Anthologies Movie Reviews

If you're a fan of just a few of the bands on this DVD, it's a great chance to see their videos. The menu is split between the two original VHS tapes. However, you can also browse by artist or just play all the videos.

"The Beatles Anthology" is a VERY nice, almost fawning, portrayal of the Beatles, and their bitter and sometimes even hate-filled breakup is made to look like a friendly mutual decision where everybody loooooves each other and just want to move on in their lives, yadayadayada.

The fact that comments from the three surviving Beatles (anno 1996-97) and their various associates are never commented upon or questioned or analyzed makes "The Beatles Anthology" a bit of a bland experience at times...some sort of unbiased commentary (other than various newscasters in old 60s TV clips) would have been nice.
As it is, "Anthology" just rolls along, a bit monotously, offering a pleasant, often entertaining look at the career of the Beatles, but never analyzing or seeing things in a larger context, and that's really a shame. But I suppose that was the price the BBC had to pay to get George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney to take part.

It is sad that John wasn't around to take part in it, but he's very much there throughout the documentary. I'm not sure if "Imagine" (the movie on his life)is on DVD yet, but would also be a great addition to this one. "Lennon Legend" will be out soon as of this writing, so will the "Ed Sullivan" DVD.

But I hope that they will wind up putting out a DVD collection of their songs. Between existing video footage, animation, clever editing,rare photos and home movies, and footage of the times, I think it's possible.

As has been mentioned, many of these films are impecabbly transferred to video-- but these aren't film colors. They're much more vibrant than any color photographic image could possibly be. Many of these films were made by dying the original footage or painting onto blank film, so Brakhage creates photographically-impossible colors.

Unfortunately, Brakhage made many other films besides the direct-to-film works that make up the majority of this collection, and they do get to the point where you can't watch them all at once without feeling stroboscopic effects and getting a headache. I hope that at some point another DVD will appear containing some of Brakhage's photographic works. His painted films are great in small doses, but all those fast-forward color effects need to be digested. They're great to put on for a little while, but it's probably injurious to watch these DVDs all at once.

For those who haven't seen Brakhage's films: most of the films on this collection are silent (although there are separate commentary tracks for each one) and many of them either rely on rapid cutting or are painted directly onto the film. It would be difficult to watch the whole collection at once because of the stroboscopic effect that Brakhage achieves; I would advise taking a break beween films in order to let your eyes go back to normal. In any case, these movies weren't meant to be watched in one big lump; this is a great collection to dip into when you're in the mood.

A word about the transfer: the colors in the painted films are the most vibrant I've seen on a DVD; kudos to the technical people involved in the video transfer.

Frankly those are the only Beastie songs that don't make me want to hurl and without them this anthology is worth crap.

Ciao

I immediately realized that the voice of the narrator, Deems Taylor, whose wonderful and soothing voice spans the entirety of the movie, had been overdubbed with someone else's voice! Deems Taylor was a widely known and respected music critic in his time. He had a beautiful, deep sonorous and expressive voice. The sound of his voice was an essential part of the aural and musical magic of this film. Yet, the new owner's of Disney saw fit to overdub his voice with that of some squawky and squeaky sounding unknown, thereby ruining the entire film.

I did some research to find out why, in the name of "preservation", Disney studios would destroy this film in the way that they have. The reason, supposedly, was because they found old footage (which was NOT in the version we all knew and loved as kids) which they wanted to insert - but the audio on that obscure footage had been damaged. They felt they had to redub those voice overs. Fine. But then, in the process, they re-dubbed the entire film, even the parts that had not been damaged!

I understand, for historical interest, that some people might be interested in seeing the extra, obscure footage which had been edited out long ago , but that extra footage easily could have been put on a special features disc, not in the actual movie that millions of fans have come to know and love. This was a horrible decision by a studio which increasingly seems to have lost all sense of artistic taste and common sense. What a sad, sad disappointment.

Soon, I'll be buying a DVD recorder and I hope to preserve the original VHS version I have in that way.

"Fantasia" was a noble attempt to advance the animation medium and turn it into something more sophisticated. Disney sought to redefine the rules of the game by using animation to represent the essence of music. That is, animation was employed to help give tangible form to the myriad emotions that different types of musical compositions stirred within its listeners. This was not an attempt to tell a story in order to display the extent of creative ability but an attempt to capture the essence of creative ability itself. For example, Mickey Mouse's exploits in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" mirrors the mischievous rhythms of Paul Dukas's piece while the emergence of the winged demon in "Night on Bald Mountain" echoes the bold power of Modest Mussorgsky's music.

What is the end result of this effort? A definite mixed bag. "Fantasia" gets points for taking chances and trying something new but loses points for its inability to captivate the viewer. What is seen on screen is a work that can be admired but which comes across as distant. Since "Fantasia" is meant to be something to be experienced, the viewer is not invited to follow along with the proceedings as a participant like he or she would in a film with a conventional narrative. Rather, "Fantasia" is meant to be absorbed and having to digest two hours of sensation can become tedious. The film failed to find an audience upon its initial release but the fact that it is kept alive in conversation today is proof that there is merit to it. Yet, the legacy of "Fantasia" is a qualified one. It is a different viewing experience but not a totally satisfying one.

