Queen – The Complete Review (Music Video Distributors/Chrome Dreams DVD Set)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C Main Programs: B
The great
Under Review series continues to
reissue their underrated, under-seen profiles of the best acts in the music
business and this time, it is two very well done volumes on the band Queen.
The Complete Review pairs two
Under Review segments/DVD releases
that cover the first and last half of the band in its original configuration
with the late, great Freddie Mercury. We
covered the 1973 – 1980 segment a while ago at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3485/Queen+-+Under+Review:+1973+-+19
That
leaves the 1980 – 1991 volume, which
is from a time when they band started to challenge fan expectations and found
themselves treading odd waters, then Mercury became ill from AIDS and we lost
him. This period was marked by their
controversial stints in the Apartheid-laden South African resort Sun City, a
policy which was eventually collapsed, but got the band blacklisted despite
playing to integrated audiences. Pure
music fans were shocked, unhappy and confused when the band decided to delve
into music for film. The results
included classic results with Mike Hodges’ 1980 version of Flash Gordon, Russell Mulcahy’s original Highlander, ironic Anti-Fascist theme to the first Iron Eagle, and other such
projects. They saw MTV coming and turned
out to be ahead of the curve.
There was
also their time on MTV, their influential Under
Pressure duet with David Bowie and albums like The Game, which we reviewed the multi-channel sound version (now
very valuable and out of print) at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/214/Queen+-+The+Game+(DVD-Audio)
That
turned out to be their last pure studio album before the soundtrack era, but
that move kept the band more viable than many of their 1970s
contemporaries. The Bowie duet appeared
on Hot Space, The Works offered the infamous Radio
Ga Ga that many were unhappy with, A
Kind Of Magic had the Iron Eagle
and Highlander tracks, the
anti-Apartheid theme I Want It All was
on The Miracle, Innuendo was their last commercial hurrah and Made In Heaven was started with Mercury and finished after his
passing. This second volume does a great
job of bringing new life and light to their work at this time and we can see in
hindsight they were being smarter than they were getting credit for.
This is
one of the best Under Review volumes
because it does what the series is best at; digging into the real story and
history of music we are not seeing or hearing about enough. Add the first disc and this may be the best
reissue set they have put out to date.
The coverage is exceptionally thorough and shows why the band is so
great in a way that needed to be said.
The
second disc has 1.78 X 1 letterboxed footage, but is at 1.33 X 1 framing
otherwise and seems to again originate on analog PAL video. As usual for this series, it looks as good as
it can. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is
also good, well-recorded interviews and licensed music included, though diehard
fans will want to track down the multi-channel DVD-Audios of The Game and A Night At The Opera (also reviewed on this site). Extras on the second volume include
contributor bios, another tough Queen quiz and Queen – The Collector
(5:14) about all the great memorabilia on the band.
- Nicholas Sheffo
