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I only wish it was a longer video!
Most of this video has to do with Rachmaninoff's battle with depression after his Symphony #1 was trashed by the critics.After his treatment by Dr. Dahl, a hypnotherapist, Rachmaninoff was able to write his most famous work--Piano Concerto #2 in C minor.Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. Music Video    4. Music Videos - Classical    5. Performance   

Editorial Review

The genesis of America's singular, most enduring art form provides fertile ground for this handsomely executed six-part series, which brackets segments devoted to four acknowledged jazz masters with separate overviews of jazz and blues.Developed through a partnership between German, Japanese, and U.S. producers, Read more

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a great buy
all i can say is wow.These videos are wonderful.My favorite is the Monk video.It has a ton of footage of him playing.If you play the piano and you need some inspiration just watch this video and you will be readyto play all day long.The story of jazz one is really good also, exceptits mostly early stuff( big band, etc. )...it doesn't have that much onbebop, modern jazz.It's a great buy. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Gift Set    3. Jazz Collections    4. Movie   

Editorial Review

In honor of what would have been Jacqueline du Pré's 50thbirthday, director Christopher Nupen created a tender tribute to the world-class cellist. Du Pré, whose career tragically ended at the age of 28 due to multiple sclerosis (she died in 1987 at the age of 42), is depicted here as a vivacious, mischievous musician for whom the gift of playing came naturally. Nupen focuses not on du Pré the person, but on du Préthe cellist, and the video is laden with scenes of her vigorously playing--her entire body moving with the music. The narration gives little detail into her musical history, and it has a tendency toward the awestruck, but luckily it does not interfere with the scenes of her and her cello. Much of the narration is the words of the young musician herself, telling of herpassion. While this is not a video for those looking for a biography, it is one for those who appreciate fine music; the documentary contains du Pré playing selections from Brahms, Beethoven, and Schubert, among others. Read more

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Reviews (4)

A low-budget tribute
This video is a collection of footages of J. du Pre put together in a tape and mixed with comments by Pleeth. Why onlyPleeth? Apparently because they didn't have the money to travel outside of England to interview otherpeople. Also, they didn't seem to have the money to pay for a good text togo with it. Still, it has some interesting footage and is worth watching. Iparticularly like the scene where they swap their instruments and du Preplays the violin in a cello like way.

I do respect Jackie!!!!!!!
I did want to see this so much.And today at last I became to see this.Oh!I became to know Jackie is so beautiful and her music is also beautiful again.In the some part of this I was dispressed a little,because that issimilar to the film,< Documentary interesting but ultimately disappoints
As a classical musician and lover of the cello, I first became aware of Jacqueline Du Pre as a college student. Upon hearing a recording of the Haydn Cello Concerto in C by Du Pre I was astonished and transfixed, andhave loved her recordings for many yrs. This video does not do her artistryjustice. It seems like it was thrown together from rarely seen footage ofher and released without much regard for the overall effect. On thepositive side, it shows interesting in "behind the scenes"glimpses of Du Pre performing, rehearsing and generally horsing around withwith several performers including performers Daniel Barenboim, ItzakPerlman, Zubin Mehta and her teacher, and "cello daddy" WilliamPleeth (with whom the great mutual admiration is very evident). Thesescenes show a playful and fun loving side of her that is quite enchanting.There is a very funny scene of her horsing around in rehearsal of the"Trout Quintet." She is playing Perlman's violin as a cello andPerlman playing her cello (as a cello). Unfortunately, the scenes of her inactual performance are not satisfying. The performance of the Trout has thecamera annoyingly fixed upon her with no variation. Any focus upon themusic is lost. A scene of her rehearsing the Brahms F major cello sonatawith Daniel Barenboim in a recording studio is throw away footage thatshould have stayed on the cutting room floor. A performance of the slowmovement of Beethoven's Ghost Trio, while musically interesting, is verydull. A scene of her performing a small slow segment of the Elgar Concertowith Barenboim conducting also manages to come across as very dull andfrustrating as you want to see more! Interviews with performers who knewher are limited to William Pleeth and Sir John Barbirolli. The reflectionsfrom a variety of performers would have added interest. Overall, this videowill be sure to disappoint all but die-hard Du Pre fans. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

