The Great Dictator is as relevant today as it was when it skewered Hitler and his gang of Fascist bigots back in 1940. It took aim at Hitler but its target could easily be any warmongering regime from any period of history. The parallels are all there. Chaplin addresses each of them and does it well. His character Hynkel is a bumbling and ineffective "leader". He's driven by greed. As the film unfolds it's obvious his greed is rooted in feelings of inferiority. The more his mouth moves the less he says. His economic policies are a disaster-to wage war he has to borrow money from the "enemy". He is petty beyond belief. Ultimately, without an "enemy" to point toward, he's nothing. His entire mantra-loss of liberty, racial persecution, lust for control and so on-is all for one thing: he has to cover the fact that he can't rise to the level of the most humble of those he torments. This is a fundamental truth about people who lust for conquest. Chaplin illustrates it brilliantly.

The film isn't perfect. Chaplin and his crew weren't entirely comfortable when working with sound. Many scenes have dialogue but lack background noise. It was a common fault of the time though. The players have an assortment of accents. The Tomanians (with the exception of Herring) sound British. As the Jewish barber Chaplin sounds British. Many of the Jews in the Ghetto sound Jewish but Palette Goddard as Hannah, sounds as if she came from Queens. There are at least a couple of interludes that interfere with the continuity of the film. These are small complaints though. There are many scenes that have never been bettered. One is the episode with the coins and the cakes. On its own it's pure comedic brilliance. Combined with the statement it makes about the utter ridiculousness of martyrdom for its own sake (not to mention the unwillingness of leaders to become martyrs) it's timeless. The scene with the cannon is a gem. The "ultimate" weapon is shown as the ultimate (and expensive) waste; this could easily be the Crusader Artillery System. The tenderness between Chaplin and Goddard is a thing of beauty. Jack Oakie is fabulous as a Mussolini clone. The scenes between him and Chaplin are hilarious. (Watch the scene with the hot mustard and do some thinking.) The innuendo in the film is brilliant. Who but Chaplin would conceive of Tomainia (after "Ptomaine, poisonous and putrefying organic matter), the "Sons of the Double Cross" or Hynkel's first name, "Adenoid"? The entire backdrop with its "Thinkers of Tomorrow" and other absurdities modeled on the vanity of the Dictator is amazing; it captures the madness completely. The ballet with the globe is beautiful and astonishing. The music representing the ideals for the greedy and the humble is identical. The message: people are alike. As is the norm for Chaplin he did it in a way that was subtle; it's the theme of the Grail Knight descending from Wagner's Lohengrin. Hitler loved Wagner's music. Chaplin would have known that. It's his way of saying Wagner's music wasn't to blame for Hitler's madness. There's more but this should give an idea.

What nobody seeing the film for the first time can be prepared for however, is the way it ends. I wasn't. I saw a few of Chaplin's films as a student but had missed this one. I was floored. His statement about the nature of the people who make war is valid in any age. It always will be.

Watch it and then look closely at the events of the present.

The Great Dictator is as relevant today as it was when it skewered Hitler and his gang of Fascist bigots back in 1940. It took aim at Hitler but its target could easily be any warmongering regime from any period of history. The parallels are all there. Chaplin addresses each of them and does it well. His character Hynkel is a bumbling and ineffective "leader". He's driven by greed. As the film unfolds it's obvious his greed is rooted in feelings of inferiority. The more his mouth moves the less he says. His economic policies are a disaster-to wage war he has to borrow money from the "enemy". He is petty beyond belief. Ultimately, without an "enemy" to point toward, he's nothing. His entire mantra-loss of liberty, racial persecution, lust for control and so on-is all for one thing: he has to cover the fact that he can't rise to the level of the most humble of those he torments. This is a fundamental truth about people who lust for conquest. Chaplin illustrates it brilliantly.

The film isn't perfect. Chaplin and his crew weren't entirely comfortable when working with sound. Many scenes have dialogue but lack background noise. It was a common fault of the time though. The players have an assortment of accents. The Tomanians (with the exception of Herring) sound British. As the Jewish barber Chaplin sounds British. Many of the Jews in the Ghetto sound Jewish but Palette Goddard as Hannah, sounds as if she came from Queens. There are at least a couple of interludes that interfere with the continuity of the film. These are small complaints though. There are many scenes that have never been bettered. One is the episode with the coins and the cakes. On its own it's pure comedic brilliance. Combined with the statement it makes about the utter ridiculousness of martyrdom for its own sake (not to mention the unwillingness of leaders to become martyrs) it's timeless. The scene with the cannon is a gem. The "ultimate" weapon is shown as the ultimate (and expensive) waste; this could easily be the Crusader Artillery System. The tenderness between Chaplin and Goddard is a thing of beauty. Jack Oakie is fabulous as a Mussolini clone. The scenes between him and Chaplin are hilarious. (Watch the scene with the hot mustard and do some thinking.) The innuendo in the film is brilliant. Who but Chaplin would conceive of Tomainia (after "Ptomaine, poisonous and putrefying organic matter), the "Sons of the Double Cross" or Hynkel's first name, "Adenoid"? The entire backdrop with its "Thinkers of Tomorrow" and other absurdities modeled on the vanity of the Dictator is amazing; it captures the madness completely. The ballet with the globe is beautiful and astonishing. The music representing the ideals for the greedy and the humble is identical. The message: people are alike. As is the norm for Chaplin he did it in a way that was subtle; it's the theme of the Grail Knight descending from Wagner's Lohengrin. Hitler loved Wagner's music. Chaplin would have known that. It's his way of saying Wagner's music wasn't to blame for Hitler's madness. There's more but this should give an idea.

