All
Things Must Pass
(Tower Records documentary/2015/Film Rise/MVD DVD)/Centerstage:
On Pointe (2016/Sony
DVD)/The Commitments: 25th
Anniversary Edition
(1991/RLJ Blu-ray)/The
Gang's All Here
(1943/Fox/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)/Honey
3: Dare To Dance
(2016/Universal Blu-ray w/DVD)/Scorpions:
Forever And A Day
(2015/Cleopatra Records/MVD Visual Blu-ray)/Stop
The World, I Want To Get Off
(1966/Warner Archive DVD)
Picture:
C+/C+/B/B/B & C+/B-/C+ Sound: C+/C/B-/C+/B & C+/B-/C
Extras: D/C-/B-/B/C-/C-/D Main Programs: B/C-/C+/B-/C-/B-/C+
PLEASE
NOTE:
The
Gang's
All Here
Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at Twilight Time, is
limited to only 3,000 copies and can be ordered while supplies last,
while Stop
The World...
is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive
series. All can be ordered from the links below.
Here's
our latest round of music releases for you to know about...
Colin
Hanks' All
Things Must Pass
(2015) is a great, surprisingly informative documentary on the rise
and fall of the Tower Records music chain. Though it is reflective
of so many great and decent music chains that are no longer with us
(Borders, Sam Goody, Media Play, National Record Mart and so many
others, some of which were purposely run into the ground and gutted
for what they were worth), Tower offered the unthinkable to the music
industry, the first-ever music superstore and when it as a huge hit,
a big boom and much fun followed. Tower was ahead of the rest, even
if expansion was not in every U.S. state.
Through
interviews, vintage clips, photos and twists all over in the story
that starts in the 1970s, it also gives us insight into the industry
itself and the smart ideas the propelled it as well as the mistakes
that backfired bigtime. David Geffen has some of the choicest
observations here, but he is far from alone. It also shows how much
fun, how proud and how great the industry used to be before so much
overly angry music, lame artists and played out genre start ruining
everything. That started somewhat in the late 1980s, but it just got
worse and worse. Hanks does an ace of a job filling the 96 minutes
in and it is easily one of the must-see documentaries of the last few
years.
There
are sadly no extras.
Director
X's (?!?) Centerstage:
On Pointe
(2016) is the lame new entry in the 'who asked for this' movie series
about dancing and joy that is weak in the former and highly lacking
in the latter. Without counting the duds, we covered one of the
tired entries a while ago here...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8062/Center+Stage+%E2%80%93+Turn+It+Up+(Sony
This
one involves ballet and yet another contest, as if ballet made its
artsier or better. The dancing is fairly good, but like the script
here, nothing memorable and this becomes 92 minutes of bad musical
genre torture. Peter Gallagher also shows up, but is given little to
do. 'Pointe' your music viewing interests elsewhere instead of at
this zombified series.
A
Dance Tutorial with co-star Chloe Lukasiak is the only extra.
Alan
Parker's The
Commitments: 25th
Anniversary Edition
(1991) is finally out on Blu-ray for fans of the film, for which
there are a good few, including our critic who covered an older DVD
many years ago at this link...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/872/Commitments+(Fox+DVD+set
I
give him credit for explaining the film's appeal so well, hitting the
nail on the head, but I was never a big fan. Parker has made better
films (Bugsy Malone in particular, despite its flaws) and
better films have been made of Roddy Doyle's books (like those of
Peter Medak), but within its mostly believable world, it holds up. I
was just never totally convinced of the connection the people make
here, though the touches about Dublin, Ireland are more accurate than
the film might sometimes get credit for. The film just never added
up for me, but I at least respect what it accomplishes and it is a
serious film that respects the viewer. Now, its also a time capsule
worth a look.
Extras
from the DVD like the
Original Theatrical Trailer and a feature length audio commentary by
Director Parker are joined by a Collectible Booklet in the Blu-ray
case, Music Videos, Image Galleries, Four Behind The Scenes
featurettes and a new featurette on the film's 25th
Anniversary, so this is definitely the definitive release of the
film.