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Subjects:  1. Chamber Music & Recitals    2. Classical    3. Music Videos - Classical   

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Reviews (2)

SINATRA DESERVES MORE
It covers his life all right, but for music lovers and true fans of FRANK this is not enough. Not a word on NELSON RIDDLE,BILLY MAY and GORDON JENKINS with whom he alterned between 1953 and 1961 on his famous CAPITOL recordings.I learned much more about him reading DEREK JEWELL's biography.What i like best from that video is the funny trailer about PAL JOEY in which FRANK gives a lecture about JOEY. You also see him as BILLY BIGELOW a film he was supposed to do but he simply walked out of the set of CAROUSEL.This documentary covers its subject a little too fast and another hour would have been necessary to tell the whole story well.

Excellent documentary on the Chairman of the Board
With Sinatra dead and the world focusing on his so-called Mafia ties, people are losing track of what's most important about him: his music, and his natural grace on screen.This excellent documentary tells the story ofthe life of the man who entertained us for over 60 years, as an actor andsinger, and it does a wonderful job of showing him at work. Nobody couldsing "My Way" the way Sinatra did. (Sid Vicious came closest).Highly recommended for fans of the late great one, who want to see him forthe great performer he was, and not for the dirt they can dish. ... Read more

Editorial Review

For Julie Andrews fans, Read more

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Reviews (60)

Like sitting through athree hour fashion show with a bunch of old ladies
I was 15 when Star! was released and was keen to see it.I saw it on a dreary grey day during Christmas vacation.A friend of mine and I actually saw "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" first (!) and then ran across the street to see "Star!"So there we were, two 15 year old boys surrounded by about fifty old ladies in an enormous movie palace.I felt impending doom.I didn't know who Gertrude Lawrence was and I didn't when it was over, either.I still don't.And isn't so much that Julie is miscast, but that so little information is actually imparted aside from telling us she rather charmingly spent too much money and occasionally was a bit charmingly impatient with some people. That's really about it. You won't see her friend Beatrice Lillie, whom in her original review Pauline Kael said that Julie Andrews might have been able to play the life story of instead.I'm not so sure about that either, but it would have been a lot more fun.
WONDERFUL
I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS THIS MOVIE IS A HIT. WITH A STRUGLING WOMAN(JULIE ANDREWS) TRING TO UNDERSTAND THAT SHE DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THE BEST TO BE THE BEST. ILL ADMIT SOME TIMES IN THE MOVIE YOU MIGHT FEEL SAD BHUT THAT ONLY LASTS A SEC. I LOVE TO WATCH ALL THE SOMGS OVER AND OVER AGAIN! I LOVE THESE SONGS THE MOST: PICADILLY, PHISITION, THE SAGA OF JENNY, AND BURLINGTON BURTIE. BUT JULIE SINGS MANY OTHER SONGS WHICH I JUST ADORE. JULIE WEARS OVER 200 OUTFITS ON THE MOVIVE AND EVERYONE IS MAGNIFICENT. JUKLIE IS WONDERFUL!

FAST FORWARD IN HAND...
On the tails of Streisand's "Funny Girl" came Julie Andrews' STAR, the so-calld "biopic" musical of English songstress and stage star Gertrude Lawrence. A dismal box-office failure, the story line is just plain boring, but the musical numbers with Andrews at her multi-octave finest holds up well some 35 or so years later. The costumes are glorious, the sets dazzle and the entire film is worth sitting through if only for Andrew's rendition of Lawrence's rousing "Saga of Jenny". Zip through the dialogue and go right to the production numbers. You'll be glad you did. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Musicals   

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Reviews (2)

from tha heart
thereis not much to say about this video except that it comes striaght from tha heart! from tha heart
thereis not much to say about this video except that it comes striaght from tha heart! Read more

Subjects:  1. Music Video - Pop/Rock    2. Pop    3. Rock   

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Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