What nobody seeing the film for the first time can be prepared for however, is the way it ends. I wasn't. I saw a few of Chaplin's films as a student but had missed this one. I was floored. His statement about the nature of the people who make war is valid in any age. It always will be.

Watch it and then look closely at the events of the present.

The Great Dictator is as relevant today as it was when it skewered Hitler and his gang of Fascist bigots back in 1940. It took aim at Hitler but its target could easily be any warmongering regime from any period of history. The parallels are all there. Chaplin addresses each of them and does it well. His character Hynkel is a bumbling and ineffective "leader". He's driven by greed. As the film unfolds it's obvious his greed is rooted in feelings of inferiority. The more his mouth moves the less he says. His economic policies are a disaster-to wage war he has to borrow money from the "enemy". He is petty beyond belief. Ultimately, without an "enemy" to point toward, he's nothing. His entire mantra-loss of liberty, racial persecution, lust for control and so on-is all for one thing: he has to cover the fact that he can't rise to the level of the most humble of those he torments. This is a fundamental truth about people who lust for conquest. Chaplin illustrates it brilliantly.

The film isn't perfect. Chaplin and his crew weren't entirely comfortable when working with sound. Many scenes have dialogue but lack background noise. It was a common fault of the time though. The players have an assortment of accents. The Tomanians (with the exception of Herring) sound British. As the Jewish barber Chaplin sounds British. Many of the Jews in the Ghetto sound Jewish but Palette Goddard as Hannah, sounds as if she came from Queens. There are at least a couple of interludes that interfere with the continuity of the film. These are small complaints though. There are many scenes that have never been bettered. One is the episode with the coins and the cakes. On its own it's pure comedic brilliance. Combined with the statement it makes about the utter ridiculousness of martyrdom for its own sake (not to mention the unwillingness of leaders to become martyrs) it's timeless. The scene with the cannon is a gem. The "ultimate" weapon is shown as the ultimate (and expensive) waste; this could easily be the Crusader Artillery System. The tenderness between Chaplin and Goddard is a thing of beauty. Jack Oakie is fabulous as a Mussolini clone. The scenes between him and Chaplin are hilarious. (Watch the scene with the hot mustard and do some thinking.) The innuendo in the film is brilliant. Who but Chaplin would conceive of Tomainia (after "Ptomaine, poisonous and putrefying organic matter), the "Sons of the Double Cross" or Hynkel's first name, "Adenoid"? The entire backdrop with its "Thinkers of Tomorrow" and other absurdities modeled on the vanity of the Dictator is amazing; it captures the madness completely. The ballet with the globe is beautiful and astonishing. The music representing the ideals for the greedy and the humble is identical. The message: people are alike. As is the norm for Chaplin he did it in a way that was subtle; it's the theme of the Grail Knight descending from Wagner's Lohengrin. Hitler loved Wagner's music. Chaplin would have known that. It's his way of saying Wagner's music wasn't to blame for Hitler's madness. There's more but this should give an idea.

What nobody seeing the film for the first time can be prepared for however, is the way it ends. I wasn't. I saw a few of Chaplin's films as a student but had missed this one. I was floored. His statement about the nature of the people who make war is valid in any age. It always will be.

Watch it and then look closely at the events of the present.

How much did "greatest hits" packages have to do with that? It's hard to say but it's a question that warrants some thought.

As a greatest hits package this one works fairly well. It does span their entire career and does so in chronological order. That doesn't mean much to someone (like myself) who's been listening to the Who for thirty eight years but it's great for the new listener, particularly since the sound quality, even on the really old cuts, is about as strong as it can be. That's an important consideration given the original quality of the early recordings. Most pop groups weren't given much of a budget. As well, they knew they were recording for kids who had $29.95 mono turntables and tailored their recorded sound to that market. When Kit Lambert took over as their manager/ producer he recorded his blistering hard rock band to sound like all the other pop chipmunks on the market. People can complain all they want about Moonie's drums getting the short shift on everything recorded before "Who's Next" but the fact is we're stuck with it. That was the way Lambert recorded them. John Entwistle said he made them sound like "biscuit tins". This set has that "early cookie effect" reduced as much as possible. Part of the thanks goes to Jon Astley who's also done a yeoman's job with the Who's back catalogue up to this point. There are only two complaints with the selection of the older material. Why did "Squeeze Box" have to be included? (...). And is there anybody else out there who remembers that "See Me, Feel Me" (the Who included at this point) is only half a song? It isn't even the name of the song. The entire cut, "We're Not Gonna Take It", is Townshend's writing and the Who at their absolute best. Surely four more minutes of space could have been found somewhere.

