Editorial Review

An instant classic when released in September 1971, John Lennon's Read more

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Reviews (25)

Somewhat misleading
I really enjoyed this film, which provides a fascinating outlet into the private world of John and Yoko in 1971 during the making of one of his most famous solo albums (and which is probably tied with W&B as my second-favorite solo album of his, second only to POB).However, it is disappointing to find out that a lot of the footage actually came from other videos which have already been released.For people who don't know that or who haven't seen these other films yet, that's not going to be a really big or important concern, but for those who do know better, it is somewhat misleading and deceptive.What's the point in taking a bunch of recycled footage and padding it out with some new stuff while passing it off as an entirely new product?
Could have lived without seeing "How do you sleep?"
Footage was great and gave good insight for the above average fan. However I was pretty angry to see the footage showing John recording "how do you sleep?" I wish that had been completely left out. It totally ruined my view on John, and shows him as being a very ugly person.
Yoko looking fine!
For the first time I can see what John must have seen in her. Yoko's looking fabulous in this! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Documentary    3. Music Video - Pop/Rock    4. Pop    5. Pop/Rock    6. Rock    7. Rock & Roll    8. Singer/Songwriter   

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Reviews (1)

The years before the British Invasion
This video is the second in a 10-video set documenting Rock `n' Roll in America.It's very entertaining and informative.
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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   

Editorial Review

A priceless document of archival footage and precious oral history,Read more

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Reviews (7)

A STAR-FILLED VARIETY SHOW. OR A FIELDS DAY!
Before TV, before radio, even before silent films came vaudeville --- an art form of traveling variety shows in which performers sang, danced, acted, juggled and joked and did just about anything else to make crowds laugh. The golden age of vaudeville was, indeed, the launching pad for many a star, including George Burns and Gracie Allen, Bert Williams, James Cagney, W. C. Fields, Bob Hope and Eddie Cantor, all of whom appear, in rare performances, in this "American Masters" documentary hoisted by Ben Vereen. Say hello, Gracie. Now say good-night.

Great Fun!
A terrific documentary, that provides an energetic look backward at America in the late 1800s to through the first few decades of the 1900s.The footage of the old acts are worth the price of admission, but there's also some wonderful interviews with people who lived it.Best of all, the narrative is intelligent and insightful.

VAUDEVILLE DVD
This is a case of documentarians thinking that you'd rather hear thempontificate that actually see what they're talking about.The packagingfor this DVD claims you'll see 80 vaudeville acts.And you will, for about12 seconds each... not one performance is complete.Which is a big shame,given the wealth of footage the filmmakers apparently had access to. Thewriter of this presentation should have stepped well out of the way, andlet the performances speak. To make it that much more frustrating , much ofthe running time goes to interviews with non-vaudevillians such aspresent-day filmaker Robert Townsend, and clips of vaudeville-influencedstuff like the Muppet Show.It kills you sit through this stuff knowingthat the filmmakers are holding back rare footage of performances byhoudini, w.c. fields, you name it.Buy this if you know nothing aboutvaudeville... and want to hear some old-timers doing a remember-when.Ifyou want to see some old routines, get some of the variety films(international house, stand up and cheer, (this list is huge) from theearly thirties and you'll be much better off. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

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Reviews (25)

I don't have a title.
I bought the dvd yesterday when I went on a splurge at Best Buy cause I had so many gift cards... I don't own any albums by Social D, Youth Brigade or Minor threat but this movie is alright. It reminda me a lot of the book Philosopy of Punk which I also recently read. The DVD offeres a lot of insight to the whole "scene" but personally it wasn't informative at all seeing as I already knew about it. At any rate, if you're into the three bands I'd pick up this movie just cause it has great tour footage and such also, it shows how the members of the bands really are behind the microphone and personally I always wondered who the asses of the underground are.

What real punk was!!!!
Another State Of Mind is not just a title song of the movie, or a poplular song by Social Distortion. It was how they ( the young punk bands in the movie) lived their lives. These were kids that did not really fit into any socail structure. In the movie it is shown in many ways, be it the music, the way they dress or the way they talk. This is a movie that anyone that is into punk music should watch. It shows that punk is not something you can find at a local mall in a Hot Topic store. Punk was a way of living, and going across the country in a couped up bus is what real punk was. This is a great movie for fans of any type of music, and genre. It shows the struggle that bands that started a movement in the US had to go before becoming legends. A must have movie.