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Excellent video for classroom use
This video is an excellent resource for use in high school music classrooms.The interviews are insightful and very enthusiastic.The people interviewed make it clear that they love and are in awe of Bach.The length is relatively short (about 30 minutes)--this makes it an excellent choice for use in the classroom. (Topics covered include Brandenburg Concertos, large scale vocal works --passions and masses, and Bach's life)

The title is misleading
A rewarding half hour with J S Bach, but the title is misleading. Bach's years of service as a musical director in the Lutheran churches of Leipzig are not emphasized. What is emphasized, and done very well, is to show Bach's great musicianship in composing the the Brandenburg Concertos (specifically #5). This hardly does justice to the title, "Serving God Through Music", where one would expect illustrative examples of Bach's cantatas as well as excerpts of his St. Matthew and St. John Passions and the Mass in B Minor. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. Music Video    4. Music Videos - Classical    5. Performance   

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Reviews (3)

Carl Perkins and Paul McCartney get together in 1993
This is a nice, informative look at the career of Carl Perkins as well as his friendship with Paul McCartney. This video contains some really nice footage from 1993 of Carl and Paul jamming and talking together in Memphis. They tell stories and discuss Carl's music and the impact he had on the Beatles. The interaction between the two legends here is loose, friendly, and insightful.
Excellent!!!
It's a very good video about Paul and Carl like truly rock and roll legends. A little great of collection. BUY IT!.

Legend Pays Tribute To Legend
Carl and Paul have a guitar pull and give us insight on their friendship.Especially emotional is when Carl is talking about the song "My Old Friend" and Valda comes over the intercom to tell Carl who justcalled, chills run down the spine. This man is hooked into the soul. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

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Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Opera   

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Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

Editorial Review

This 1987 documentary is distinguished by both its smart narrativepremise and wonderful performance footage of Elvis Presley at the dawn of his remarkable career.With the King's melodramatic life already a familiar subject for film and print biographies, producer-directors Alan and Susan Raymond instead shaped this hour-long profile around the year that saw the charismatic Memphis singer's eruption as a pop sensation. By taking that selective path, and focusing tightly on Presley's crucial transition to a major record deal, national media exposure, and the first decisive steps in his subsequent movie career, Read more

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Reviews (7)

Old Fart
I remember watching E on a B&W telly in a drug store while 10 of
Interesting early Elvis
I had never seen any early Elvis before. It was a treat!! Quality is not the greatest, but then it's old technology. Certainly worth the price if you want to "know" who Elvis is/was.

Elvis Presley's Early Years - A Terrific Video
This video of Presley's early career is wonderful. It may be the best of all the Presley videos. Don't miss it. You will be there for the early music and the meteoric rise of this rock n roll legend. The quality of the reproduction is excellent for the time period 1956. On this video you will see Elvis Presley at his best before he was spoiled by all the fame and money that came later in his life. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Music Video - Pop/Rock    3. Oldies    4. Pop    5. Pop/Rock    6. Rock    7. Rock & Roll   

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Reviews (1)

A singer with a soul
In this magnificent documentary, Canadian-born soprano Teresa Stratas tells the story of her life, from her humble beginnings in a Greek family in Toronto to her triumphs on the greatest operatic stages of the world, to her conflictual relationship with her voice, fame, life and obsession with death, to her soul-searching trips to India and year devoted to helping Mother Teresa at the hospital for the dying children in Calcutta. She demonstrates the many meanings one can give to a simple musical sentence (from Kurt Weill's "Mahagonny"), and we see her rehearsing with Franco Zeffirelli in the privacy of her Manhattan apartment the final scene of Puccini's "Boheme", in which she acts, or rather is Mimi with an intensity that is reminiscent of this other demented Greek soprano, Callas. No ordinary Prima Donna (is there such a thing ?), Stratas is a multi-faceted character, and if I bought this tape because I had so loved her Violetta in Zeffirelli's "Traviata" (the movie, opp. Placido Domingo), I now watch it again because of the intelligence, sensitivity, talent, commitment and courage of this exceptional Artist. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classical    2. Performing Arts - Opera   