The new songs are moving in a different direction, which is fine; they have to. This isn't 1971 anymore. Half of the band is gone. The pair that remain are older men now. It's time to reflect, to pass knowledge on and leave change to the hands of younger people. As a young band the group spoke to young people about things that concerned young people. Their older work is still doing that. As an older band they speak to the generation(s) that grew up with them about things they felt while giving newer fans the benefit of that experience. The new songs do that well. "Real Good Looking Boy" does it brilliantly. This is a wonderful combination of depth, satire, tribute and resolution all wrapped inside a beautiful melodic package. Also, without writing down any spoilers, let it be said that it has one of the best lines that's been sung in a while, by anyone. "Old Red Wine" is a little more awkward. It's a good song but the band doesn't have quite the same chemistry they manage with "Real Good Looking Boy". That could be for a number of reasons and it's hard to say which. Whatever the reason they sound more comfortable with "Real Good Looking Boy".

This is a good starter package for new fans because it looks back and ahead. It's a good value for old fans because it's a cohesive collection that also has two new songs, one of which is great.

Traditionalists won't like this thought, but it seems any "setting" for a staging of the Ring Cycle is secondary to the point of the drama, even if Wagner himself specified otherwise. His musical odyssey about the mighty trapped by their own devices and the devastating effect it has on everything around them has always been relevant. Wotan's tale of being trapped by contracts could be easily be the story of the dilemma faced by any world leader. The idea that Patrice Chéreau's staging lent an anti-capitalist spin to the cycle doesn't hold up. That was always part of the story. Capitalism is just one of many names for systematic greed that leads to rulers and societies destroying themselves from within. Those themes permeate the text of the Ring and are well served by any staging that tells the story well.

Boulez' interpretation is very light but it serves the music well. That's not to say the thunder is gone; it's not. If anything the thunder seems louder. Wagner's scores are alive with subtle nuances of expression. The brisk tempo Boulez used makes those subtleties sparkle, a touch which gives more radiance to the piece as a whole. Because of that those infamous "dull quarter hours" are fewer and farther between.

It (apparently) wasn't his intent but Wagner established the formula Hollywood uses for leaving stories open ended enough to produce sequels. Ring I (Das Rheingold) closes with the major players fighting over the money. There are a few illegitimate kids running around to throw wrenches in the works too. Ring II outstrips the first episode and gets a glorious title. Die Walküre recaps the first production, ties up loose threads and creates new ones for a new chapter. Son of Siegmund (Siegfried) carries out all the standard sequel chores and proves that incest produces morons. Gwyneth Jones reminds viewers that aging beauties don't always look great in the morning. (Jones is splendid so don't take that comment too seriously.) The piece ends on a happy note but with enough loose ends for another four hours. Ring IV: The Final Chapter (Götterdämmerung) ties up those threads without creating news ones and ends in a blaze of glory. It also teaches the lesson Hollywood didn't learn; get out while you're on top. Anyone staging this has to has to work around these things. That means doing an effective enough job of it to suspend the viewers' belief for a while. That's no small task. Chéreau's staging won't be perfect for anybody. No staging could be with a work of this scope. His vision is very effective though. The costuming leans toward the nineteenth century but is in a state of decay. With a few exceptions the suits, though of fine quality, look as if they haven't been pressed, cleaned or mended since about the time of ancient Egypt. Much of the set is cast in the same mould. The home of the Rhine Maidens is a sewer. Valhalla is crumbling and Hunding's people look like concentration camp victims. But that's fine. That decay is the price of greed, and the Ring is about greed and it's consequences.

The cast is fabulous. There are too many to name all of them but a few warrant mention. Not enough can be said about Donald McIntyre in the role of Wotan. The character has to be proud, sympathetic, just and unjust all at once. McIntyre brings this off well. His rage is fearsome yet his love for his errant child melts the heart. Manfred Jung captures all there is of Siegfried. He's especially good portraying the true nature of Siegfried's bravery-he's too dumb to be afraid. Franz Hübner is as loathsome a Hagen as there could ever be. The slime is just about oozing out of him. Peter Hofmann and Jeanine Altmeyer are wonderful as the twins. The passion in their singing makes their situation a sympathetic one despite the crime of their union. Heinz Zednik steals the scene wherever he appears, be it as Loge or Mime. As Mime he's hilarious. This man could probably have an alternate career in film. He developed a set of mannerisms for "Mime" and maintains them consistently throughout his time on stage. As well, he has great comic timing. That's something that can't be taught. Then there's the lady who (to my mind) dominates this production. It's true that Gwyneth Jones wasn't young when this was filmed and there are times when harsh lighting displays it. Still, age or no, she is a beautiful lady. And she can act and she can sing. Can she ever sing! She combines control with unbridled passion in a way most can only dream about. In the end it's hard to imagine a better Brünnhilde. She is magnificent!

Picture quality is good. For television it was the best of it's time and it holds up well. The sound is even better. The old analog recordings weren't as clean but they have a more lifelike sound than digital recordings. That's particularly noticeable with the brass and the bass instruments from the string sections. The re-mastering of this edition serves those qualities well.