As far as videos go, many of the songs from Born In The USA are quite captivating. Super footage from I'm On Fire depicting Bruce's infatuation with a lady. Also I like Glory Days and the baseball scenes coupled with Bruce performing in a Jersey bar. Stevie Van Zandt and Clarence look like they are having fun mugging for the camera.

I would have liked to have seen more songs from Bruce's earlier releases. Other than that, this is an enjoyable video of one fo the legendary performers of our time, Bruce Springsteen.

Here's a breakdown of some of the highlights (and lowlights):

Disc Two:

"Human Touch": The first video of the post-E-Street-Band era, this comes from the same director responsible for "Tunnel of Love" and "One Step Up" and shows the same basic approach. The pictures are pretty but the formula was starting to get a little repetitive by this point.

"Better Days": One of Bruce's least known videos, it breaks away from the "Tunnel of Love" formula, even though its from the same director, featuring a live-in-the-studio performance of the song, interspersed with Bruce clowning with his new band and his kids (someone's kids anyway). The ragged, uneven end to the song is oddly endearing.

"57 Channels (And Nothing On)": I had never even heard of this video before getting this DVD. It's as close as Bruce ever got to the too-literal "match the image to the lyric" school of video. Probably the least interesting pure-conceptual video Bruce has done.

"Leap of Faith": Another video from the same director as the live "Tougher Than The Rest" clip and it shows the same basic approach, mixing in footage from other songs and even other concerts. The performance is energetic enough but the formulaic approach and the lack of the E-Street Band's chemistry undercut the video somewhat.

"Streets of Philadelphia": The video for Bruce's Oscar and Emmy-winning song from the Jonathan Demme movie. Similar in some respects to "My Brilliant Disguise", combining the studio instrumental track with a new live vocal track by Bruce recorded as his walks the aforementioned streets. Clever editing lets Bruce exchange meaningful glances with Tom Hank's character from the movie.

"Murder Incorporated": A live version of the legendary "lost" Springsteen song (It was to be the title track of the album Springsteen scrapped in favor of the more upbeat and accessible "Born In The U.S.A."), this was Bruce's first performance with the E-Street Band in almost seven years. Filmed in front of an audience at a small New York club, the cramped quarters limited the mobility of Jonathan Demme's cameras and the inadequate lighting makes Bruce and the band look almost sinister. The blistering performance, however, carries the day.

"Secret Garden": Bruce's love letter to the fairer sex, he's the only person with a Y Chromosome in this video, showing a large variety of women of all shapes, sizes and ages, emoting for the camera. Tender and beautifully filmed, this is one of my favorites of Springsteen's recent videos. There are actually two versions of the video on this DVD, the second using the alternate "Strings" mix of the song.

"Hungry Heart": This is a really strange bird, apparently filmed for an anniversary release of the song in Germany, it was filmed "live" in Berlin with a new vocal by Bruce over the original 1980 instrumental track. Features shows of a Bruce playing with a local band and driving around the city past sections of the Berlin Wall.

"Dead Man Walking": Unlike "Streets of Philadelphia", this video features significant footage from the film that insprired the song, making it more of a trailer for the film than the video. Nothing wrong with that I guess, but makes for one of the lesser contribution to Springsteen's video oeuvre.

"The Ghost of Tom Joad": In a lot of ways, this is the spiritual cousin to "Atlantic City", in that it combines black and white documentary-style footage and nothing of the singer (except as a silhouette in a couple of shots). This is the more effective of the two because the footage is a better match to the theme of the song.

"The Ghost of Tom Joad": The second video for the same song, this was taken from Bruce's appearance on the Tonight Show. I don't have anything against this performance or this song, but if they were going to take a second video for a song from a talk show, I would have preferred the version of "Murder Incorporated" he did on the Letterman show earlier that year.

"Highway Patrolman": Here's a video with a long, unique history. A song recorded in 1982 inspires a Sean Penn film in 1991 and the two get combined for a music video in the year 2000. I'll say this much, it made me want to see the film ("The Indian Runner").

"If I Should Fall Behind": Shot during rehearsal for the 1999-2000 reunion tour, this features a single camera shot of the E-Street Band trading vocals on Springsteen's 1992 song. Unfortunately, the vocals are a bit overwrought. The version on the second disc of the "Live in NYC" DVD is more restrained and more effective.

"Born In The U.S.A.": If the last video was OVERwrought, this video is badly UNDERwrought. From Bruce's appearance on the "Charlie Rose Show", the best description I can offer of Bruce's performance is "autistic." It's a kinder word than "lifeless." If I had been a member of Springsteen's inner circle, I would have sat on Bruce until he came to his senses and left this video off this collection. It brings the second disc to a limp and unsatisfying conclusion.