Another state of AWESOME
This dvd was great.It showed Social Distortion in the early days, trying to get their act together, bringing punk to all the land ;)It totally cracked me up when they show you how they made the bus into a tour bus.It's a dvd that's not going to leave my collection anytime soon ... Read more

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

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Dissappointing
It's only 30 minutes long with no performances, just background music, barely audible.It's nice to hear about the Sun years, but I expected to see some perfomance and at least hear some songs and didn't know I was only getting 30 minutes of material. ... Read more

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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Subjects:  1. Music Documentaries    2. Television & Documentary   

Editorial Review

The first great rock concert documentary by the filmmaker who invented the form. D.A. Pennebaker (who teamed up with Richard Leacock, Albert Maysles, and other filmmakers here), fresh off his Bob Dylan documentary, Read more

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Reviews (77)

Jimi Hendrix plays Wild Thing at Monterey Pop
Unforgeteable performance, that I first watched in a movie theater in 1975. The sound in big space is much different,you hear the crakles of fire in the guitar, and the acoustic couplings between guitar and Marshalls are richer in tremeloes and vibrations. May be the remastering for DVD filtered too much, but unless you own a superb stereo equipment, you better watch it as a movie!

Everything I wanted
I have been looking for the Hendrix concert footage for awhile. This is worth the full price alone.

"Complete Monterey Pop" May Be a Fizzle for Some
For a now aging hippy, who was a junior in high school in 1967, it was very enjoyable watching and listening to the groups that performed at the Monterey Pop Festival. If you have ever viewed the abridged version of this film, titled simply The Monterey Pop Festival, you have already seen most of the true highlights of the festival. The "Complete" version purportedly shows every group that appeared during the three day festival, although many groups are shown only performing one song. This "Complete" version is really meant for the purists out there who are looking to add to their rock and roll archives. The cinematography of this film is just slightly above the amateur level. I suspect that John Phillips, and the others involved in the production of this film were, shall we say, not completely in touch with reality at the time they were filming. Fortunately, the audio on the DVD is of considerably higher quality than the video. So if your looking for a true microcosm of the rock and roll scene during the late '60s, then this video is for you, that is unless you're not willing to shell out the nearly $70 purchase price. Looking back, it's truly unfortunate that so much of the history of music from those days went undocumented. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 60's    2. Album Rock    3. Blues-Rock    4. Country-Rock    5. Documentary    6. Folk-Rock    7. Hard Rock    8. Music Video - Pop/Rock    9. Pop    10. Pop/Rock    11. Psychedelic    12. Rock    13. Rock & Roll    14. V/a Compilations   

Editorial Review

Preserving a musical culture that has all but vanished from the hills ofAppalachia, this compilation of films by musician-documentarian John Cohenoffers a rich portrait of rural life in the early 1960s. Old practitioners ofthe "high lonesome" sound of bluegrass still retained the remote flavor of theregion, so Cohen's films are now rare and cherished time capsules, beginningwith "The High Lonesome Sound," an impressionistic portrait of Kentucky singer- guitarist Roscoe Holcomb and the hard-scrabble life that inspired his music. Thesecond film, "The End of an Old Song," is a similarly moving portrait ofballadeer Dillard Chandler, while "Sara and Maybelle" captures the reunion oftwo sisters from country music's pioneering Carter Family. Even though Cohen'sverité methods are crude (resulting in minimal use of synchronized sound), histechniques are well suited to his subjects, qualifying these films as musicalanthropology that will enthrall any student of music or rural American history.Read more

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Reviews (4)

One out of three ain't.........too bad
After I read the other glowing reviews on here I had to own this video.HOWEVER, after watching the three shorts on bluegrass and life in the '60s, I was disappointed, overall.The first video of Mr. Holcomb and the eastern KY country life painted what you would expect of Appalachian folks....poorly clothed, poorly educated, great banjo and guitar pickers.Being from KY, we are a little touchy on the stereotypical overall-clad, cigarette-smoking portrayal of our people.There were some high spots on the first short, though.The playing of Mr. Holcomb on his front porch is quite impressive, the views of the landscape are fetching, and they do, in fact, make you want to come home to these Ky mountains.The second short, on Dillard Chandler, was a disappointment.The portions that show his dwelling and his solo interpretations of the mountain music without any instrumentation are impressive, but when we follow him into town to get a bite to eat and pursue women.....a little off topic and disturbing. What did those scenes have to do with his music? The third short, on the two Carters, Maybelle and Sara, was quite good.We get a nice history on the Carters and get to hear the girls pick and sing three or four tunes.This one was well-done and rather delightful, if you are into the history and the nostalgia of where some of this music came from.Overall, I give it two stars, primarily on the weakness of the second short.