The only complaint I have is that the individual works should be available as such instead of just as a set. Each drama is a self contained story and can be enjoyed as such. Offering them separately might create a wider range of interest in the Cycle. Given its quality and importance that could only be a plus.

When they play it on stage it becomes the greatest and most powerful rock music imaginable.

It was no surprise (not to Who fans anyway) that their DVD release from the fall 2000 show at the Royal Albert Hall was one of the most celebrated concert videos from that year. The band was firing on all cylinders on the 2000 tour and played at a level closer to what they achieved during their glory years than they'd ever managed since Keith Moon died. That alone was enough to put then back at the forefront.

The "Kids are Alright" shows what it was like in the first place.

It was the oddest of musical relationships. With the exception of the friendship between Moon and Entwistle none of them really liked each other, at least not in the early days anyway. Townshend's temper was enough to keep anyone away and everyone hated Roger. It reached a head in 1965 when they tossed Roger out for beating up Moon only to realize (to a man) that they were throwing away something that might go beyond anything any of them could imagine. It was their Waterloo and it happened before any of them passed twenty-one.

It produced greatness.

The Who had what it took to go places, always; everyone in the fold knew that. When they made that commitment they took it beyond what anyone could have dreamt. Throughout their (active recording) career they never followed a formula, never stopped pushing musical boundaries, and, in concert, always tried to do better than "last night". They became the most astonishing rock band ever to step on the stage.

This film concentrates on showing that.

It doesn't preach. There's no narration going through historic details. There's not even a chronological order to the piece. All it does is try to show the Who, and the ingredients that formed their magic to the world. The live footage is electrifying. The interviews are illuminating and hilarious. How could anyone (or anything) contain Keith Moon? How could an interviewer ever hope to step into the middle of the way the core group constantly challenged each other? They couldn't. This was four strong personalities merged into something larger than life. Their relationship wasn't harmonious but an outsider stepping into it found found themselves confronted with, the whole. When they stepped onstage that "whole" was what audiences got. Jeff Stein has been criticized for just "putting what was around" together. That's crap. Jeff Stein is a brilliant film maker who had the sense to let his subjects speak for themselves. That shows all the way through the film. You get the music, a sense of who the band are and a great sample of why their performances are the stuff of legend.

How much more is needed? Get it.

The result was well worth the effort. Stephen Oliver's recitatives provide this opera with something that compliments it and carries the action well. Having something like this done was long overdue. Tito contains some of the most beautiful music Mozart wrote. Yes, many numbers are shorter than usual. That's fine as they fill the psychological needs of their characters while also preventing their musical phrases from being overplayed. There isn't a weak link in the cast. Yes, Titus is a one dimensional paragon of goodness. Yet, when you watch Philip Langridge perform "his music" it's easy to believe a man can be like that. Diana Montague and Martine Mahé are superb as Sextus and Annio. There's one complaint and it's a minor one. These ladies look too feminine to forget that they're a pair of (very) attractive women. Peter Rose does well in the role of Publius. Elzbieta Szymytka is ravishing as Servilla. Her voice has that lovely crystalline quality so well suited to Mozart's work. Ashley Putnam is great! The role of Vitellia contains an emotional kaleidoscope and she delivers one. She is jealous and passionate, loving and ruthless, proud and then humbled all at once. Her music, particularly "Non Piu di Fiori, is fiendishly difficult. Some passages almost call for a soprano with mezzo-soprano's lower range. There are two instances where the music finds her limit but in both instances she recovers quickly. The sets are odd as are some of the camera angles. They suit the action though, and better yet, don't interfere with it. The subtitles are clear (though sometimes off centre) and contain a few typos ("epress"?) but give far more detail than what's found in most productions. New viewers will appreciate that.

This is an excellent production, one that's great for lovers of opera and for those new to opera.

Ah, Perdona Al Primo Affetto

This duet deserves mention on its own merits. It is one of the most perfect and beautiful gems imaginable. The first recording I heard was sung by Frederica von Stade and Lucia Popp under the baton of Sir Colin Davis. The emotional reaction it set off then was uncontrollable. To this day it usually has that effect. This is one of those pieces where beauty doesn't fade or wither with familiarity. Each time you listen there's a new detail to appreciate. The vocal lines are sublimely gentle, each note a caressing touch. The scoring is a miracle of transparent clarity. When performed as it is here, this is a model for what music can be. It touches the heart, caresses the emotions and makes you think about the beauty man can aspire to. To have it performed the way Martine Mahé (Annio), Elzbieta Szymytka and Andrew Davis have done it is worth the price of the entire disc.

This is just the beginning of the optical assault.

The second act features a "torch" that looks like a dandelion after an overdose of steroids. The great love duet from Act II is played out on an ugly yellow couch that looks as if someone painted it. Act III begins with a slideshow that's supposed to be symbolic but feels meaningless. The only good thing is that it gives Tristan something to do besides shave.

