Al Di Meola: Morocco Fantasia (2011/Inakustik/MVD Blu-ray)/Bill Moyers – Amazing Grace (1990 – 1994/Athena/Acorn DVD)/The Love We Make (Paul
McCartney/2001/2011/Eagle Blu-ray)/Rimsky-Korsakov:
The Legend Of The Invisible City Of Kitezh/2008 (2011/Naxos DVD set)
Picture: C+/C/C+/C Sound: B- (Moyers: C+) Extras: C+/B-/D/C Main Programs: B-
Here is a
variety of music programs that might grab your attention…
Al Di Meola: Morocco
Fantasia (2011)
is the second recent Blu-ray we have has of the amazing guitarist closely
following this Montreux concert:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8561/Return+To+Forever+Returns+%E2%80
This is
almost as strong a show, but playback was an issue throughout the show as far
as the image was concerned. This is just
not as well-shot an HD production, but the seven tracks (Misterio, Siberiana, Double Concerto, Michelangelo’s 7th Child, Gumberio, Turquoise, Egyptian Danza) are different than the
other disc and the previous DVDs (though the last track is the last on our
earliest DVD review of his work) and fans will enjoy this for the most
part. Extras include bonus tracks,
teaser, Photo Gallery, Soundcheck and Rehearsals.
Bill Moyers – Amazing Grace (1990 – 1994) has the legendary
TV host researching the origins and endurance of the song of the title, a
spiritual that may be one of the most successful songs of its kind ever
written. Though 80 minutes might be a
long time fir some to examine a song, Moyers is thorough enough and makes this
a character examination of faith as well as a music history lesson. Extras include a small, illustrated booklet
on the subject in the DVD case, text bios of the major players here and featurette
Pure Pete Seeger (54 minutes) on the
great, once controversial folk singer at home talking about music and the world
we live in.
Bradley
Kaplan and Albert Maysles decided to co-direct The Love We Make in old 1.33 X 1 framing and black and white
film. The basic premise of the film is
following the great Paul McCartney around New York
as he shows his support for the U.S.
days after the events of 9/11/01 and how he uses his name and clout to get a
special concert together to raise money, awareness and support for the
city. He is observed rehearsing for the
show, how brilliantly he interacts with the public, business people, handles
fame, the business and that makes it unique among the many McCartney titles we
have enjoyed in recent years.
There is
also the way he handles being on The
Howard Stern Show and lets Howard know later how he crossed the line, has a
total grasp of what has befallen New York City and his gusty attempt to write a
brand new song especially for the event, which actually makes everyone a bit
uncomfortable, reflecting how uncomfortable the whole ugly post-attack
situation was. This one is definitely
worth your time, though there are no extras, the main film is enough.
Finally
we have Rimsky-Korsakov: The Legend Of
The Invisible City Of Kitezh/2008, a 2011 DVD set release that remarkably
is the first time we have ever covered any of the composers works realized on
home video. Originally presented back in
1905, the tale of Mongol warriors heading for the title city makes for fine
drama and this is nicely done down to the singing, but this was another case
where picture performance got in the way more than it should have. Still, it is a fine work and the players and
makers do a fine job of bringing it alive.
Extras include an illustrated booklet on the subject in the DVD case,
but nothing more on the actual discs.
The 1080p
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Morocco has some Video Black issues and more noise and detail
limits than I would have liked for a live HD recording of a concert, but at
least color is usually intact. Too bad
this was not more impressive more often, but that’s what we get. The 1080p 1.33 X 1 digital black and white
High Definition image transfer on Make
seems to be shot on 16mm film and it is the newer kind with less silver and
less detail, so expect much grain and detail that sometimes will make you think
you are watching a DVD, but oddest of all is the color video footage in the
same frame that looks like it is going through some weird 100-line filter,
looking more like Robocop-vision that a good video transfer. Why?
The 1.33
X 1 image on the Moyers DVD set is
from professional NTSC video and very soft throughout, the softest material
here on the list, including noise and other issued that show the material’s
age. The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X
1 image on Kitezh is almost as bad
with plenty of softness and far more aliasing errors and motion blur problems
(plus ghosting that seems like digital video noise reduction gone wild) that is
bizarre.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes on the Blu-rays and standard DTS
5.1 on Kitezh are about even with
the Morocco concert having some
soundfield limits, Make mostly made
of location audio (Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM 2.0 Stereo mixes are also
included) and Kitezh having as good a soundfield, but not a perfect one. Moyers
has lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo that is very simple and shows its age as
well.
- Nicholas Sheffo