sara and maybelle and maybelle and sarawow
This film is NOT ABOUT BLUEGRASS.The only injection of Bluegrass is the contrast between the lack of fame of the old time performers here and Bill Monroe's Bluegrass band playing down on the public square. These are films of pre Bluegrass performers, Particularly in the world of Dillard Chandler and Roscoe Holcomb, who were not commercial stars like Maybelle and Sara Carter, life was pretty hard. The main impact for Roscoe, a laid off partially disabled miner, when he got invited to perform for folk music festivals and concerts, was he got cut off the county relief that was his real support.
A Journey into the Past, into the future, music people wow
I've seen this about 5 times since it came out in the late 1960sd, all three viedos.I've even dined with the film maker and heard a couple of the people in it perform live.Read more

Subjects:  1. Country    2. Documentary    3. Pop    4. V/a Compilations   

Editorial Review

This Oscar-nominated documentary takes viewers inside the dance company of renowned choreographer Paul Taylor in many ways. Not only does director Matthew Diamond's camera catch the intimate moments as dance director and dancer develop new steps, he manages to get inside the minds of his subjects to a surprising degree. Diamond captures such triumphant moments as the troupe silently keeping perfect time when the sound goes out on its tour of India. But he also exposes unguarded moments of loss as Taylor ticks off the dancers felled by AIDS in his company or as bewildered troupe members react after Taylor unceremoniously fires a fellow dancer. The mastery of this 95-minute film lies in its portrayal of Taylor's genius without fawning over him. (For instance, after publicly berating dancers, Taylor admits he doesn't think about other people's feelings.) Rounding out the footage of Taylor and his dancers are interviews with critics and staff members and stunning black-and-white clips of Taylor's days as one of Martha Graham's featured dancers. Read more

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Reviews (6)

Superb; dancemaker and filmmaker choreograph wonderfully
This is a documentary DVD that shows every aspect of the creative forces involved in producing what I believe to be the most captivating of art forms."Dancemaker" is long on intimacy, giving equal time to the minds, the hearts, the souls and the bodies which collaborate to produce great modern dance.The genius of Paul Taylor and Director Matthew Diamond combine to make an extraordinary documentary. Warts, bunions, and all
This film is more than a portrait of a choreographer. It is a portrait of his company. And of the small, not-for-profit arts institution in America. From beginning to end the viewer gets a glimpse of what it takes for such an institution to survive and remain creative in an environment that doesn't always appreciate innovation and creativity. Director Matthew Diamond (himself a former dancer and choreographer) has done an excellent job of interweaving rehearsal and live performances with archival footage and talking heads (dance critics, administrative staff, technical crew, dancers, former dancers, and Taylor himself all get their say). Taylor comes across, in turns, as impish (fabricating stories to please the press), vague (struggling to communicate new steps to his dancers), nervous (constantly chewing gum), fearful ("my inspiration comes from fear"), and autocratic (in the course of the film he fires one of his dancers). But most of all, Taylor comes across as insecure and vulnerable. One especially telling moment in the film comes when the company is performing in India and the sound system fails. The dancers continue dancing in silence while the crew busies itself trying to fix the problem. The music comes back on and the company is in perfect sync. Taylor revealingly says, "My dance was ruined. And they were the heroes, not me. They stole the show." As one former company member put it when describing Taylor's origins: "There was [Martha] Graham and then there was this big dysfunctional family, and Paul Taylor was one of them....And they all brought their own dysfunction to their own companies." A sculpture of movements
Paul Taylor provides us with movement's ideas which remain in our memory, ideas whichimpress us with their genius simplicity. Paul works like a sculptor of flowing movements each movement is in the context. His choreography is lyrical, abstract and very musical. Paul takes his ideas from the real world with real people. It is very clear for me that Paul and his dancers workwith deep attitude towards art, withdeep love and absolute dedication. This fact makes the relationship between Paul and his dancers and the audience very strongand intimate. The viewer can get the impression that art is in the center and notpeople who serve it. Paul who had dance in Anna Sokolow's Le Grand Spectacle at American BalletTheateron 1957 is a successor of her work in his own way the same lyricism and visual ideas which remains in our memory. ... Read more