That's not to say this production should be avoided-it shouldn't be. The onslaught of visual weirdness aside, it's well acted, well played, well sung and the sound quality is good. As a conductor Mehta works for balance and feeling, something which serves the enormity and passion inherent in Wagner's works well. His orchestra is never too heavy or light in any area. His tempo is graceful but never too fast or slow. The cast is solid. Bernd Weikl and Marjana Lipovsek are solid in their roles as friends and confidantes to the cursed lovers. Kurt Moll brings warmth and compassion to each scene he's part of and Claes Ahnsjö is convincingly despicable as Melot. John Frederic West is an excellent actor and a decent singer. His voice isn't always quite strong enough for the role of Tristan. In the music's highest ranges his strain shows but he more than compensates with the intelligence he gives to the role and through the chemistry he shares with the production's Isolde, Waltraud Meier. The truth is that when these two play out their great love scene there's enough sparks between them for me to forget about the ugly couch.

Waltraud Meier is an Isolde to marvel at! Her performance alone should make this DVD a "must have".

As an actress she's fabulous. She doesn't waste movements or gestures but instead conveys meaning with each and every one. She's among the most acclaimed mezzo-sopranos of her generation and this performance shows why. Her range is phenomenal-there's not an instant where her voice shows a sign of strain (incredible given the demands of the music for Isolde). As all the great ones can she colors her voice with an infinite number of subtle and powerful shadings which give greater emotional depth to any area her voice touches. This may be what sets her so far beyond the rest. When the drama closes with Isolde's Liebestod she still sounds fresh, vibrant and alive. The Liebestod is one of those pieces of music good enough to warrant fame for its composer even if he or she hadn't written anything else of value. There are a lot of recordings of it but never enough good ones.

This isn't just one of the good ones-it's one of the great ones.

The result was well worth the effort. Stephen Oliver's recitatives provide this opera with something that compliments it and carries the action well. Having something like this done was long overdue. Tito contains some of the most beautiful music Mozart wrote. Yes, many numbers are shorter than usual. That's fine as they fill the psychological needs of their characters while also preventing their musical phrases from being overplayed. There isn't a weak link in the cast. Yes, Titus is a one dimensional paragon of goodness. Yet, when you watch Philip Langridge perform "his music" it's easy to believe a man can be like that. Diana Montague and Martine Mahé are superb as Sextus and Annio. There's one complaint and it's a minor one. These ladies look too feminine to forget that they're a pair of (very) attractive women. Peter Rose does well in the role of Publius. Elzbieta Szymytka is ravishing as Servilla. Her voice has that lovely crystalline quality so well suited to Mozart's work. Ashley Putnam is great! The role of Vitellia contains an emotional kaleidoscope and she delivers one. She is jealous and passionate, loving and ruthless, proud and then humbled all at once. Her music, particularly "Non Piu di Fiori, is fiendishly difficult. Some passages almost call for a soprano with mezzo-soprano's lower range. There are two instances where the music finds her limit but in both instances she recovers quickly. The sets are odd as are some of the camera angles. They suit the action though, and better yet, don't interfere with it. The subtitles are clear (though sometimes off centre) and contain a few typos ("epress"?) but give far more detail than what's found in most productions. New viewers will appreciate that.

This is an excellent production, one that's great for lovers of opera and for those new to opera.

Ah, Perdona Al Primo Affetto

This duet deserves mention on its own merits. It is one of the most perfect and beautiful gems imaginable. The first recording I heard was sung by Frederica von Stade and Lucia Popp under the baton of Sir Colin Davis. The emotional reaction it set off then was uncontrollable. To this day it usually has that effect. This is one of those pieces where beauty doesn't fade or wither with familiarity. Each time you listen there's a new detail to appreciate. The vocal lines are sublimely gentle, each note a caressing touch. The scoring is a miracle of transparent clarity. When performed as it is here, this is a model for what music can be. It touches the heart, caresses the emotions and makes you think about the beauty man can aspire to. To have it performed the way Martine Mahé (Annio), Elzbieta Szymytka and Andrew Davis have done it is worth the price of the entire disc.

Then Zak Starkey came along. When (yet) another tour was announced for the spring of 2000 critics were quick to label it to end up as another zip-less grab for money. Little did they know. Zak had been with the band for a few years and largely restored the vitality Keith had injected. More important, he gave Entwistle and Townshend someone they could "run" with again. When they stripped the band back down again the old fire came back. In the spring, summer and fall of 2000 they hit north America with a roar that hadn't been seen from anyone from any genre in decades. New material or no, the most explosive live band in rock was back!

Live at the RAH more than illustrates this. That it's a "greatest hits" set (with an "all-star" guest list to boot) put me off for a while. Don't make the same mistake. The catalogue the Who have to offer is a great one. When it's performed this amount of passion by a band like this it never gets old. Roger can't quite hit all the high notes any longer, Pete doesn't jump a often, or as high and John's singing voice, never great, by this time was close to shot. All of this matters little. Roger has enough passion for ten singers. As well, he brings a level of intelligence and understanding to the material that's rare in the industry. And don't forget, he never takes any nights "off". What Pete lost in leaping ability he's gained in musical finesse. This man is playing the guitar the way he did thirty years ago but with all the skill that time and practice have added. Nobody plays like him. Nobody! John was a fabulous player. Ultimately this band may end up missing him even more than they missed Keith. His ability to pick up Townshend's threads and add immediately add to them was the glue which held them together.