Busby
Berkeley's The
Gang's All Here
(1943) is back on video again, but unlike the last two DVDs, Fox has
handed this gem to Twilight Time to be part of their extraordinary
Limited Edition Blu-ray series. As discussed before, the film stars
Carmen Miranda, Alice Faye (it appears in both of their DVD box
sets), Benny Goodman, Eugene Pallette, Edward Everett Horton, Sheila
Ryan and The Benny Goodman Orchestra. To repeat what I said before,
this clever Technicolor Musical extravaganza also has a big star in
director Berkeley making his first-ever color film and delivering a
classic in the genre. Though this addresses WWII directly, it is
still very escapist with its boy-meets-girl storyline and is clever
throughout. The Nestor Arnaral & S.K. Russell music is also a
plus and the sometimes gloriously gaudy and bizarre musical numbers
are as fun as ever. This is also one of the best films any of the
participants ever made and
Extras
from the DVD are also here including the Original Theatrical Trailer,
''$64 Question'' deleted scene, two audio-only network radio excerpts
that are very entertaining, another outstanding feature length audio
commentary track by film scholar Drew Casper, Busby
Berkeley: A Journey With A Star
featurette and 'We
Are Here''
- the last film Alice Faye ever made. It is a very good short promo
film for a major pharmaceutical company where she reminisces about
her career. It is the last thing you should see from this set,
ending it with grace the sponsor could have never expected. New
extras include
another nicely illustrated booklet on the film including informative
text and another excellent, underrated essay by the great film
scholar Julie Kirgo, while the Blu-ray adds a second new feature
length audio commentary track by Glenn Kenny, Ed Hulse & Farran
Smith Nehme and an Isolated Music Score. All in all, that makes this
a solid upgrade all around and a fine collectible.
Bille
Woodruff's Honey
3: Dare To Dance
(2016) is a boring homey trap to avoid unless you REALLY love dance
and Rap/Hip Hop combinations, yet longtime music video director
Woodruff comes up with next to nothing new here in this long, long,
long 97 minutes where we get to see minority persons in a rare
positive light. That is the only way this film is ahead of the many
bad films we've all suffered through in the last few years, begging
the question, can't these actors be in mainstream films so we don't
have to suffer this segregated dud?
Woodruff
has a great music videography that includes clips for Toni Braxton,
Luther Vandross, Britney Spears, Brian McNight, Lil' Kim, TLC, The
Backstreet Boys, Gloria Estefan, Outkast, Dru Hill, Usher, Chico
DeBarge, Jody Watley, Shanice, Salt 'n' Pepa, Keith Washington,
Des'ree, Babyface, R Kelly, Celine Dion, Kelly Price, Jermaine Dupri,
Trisha Yearwood, Chante Moore, 98 Degrees, Lil' Wayne, Blu Cantrell,
Nelly and The Isley Brothers. With that kind of amazing track
record, this should have been better, but then again, music video
directors do not get the respect they deserve, so its hard to say how
much control or resources Woodruff had. The talent is there, but
this is all a very straight-jacketed affair and disappointing on most
levels. Oh well.
Extras
include Digital HD Ultraviolet Copy for PC, PC portable and other
cyber iTunes capable devices, while the discs add Deleted Scenes
Extended Dance Sequences, a feature length audio commentary track by
Director Woodruff and a Making Of featurette.
Katja
Von Garnier's Scorpions:
Forever And A Day
(2015) is a pretty decent documentary on who may be one of the
greatest Heavy Metal bands of all time, unabashedly German,
transcending language and making some of the most important music the
genre has ever seen. Great in the studio and live, this
not-long-enough 100 minutes does a good job of capturing their rise
and continual success over the decades and gives us new reasons to
see why they were and are so successful. The new interviews are
interesting, the vintage footage great and I liked this better than
some of their home video concert releases. A valuable volume worth
your time, even non-fans will be surprised.