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Subjects:  1. Documentary   

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Subjects:  1. Music Video-middle Of The Road    2. Pop    3. Show Tunes    4. Showtunes / B'way   

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Reviews (11)

MAINTAINS BETTY HUTTON'S REPUTATION FOR ENERGY.
Enthusiastically ambulating throughout this charming and funny story of silent-film Hollywood, Betty Hutton depicts a mythlike Pearl White, framed by fascinating shots of prototypical movie-making. A romantic plot involving Betty and her princely co-star, John Lund, is developed in a leisurely fashion until the rather frenetic ending. Hutton's singing is often spectacular, as with her opening number, and enjoyment is developed as the viewer identifies early stars in this fine example of 40's cinema.
Perilous Presentation
I had enjoyed Betty Hutton's and William Demarest's performances so much in "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" that I was naturally drawn to "The Perils of Pauline" where the two were reunited in starring roles. The film is fast moving, breezy and exudes a certain level of charm in its fun, nostalgic presentation of the classic silent movie serials. Hutton is very good in her teary-eyed portrayal of Pearl White, (Pauline) and gives a spirited, if not over the top performance, particularly in the song sequences. The Frank Loesser songs are quite memorable as well, one even being nominated for an Academy Award. Billy DeWolfe is very enjoyable as the requisite kooky but good-hearted sidekick, especially when playing the teeth-gnashing villain in the filmed serials. Demarest seems a bit on the subdued side, particularly after seeing him in several Sturges pictures just prior to this one. John Lund also seems to walk through this picture, stiff as a stuffed shirt, (which, to be fair, is the nature of his character) but, unfortunately, Lund carries that rigidity over into his warmer more sincere moments as well, implying perhaps that the direction on this picture was slightly less than stellar. Overall this film clearly drives home the point that MGM and Fox led the way when it came to big, Technicolor musicals of this era. And, speaking of Technicolor, I need to mention that this transfer is actually quite "contrasty" and somewhat soft compared to other musicals of the era out on DVD. I also notice a good bit of digital "monkeying" with the picture, notably at the end of scenes and through the transitions when the picture would actually slow down, strobe or even freeze frame for a moment sometimes with a jarring and annoying effect. I would suspect that this transfer to DVD may have been made from a "dupe" print and the sub standard quality of the picture had a somewhat negative effect on my overall enjoyment of this otherwise sweet little musical comedy.

I haven't seen this in so long!
I haven't seen this since,I think middle or high school on Ch.7 detroit.I bet Kim Possible,Ron Stoppable[finally he's going to get a sibling,this Season] and Rufuus can capture the bad guy and rescue the girl. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comedies    2. Feature Film-comedy    3. Movie   

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Reviews (2)

Biggie Smallz ie the illest..
The first 10-min of it shows about his death and how he was killed. Then a bunch of otherrap stars talk about Biggie and what kind of person he was. But not one interview or video of Biggie is on it. But if you are acollector like my self it is a must have!

nasty slang
biggy and the boys in their nabourhoo ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. East Coast Rap    3. Gangsta Rap    4. Hardcore Rap    5. Pop    6. Pop-Rap    7. Rap & Hip-Hop   

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Reviews (28)

He's A Lot Smarter Than I Am, So He Must Be Right
The most puzzling vignette in this fine little film has EMI Latin (record company) executive Mario Ruiz telling us that the primary message from Selena's music is to stay in school and stay off drugs. Getting to know her
I just love the whole thing!Seeing and hearing the "real life" Selena talking and laughing is all new to me.I'm also delighted to see and hear Chris, her mom, her dad, Suzy, A.B.

A must have video
This is a wonderful video tribute to the late Selena Quintanilla Perez.It contains interviews with her entire family, including her father and husband.There are concert clips, home videos, and interviews with Selena.One full hour of Selena's greatest moments and it helps to depict what kind of person she really was. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adult Contemporary    2. Dance-Pop    3. Documentary    4. Latin Pop    5. Mexico    6. Movie    7. Tejano   

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Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Gift Set    3. Movie    4. Music Videos - Classical