The importance of John (Rabbit) Bundrick can't be overstated. He's played with the Who since the late 1970's and it shows. It's hard to imagine keyboard player better suited to working with this outfit. He's literally all over everything Pete and John do as fast as Keith ever was. The guest stars, for the most fit in well. Eddie Vedder is a long time friend of Townshend and a fan. To watch him up there you could swear he knows their music as well as they do. Brian Adams looks a little nervous (for about ten seconds) but then cuts loose. His rendition of "Behind Blue Eyes" is classic. Nigel Kennedy comes in and plays the violin part from "Baba". He and Townshend have so much fun it has to be illegal (somehow anyway). Noel Gallagher doesn't leave the impact on "Won't Get Fooled Again" that Eddie Vedder leaves on "I'm One" but he doesn't hurt anything either. The only guest stars who fall a little short are Paul Weller and Kelly Jones. Weller and Townshend just don't mesh all that well. Kelly Jones, unfortunately, leaves you wanting Roger back on the mike to remind everyone what "Substitute" is "supposed" to sound like. The only other problem lies with the neck mounted camera used to spotlight John's bass solo. This was just a bad idea. It was supposed to give a close look. All it does is give wide angle close-ups that make Entwistle seem disembodied from the rest of the concert. It's too bad. The solo was a good one. Thankfully that camera was only used on the one segment.

This is nit picking though. The performance is a great one. The camera work is superb and the sound quality is fabulous. Buy it, turn it up and enjoy a great rock band doing their thing.

That this set contained a complete performance of Mozart's "Exsultate Jubilate" alone made buying it a no-brainer. The piece is one of the most joyous and beautiful works by the youthful Mozart and Dame Kiri's treatment of it is second to none. Mozart preferred solid song structure and subtle forms of expression to bravura coloratura passages, using the last only when the effect would truly serve the music. To this end his music and Kiri Te Kanawa's voice are a perfect match. She has the capacity to deliver coloratura passages beautifully (and does) but thanks to her enormous range of shadings along with love and feel for the music itself delivers a rendition that's better the second time it's heard. That's when all the little treasures Mozart hid in the music begin revealing themselves. Dame Kiri, to her credit, serves them with her voice as opposed to things being the other way around as is so often the case with recording stars.

The rest of this set fares just as well. Dame Kiri loves music and not just one form of it. Her programs always offer both operatic highlights and popular standards. The Lerner/Loewe gem "I Could Have Danced All Night" gets a completely different treatment than in the film but (thanks again to her intuitive musicality) crosses genres well. Her signature song "Pokarekare Ana", as always, is sung beautifully. It's here, without accompaniment from the Orchestra where one understands just how lovely her voice is, and how good she is. The instruments are never missed. The sets have a few surprises. Handel's work is less popular in the operatic repertoire than that of Puccini, Mozart or Verdi but it gets a decent representation here. "Non Disperar" from Julius Ceasar and "Care Selve" from "Atlanta" with their transparent and light scoring common to Baroque opera contrast nicely with the rest of the program. As with everything else (though the assertion may be getting redundant) they are given beautiful and radiant treatment by Dame Kiri. Another surprise is a sort of an "unofficial Easter egg" in the form of "Ch'il bel sogno di Doretta" which immediately follows "Tu, Che di Gel" from Turandot. It's not listed on either cover, nor in the liner notes or even in the chapter listings on the DVD itself but is lovely and shows the full range of this woman's magnificent voice well. Because of this it earns terms like "Easter Egg" or "bonus" rather than "packaging blunder" which is what it probably was. There are other problems with the disc. The sound isn't what it could be. It's far from bad but is not great either. Essentially, it's CD quality (and pretty good CD quality at that) but doesn't stand up with the best of what DVD has to offer. That it's an older recording that was made for television doesn't excuse this. Image (the same label) has a recording of Lohengrin out from the same time period and the quality of the sound there simply leaves this in the dust. Listen to those trombones (for instance) in the Prelude to Act III on a decent set up and you'll hear it. I'm guessing, but the transfer and the bit rates the recording was sampled with are probably at fault. Another is the lack of subtitles. Granted, this set comes from a pair of concerts, not a full blown opera so the subtitles aren't really necessary, but they would have been nice to have.

These are minor complaints though and nothing that prevents the music from winning the day. This is a wonderful set of performances of great music from one of this age's greatest singers and is easily appreciated as such. The end of this set when the credits are running as her rendition of Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro" washes over the audience is an exquisite moment. To listen to this and not be touched one would have to be without a heart.

What can be said but, "thank you" Dame Kiri and "thank you again".

That this set contained a complete performance of Mozart's "Exsultate Jubilate" alone made buying it a no-brainer. The piece is one of the most joyous and beautiful works by the youthful Mozart and Dame Kiri's treatment of it is second to none. Mozart preferred solid song structure and subtle forms of expression to bravura coloratura passages, using the last only when the effect would truly serve the music. To this end his music and Kiri Te Kanawa's voice are a perfect match. She has the capacity to deliver coloratura passages beautifully (and does) but thanks to her enormous range of shadings along with love and feel for the music itself delivers a rendition that's better the second time it's heard. That's when all the little treasures Mozart hid in the music begin revealing themselves. Dame Kiri, to her credit, serves them with her voice as opposed to things being the other way around as is so often the case with recording stars.