A
trailer and vintage June 1985 interview clip from the Night
Flight
TV series (at 10 minutes) are the only extras.
Philip
Saville's Stop
The World, I Want To Get Off
(1966) is a deconstructive backstage musical film of the hit British
musical by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse, whose theme for the
James Bond film Goldfinger
(1964) is one of the most well-known and imitated movie theme songs
of all time. More hits resulted in ''Gonna
Build A Mountain''
and especially ''Once
In a Lifetime''
and ''What
Kind Of Fool Am I?'',
so this is considered a significant work and provided us more music
standards.
The
film is basically set on one stage (reminding me of Jacques Tati's
later film Parade, reviewed elsewhere on this site), which can
make the affair a bit hit and miss. They were experimenting to their
credit, but some sequences work, while others are dated or just never
worked. Still, this is as well filmed as it could be and the
actors/singers/dancers are really good here. The film starts
backstage with the performers preparing, so it is happy to call
attention to its artifice, but this was more cutting edge in its time
than now, where this might be 'hip' without a point. If you've never
seen this work, its a good place to start.
There
are sadly no extras.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image on World
and an nnamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image in the Pass,
Pointe
and Honey
DVDs are on a even level looking about as goos as they can in the
format. All are digital productions, save World,
shot in Mitchell System 35 35mm film and issued in dye-transfer,
three-strip Technicolor prints. The result is that it is the most
consistent of the four, but by a narrow margin. The color is pretty
decent throughout, but the opening and a few other spots are in black
and white.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image on Honey
is definitely better than its DVD version and a bit better than the
same presentation (but 1.85 X 1) on the Scorpions
Blu-ray, which shares with Pass
older analog videotape clips that are standard definition if that and
display the usual analog
videotape flaws like video noise, video banding, telecine flicker,
tape scratching, cross color, some tape damage and in the case of
digital copies, digital blocking or digititis.
Narrowly
the best are the 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image
transfer on Commitments
in a fine restoration that outdoes the previous DVD transfers with
ease in the color, detail and depth department. The 1080p 1.33 X 1
digital High Definition image transfer on Gang
can show the age of the materials used, but this is far superior a
transfer to the previously reviewed DVDs we covered and improves in
definition, depth and most of the color. Also issued in 35mm a
dye-transfer, three-strip Technicolor prints, the print(s) used miss
the mark slightly for the full color range you would expect from one
of the best color formats (including all digital HD shoots) of all
time is capable of. Still, this is the best the film has looked in a
long time.
As
for sound, Honey,
Commitments
and Scorpions
offer DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes, but Honey
is the sonic winner by default, a new recording that has nothing
special going for it except no one botched it, though the lossy Dolby
Digital 5.1 DVD mix is weak. Commitments
was made just before digital sound (CDS notwithstanding) was before
the industry moved to digital sound for their feature film releases,
but this upgrade is better than any
DVD
version we've heard before, so those who love the music will be happy
with this upgrade.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless mix on Gang
is a bit better than the DVD sound from before, but there are also
new limits to be heard in the sound, but the tradeoff is worth it for
the gains. The isolated music score has some more clarity, but
limits are still there, yet it is a great bonus and music (as well as
musical fans) will be happy with its inclusion. That leaves the DVDs
offering lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on Pointe
sounding problematic, at a low volume and with a poor soundfield, the
lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on Pass
sounding the best of the three with its older audio vying between
stereo and mono and the lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on World
being so weak, be careful of high playback volumes and volume
switching. Pointe
and World
disappoint and need upgrading and (especially in the case of Pointe)
fixing.
To
order The
Gang's All Here
limited edition Blu-ray, buy it and other great exclusives while
supplies last at these links:
www.screenarchives.com
and
http://www.twilighttimemovies.com/
...and
to the Stop
The World...
Warner Archive DVD, go to this link for them and many more great
web-exclusive releases at:
https://www.warnerarchive.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo
