had to offer. The movies, while technically brilliant, were more about the ideas and less about what made the show so popluar overseas, namely storytelling and character development. Shows such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Dominion, even Love Hina can trace many of their thematic and character development roots back to this wonderful show where mecha takes a back seat to the world which Headgear (the creative group responsible for the show) creates. In a sense, it's real success was in part due to the believability which they lent to the whole giant robot genre by popluating it with regular people who happen to use large machines in everyday life. The basic premise is at the end of the 20th century, newer more efficient construction methods needed to be developed, and robots were employed to fulfill this role. As a result, the number of crimes committed using these robots, or "labors", resulted in the need to create a special detatchment of the police force to deal with labor related crime. This is the premise in which we are introduced to Tokyo's newest section of the Special Vehicles Department and their crew: a crazy mix of personalities. Once you watch the show, there is bound to be at least one character you recognize from your own life, or maybe even yourself. From the regular folks who inhabit the Patlabor environment, to the cops, the construction workers, the media and their pets, everything is included and as the show comes to a close, it forms a wonderful symmetry which is rare on television. The show is the perfect set-up for the more political and philosophical approach of the movies which has been criticized for being boring; but try the series, and you won't be dissapointed. As far as I'm concerned, Patlabor was the last show that had anything interesting to offer with giant robots, and was the final word in the genre.

Hot damn, the boys are rollin' on this DVD!! This DVD blows the band's other two releases out of the water. I love the shots were you see even the police officers gettin' funky. How can you help yourself?! The groove is just too contagious. Rock n' Roll!

Much better than the Folsom Field DVD imho. It captures the feel of the concert wonderfully and Dave is very animated during this concert. Lots of long outros to songs and just a great feel all around on this DVD. I would say this is better than Listener Supported, but I love the intimate feel of that DVD. If you're even a remote fan of DMB, get this DVD!

I went to the concert in Antioch, TN for the 2nd straight year. If you haven't gone to a Dave concert, you haven't lived. Anyways, this DVD is quality material. For those of you who didn't like how the camera would focus on the crowd for a while, you'll probably like this one better. There is a little documentary-type feature where it shows them setting up the stage and whatnot...I rate this DVD an A+!