Riverdance – Live From Radio City Music Hall (BBC Two-Disc Collector’s Edition)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: C+ Concert: B-
Though
people try to mock and laugh off Riverdance,
it has survived, thrived and endured for a decade now and most amazing of all,
it is actually pretty good when you start to watch it. It may look easy and was new to most of the
public when it first arrived, but most who criticize could not begin to image
how hard it is to actually dance like that.
Though Michael Flatley is not here, the great cast of dancers/singers/performers
are in top form and can more than hold their own, including Jean Butler, Colin
Dunne and Maria Pagés.
It can
also be an involving show once you get past spoofs and even stereotypes, then
you find yourself seeing how intense, energetic and impressive this really
is. It reminds one that it is easier to
criticize than to participate and the audience seems to grasp that. Then that is what you usually get at a classy
venue like Radio City Music Hall.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 does not look like an HD shoot, but it is hard
to tell by this performance either way.
Video Black is an issue, detail a problem and color holds, but is not as
good as it could be. The DTS 5.1 mix is
better than the meager, weak Dolby Digital 5.1 and especially weak Dolby 2.0
mixes, but still has sonic limits and soundfield issues that hold it back. This is still watchable, but I will be
curious to see how it is on Blu-ray if it is issued that way. Extras include a documentary looking at the
show’s first decade, the show in China and early on, on the BBC show Pebble Mill. This will make fans happy enough.
- Nicholas Sheffo