The rest of this set fares just as well. Dame Kiri loves music and not just one form of it. Her programs always offer both operatic highlights and popular standards. The Lerner/Loewe gem "I Could Have Danced All Night" gets a completely different treatment than in the film but (thanks again to her intuitive musicality) crosses genres well. Her signature song "Pokarekare Ana", as always, is sung beautifully. It's here, without accompaniment from the Orchestra where one understands just how lovely her voice is, and how good she is. The instruments are never missed. The sets have a few surprises. Handel's work is less popular in the operatic repertoire than that of Puccini, Mozart or Verdi but it gets a decent representation here. "Non Disperar" from Julius Ceasar and "Care Selve" from "Atlanta" with their transparent and light scoring common to Baroque opera contrast nicely with the rest of the program. As with everything else (though the assertion may be getting redundant) they are given beautiful and radiant treatment by Dame Kiri. Another surprise is a sort of an "unofficial Easter egg" in the form of "Ch'il bel sogno di Doretta" which immediately follows "Tu, Che di Gel" from Turandot. It's not listed on either cover, nor in the liner notes or even in the chapter listings on the DVD itself but is lovely and shows the full range of this woman's magnificent voice well. Because of this it earns terms like "Easter Egg" or "bonus" rather than "packaging blunder" which is what it probably was. There are other problems with the disc. The sound isn't what it could be. It's far from bad but is not great either. Essentially, it's CD quality (and pretty good CD quality at that) but doesn't stand up with the best of what DVD has to offer. That it's an older recording that was made for television doesn't excuse this. Image (the same label) has a recording of Lohengrin out from the same time period and the quality of the sound there simply leaves this in the dust. Listen to those trombones (for instance) in the Prelude to Act III on a decent set up and you'll hear it. I'm guessing, but the transfer and the bit rates the recording was sampled with are probably at fault. Another is the lack of subtitles. Granted, this set comes from a pair of concerts, not a full blown opera so the subtitles aren't really necessary, but they would have been nice to have.

These are minor complaints though and nothing that prevents the music from winning the day. This is a wonderful set of performances of great music from one of this age's greatest singers and is easily appreciated as such. The end of this set when the credits are running as her rendition of Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro" washes over the audience is an exquisite moment. To listen to this and not be touched one would have to be without a heart.

What can be said but, "thank you" Dame Kiri and "thank you again".

That this set contained a complete performance of Mozart's "Exsultate Jubilate" alone made buying it a no-brainer. The piece is one of the most joyous and beautiful works by the youthful Mozart and Dame Kiri's treatment of it is second to none. Mozart preferred solid song structure and subtle forms of expression to bravura coloratura passages, using the last only when the effect would truly serve the music. To this end his music and Kiri Te Kanawa's voice are a perfect match. She has the capacity to deliver coloratura passages beautifully (and does) but thanks to her enormous range of shadings along with love and feel for the music itself delivers a rendition that's better the second time it's heard. That's when all the little treasures Mozart hid in the music begin revealing themselves. Dame Kiri, to her credit, serves them with her voice as opposed to things being the other way around as is so often the case with recording stars.

The rest of this set fares just as well. Dame Kiri loves music and not just one form of it. Her programs always offer both operatic highlights and popular standards. The Lerner/Loewe gem "I Could Have Danced All Night" gets a completely different treatment than in the film but (thanks again to her intuitive musicality) crosses genres well. Her signature song "Pokarekare Ana", as always, is sung beautifully. It's here, without accompaniment from the Orchestra where one understands just how lovely her voice is, and how good she is. The instruments are never missed. The sets have a few surprises. Handel's work is less popular in the operatic repertoire than that of Puccini, Mozart or Verdi but it gets a decent representation here. "Non Disperar" from Julius Ceasar and "Care Selve" from "Atlanta" with their transparent and light scoring common to Baroque opera contrast nicely with the rest of the program. As with everything else (though the assertion may be getting redundant) they are given beautiful and radiant treatment by Dame Kiri. Another surprise is a sort of an "unofficial Easter egg" in the form of "Ch'il bel sogno di Doretta" which immediately follows "Tu, Che di Gel" from Turandot. It's not listed on either cover, nor in the liner notes or even in the chapter listings on the DVD itself but is lovely and shows the full range of this woman's magnificent voice well. Because of this it earns terms like "Easter Egg" or "bonus" rather than "packaging blunder" which is what it probably was. There are other problems with the disc. The sound isn't what it could be. It's far from bad but is not great either. Essentially, it's CD quality (and pretty good CD quality at that) but doesn't stand up with the best of what DVD has to offer. That it's an older recording that was made for television doesn't excuse this. Image (the same label) has a recording of Lohengrin out from the same time period and the quality of the sound there simply leaves this in the dust. Listen to those trombones (for instance) in the Prelude to Act III on a decent set up and you'll hear it. I'm guessing, but the transfer and the bit rates the recording was sampled with are probably at fault. Another is the lack of subtitles. Granted, this set comes from a pair of concerts, not a full blown opera so the subtitles aren't really necessary, but they would have been nice to have.