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Drawn into the story of silent night
This video accomplishes in the viewer both entertainment and spirituality. The beautiful voices of the Vienna boys choir draw you into the depth and beauty of the christmas message and at the same time the simple story of its origin and how it spread to become one of the most highly favored christmas carols takes you right into the heart of christmas. In addition we are given a look at the culture it came from and a moving story of the power of the hymn...the power of the Christmas message which is peace on earth....good will toward men.

rating of the stars
Well, I really felt sorry for the little boy named Billy, the boy was confused, so I thought, but his parents were careless, and didn't want to listen to him, or get a chance to understand him fully, talking to the shrink and all, he could've had a nervous breakdown. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Christmas    2. Documentary    3. Movie   

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Reviews (27)

All The Songs Need to be full length
Good DVD Loved the Preformances.Ecept there is one probem only about 75% of them are in full-length form.So for this reason this tape gets 3 starrs.I've seen many people consider this video a documintary, well I think this DVD is more about the music I mean don't get me wrong there is a great deal of documintary information on the Band, it's just that well on this DVD there seems to be more muscic rather than documintation.I Also like how the director of this film videoized some of the live preformances. I drank too much orange juice...
If you see a large man running out of motor home out on the highway, watch out... Or, at a Denny's... Good video, good stories.

Sublime are "Key"
In 1996, Sublime released their self titled major label debut, to critical acclaim.Their unique mix of punk, reggae, ska, hip-hop and everything in between gave the masses (myself included) a new, fresh sound.Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Music Video - Pop/Rock    3. Pop    4. Punk Revival    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop    7. Ska-Punk    8. The only existing legally available Sublime live footage. A two-hour+ documentary video about the career of Sublime-- straight from the family.    9. Third Wave Ska Revival   

Editorial Review

In the language of hip-hop, the MC raps on top of the beats. The DJ--or turntablist--supplies the beats. Doug Pray's lively documentary is a tribute to these unsung heroes of the "scratch." His approach is neither dry nor academic and is designed as much for the masters of the form as for the fans. Pray was also behind Read more

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Reviews (32)

Good documentary, but came up short in the trenches..
This is a good documentary and I can appreciate that it was done since none of the pioneers put one out(like Crazy legz did for Freshest Kids).This documentary is more towards the general audience that don't have any knowledge of DJ'in or hip hop.But us old school guys won't get much out of it.There wasn't much of the history at all, especially during the 80's - unknown dj, hashim, mantronix, twilight22, uncle jamm's army, even the original world class wreckin' cru (the "dr dre." scratch).Qbert was on here, but there was no mention of the IMAGINE battles they had in the San Francisco bay area during the mid 80's, im sure these battles where part of his inspirations.This would be like putting together a boxing documentary and giving Joe Lewis & Rocky marciano like 15 min, then jumping right to Lennox Lewis and completely omitting Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, and Ali.
some very good points
all of the above have good info, and I agree I would like to see a more varied mix, but show it to someone who has no idea about the scene, and they will be impressed.

Not all-inlcusive, but extremely well made
The guy who gave three stars has some good points. He's quite justified in his three star review. However, the way I see it, this is one of a few films (battle sounds is the only one I can think of right off the bat) that really attempts to explore the art of scratching and deliver it to a wide audience.
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Subjects:  1. Dance    2. Music Documentaries    3. Special Interests    4. Television & Documentary   

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Reviews (42)

Hey - where's our Rick Danko???
I loved the film - and would have given it 5 stars if Rick Danko had been in it, as advertised!

