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Category:    Home > Reviews > Rock > Pop > Documentary > Music > Biography > History > Led Zeppelin – Dazed & Confused (2008) + Elvis – The Great Performances (1990/Umbrella/PAL Region Free/Zero/0/PAL DVD Imports)

Led Zeppelin – Dazed & Confused (2008) + Elvis – The Great Performances (1990/Umbrella/PAL Region Free/Zero/0/PAL DVD Imports)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Main Programs: B-

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: These DVDs can only be operated on machines capable of playing back DVDs that can handle Region Zero/0/Free PAL format software and can be ordered from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the website address provided at the end of the review.

 

 

Elvis Presley helped make Rock ‘N’ Roll a big business, but blamed The Beatles (when he should have blamed Colonel Tom Parker for putting him in too many movies) for his decline of popularity in the 1960s.  When they broke up and Led Zeppelin arrived, he reportedly liked them.  Umbrella has issued two documentaries on Elvis and Zeppelin that are decent and worth your time.

 

Led Zeppelin –Dazed & Confused (2008) only lasts an hour, but is an impressive effort to show how the band came to be, starting with a solid opening piece on Jimmy Page and The Yardbirds.  From there, we get old and new interviews, vintage footage and original music that will impress fans of the band who have seen so much product to date.  Zeppelin manager Peter Grant, Atlantic Records legend Ahmet Ertegun and Zeppelin tour manager Richard Cole are among the interviewees.  My only problem is that it is not longer.  Though it says it is Region 4 on the back, it plays on all DVD players, so fans can order it without hesitation.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.77 X 1 image is a mix of old film, old videotape and newly recorded footage that is typical of any music documentary, but footage usually looks pretty good (though some could be better) and the Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is also good and mixed (some audio is monophonic), but there were times I wanted a 5.1 mix.  Extras include a trailer and Legacy segment that runs 16 minutes and features later interviews with Robert Plant and John Paul Jones.

 

 

Elvis – The Great Performances is an older special hosted by Priscilla Presley that includes her parts filmed and at 90 minutes squeezes all kinds of filmed, videotaped and even kinescoped footage of Presley performing at all stages of his career.  Well done for its time, it has dated a bit and the main credits are in early computer animation.  Especially with some Presley films out on Blu-ray, the estate needs to redo this special in High Definition and include all feature film clips in their original widescreen aspect ratios.

 

The 1.33 X 1 version here is an old analog master where everything is finished on videotape and it shows with aliasing errors, softness and color issues throughout.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is sometimes stereo and sometimes mono, but holds up better than the image.  Note some Elvis films have been already upgraded to 5.1, so this special in a future incarnation should do the same.  There are no extras.

 

 

As noted above, you can order these PAL DVD imports exclusively from Umbrella at:

 

http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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