Gets better with age? mine, that is!
As a second-generation Who freak, I latched on to this incendiary group right around the year Keith Moon uncharacteristically faded away in his sleep. Soon after, I saw the original "The Kids Are Alright" in the theater and bought an early Embassy VHS tape. Now that the DVD version is out, I think that technical comparisons between 1978 and 2003 will pale against the real story: The Who was the greatest live band and one of the greatest rock groups ever. The Kids Are Alright
This is my favorite movie! The best preformance by The Who is in this film. There best preformance was playing A Quick One While He's Away at the Rolling Stone's Rock And Roll Circus. The thing that pisses me off is that they only used a small section of the song and cut out Keith Richard's Introduction. If you love Keith Moon (Like I Do) get 200 Motels. Though I'll warn you it's kinda hard to find but if you do find it it'll be between 25.00 and 75.00. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. British Invasion    3. Hard Rock    4. Mod    5. Pop    6. Pop/Rock    7. Rock    8. Rock & Roll   

Editorial Review

While a proposed series of original cast recording sessions for documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker (Read more

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A great documentary by a great filmmaker
I can't stop watching this documentary about the recording of the cast ablum of a wonderful musical Broadway show. And I found watching the film with the commentary was as entertaining as watching the movie without the talking heads.The film quality of the transfer to DVD isn't perfect, but it's a minor flaw. To top it off, you listen to great songs by the great Stephen Sondheim. I fully recommend it, especially if you're a fan of the documentary about Bob Dylan, "Don't Look Back," which was made by D.A. Pennebaker as well. Pennebaker just records what's in front of him and let's everything play out without manipulation. It's pure and simple and top-notch filmmaking.

If You Like Broadway Musicals, You'll Probably Like This
If you like Broadway, if you like Stephen Sondheim (or even if you don't), if you like behind-the-scenes looks at show business, you'll probaby like this DVD. It's a documentary of how the original cast recording of Company was put together a few days after the show opened in New York.
Compelling Document Of A Great Cast Album
Company is, to say the least, an unusual show. What is it, really? Certainly a brilliant musical, by Stephen Sondheim. But it's taken a very special place in Broadway Lore, thanks in great part to the Cast Album that was recorded in front of D.A. Pennebaker's cameras.
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Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. Musicals & Cast Recordings   

Editorial Review

All singing! All dancing! All proletariat! Who knew the Soviets made musicals? The evidence is there in Dana Ranga's giddy documentary, which offers clips from dozens of musicals made between 1930 and 1970 from the Communist bloc. From rural Russian ditties with synchronized tractors and overall-clad farmers singing about the five-year plan to backstage melodramas and East German beach movies, this documentary reveals an entire hidden genre of Communist cinema. What makes them so fascinating is the Soviet bloc's uneasy truce with the musical, by its very nature a celebration of love and romance and plenty. How do to you turn that into a message of service and sacrifice? They tried, certainly--Stalin loved musicals--and throughout the 1930s and '40s Soviet studios created Busby Berkeley-like production numbers on assembly lines and sent field hands into song with synchronized pitchforks (no dancing allowed on the job, according to the censors) while harvesting their fields.Read more

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Reviews (12)

Bolsheviks with bounce
Although a documentary about Communist movie musicals sounds like a Christopher Guest parody, this fascinating 1997 German production is the real deal, comrade. From the 1930s through the 1960s, over forty Iron Curtain films combined Socialism with song, labor with lyrics, propaganda with pirouettes, Russkies with rhythm, and Bolsheviks with bounce. Audiences in Russia, Bulgaria, East Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia were treated to such tune-laden escapist fare as TRACTOR DRIVERS, THE SWINEHERD AND THE SHEPHERD, VACATION ON THE BLACK SEA, COSSACKS OF THE KUBAN RIVER, and HARD WORK-HAPPY HOLIDAY. In addition to interviews with filmmakers, critics, and older Iron Curtain moviegoers sharing their youthful memories, the astonishingly rare footage unearthed by documentarians Dana Ranga and Andrew Horn will come as a revelation to even the most seasoned film buff. Now, that was entertainment-da!

If only socialism had been more fun
My credentials as a fan of screen musicals are suspect. In 56 years, I can count on one hand the number I've seen that I thought worth viewing more than once: CHICAGO (2003), EVITA (1996), HELLO DOLLY (1969), THE KING AND I (1956), and (dare I admit it?) MARY POPPINS (1964). Having said that, however, I found EAST SIDE STORY illuminating. During the Bad Old Days of the Cold War, what average American would've thought that the Warsaw Pact/Evil Empire was making musicals? And had been doing so for many years.