These are minor complaints though and nothing that prevents the music from winning the day. This is a wonderful set of performances of great music from one of this age's greatest singers and is easily appreciated as such. The end of this set when the credits are running as her rendition of Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro" washes over the audience is an exquisite moment. To listen to this and not be touched one would have to be without a heart.

What can be said but, "thank you" Dame Kiri and "thank you again".

The word for this part of the film is lame.

That said, don't let this five minute bit of stupidity detract from the enjoyment offered by an otherwise excellent film. Bride of Frankenstein has long been regarded as possibly the best of it's kind and that praise is well deserved. Boris Karloff gave the role of the savage but tragic creation depth of character and humanity that no other actor playing the part in the remainder of Universal's outings ever achieved. Karloff was the rare sort of actor with the gift for being able to "speak volumes" with a small gesture or a shift of expression. His monster is unpredictably menacing and indescribably lonely all at the same time. Ultimately, his portrayal of the creature is still the most charismatic of any of the attempts to bring the Frankenstein legend to the screen. Ernest Thesiger played the eccentric and charming but utterly ruthless Pretorius with a full measure of glee and it shows. Through their scenes together his presence matches Karloff's step for step. Any of the scenes he plays opposite the other players he just out and out steals. One of the films greatest touches is offered through O.P. Heggie as the blind hermit who reveals the monster's humanity are. The first scene between him and the monster remains one of the more moving ever filmed.

My reactions to the work from the rest of the cast are little more mixed. Colin Clive returned as the driven but creator and still turned in a decent performance, but this time with slightly less zest. Clive was only two years from death when the film was shot, already suffering from acute alcoholism and probably afflicted with tuberculosis as well. (That was listed as part of the cause of his death). Whatever the reason, his energy level is less consistent than in the first film and it shows. Una O' Connor as the Frankenstein's maid gives the film it's balance with hilarious moments of comic relief; you can't watch her and not laugh, which is what (Director James) Whale intended. Valerie Hobson fares slightly less well. She's a radiantly beautiful Elizabeth but, like Mae Clark in the original film, struggles with some of her dialogue (though in her defense any rational reasoning human being would have struggled with those lines). Her character is one dimensional and ends up being little more than a babbling foil for the film's much stronger male characters. As well, her personality and presence is distinctly English where Clark was so obviously American. These factors, as much as the alterations in the prelude, hurt both the film and the continuity between the two films.

When taken against the film as whole however, those complaints are minor ones. This film succeeds because of the depth of it's story line and the multi-faceted nature of it's principal characters. There is Frankenstein, a man torn between revulsion for their deeds and his drive to seek truth, Pretorius, the brilliant loner with his self-effacing humour and fascination with death which borders on necromancy and the blind hermit, the one man who accepts the monster simply because he feels but can't see and as a result becomes the only one able to really "see" the creature. Then, there's the creature, savage and misunderstood, angry but tender, a being as human as any but rejected by even the one created to be with him. Under Laemmle and Whale writer William Hurlbut allowed the monster to evolve, to grow as a character. In this film his movements are less stiff, his thinking more sophisticated and he gains the power to speak and articulate his thoughts, feelings and desires. It was a masterstroke, and sadly, the last time that would be allowed in the series. Visually, like the first one, this film is a treat. The lighting, brilliantly conceived is moody, atmospheric, subtle where needed and and enhances characters, scenes and action. As always, with Whale's films cinematography is superb. Whale had a touch for composing the way scenes were staged and how they would flow. One example is the how Valerie Hobson's dress trails behind her as she walks during the scene where her character is first introduced. Whale has it set so as to flow into the character behind her, something which visually enhances the feel of motion within the scene. It was a device he used in the first film and one he uses again here. Another remarkable moment is the moment where the creature rampages through the graveyard just prior to his first encounter with Pretorius. This is a masterpiece of lighting and composition and one which was imitated countless times in the decades that followed; it has only seldom been equalled. The score, by Franz Waxman, underscores, enhances, and at times, drives, the content of the film beautifully. His work was connected with many noteworthy films through his life. A few familiar ones are Mr. Roberts, Rear Window, Objective Burma and The Philadelphia Story. With this film producer Carl Laemmle, director James Whale and the rest of the ensemble set the standard which, almost seventy years later, is not just the text book on how it's done, but also, how to do it with style and flair.

That this set contained a complete performance of Mozart's "Exsultate Jubilate" alone made buying it a no-brainer. The piece is one of the most joyous and beautiful works by the youthful Mozart and Dame Kiri's treatment of it is second to none. Mozart preferred solid song structure and subtle forms of expression to bravura coloratura passages, using the last only when the effect would truly serve the music. To this end his music and Kiri Te Kanawa's voice are a perfect match. She has the capacity to deliver coloratura passages beautifully (and does) but thanks to her enormous range of shadings along with love and feel for the music itself delivers a rendition that's better the second time it's heard. That's when all the little treasures Mozart hid in the music begin revealing themselves. Dame Kiri, to her credit, serves them with her voice as opposed to things being the other way around as is so often the case with recording stars.

The rest of this set fares just as well. Dame Kiri loves music and not just one form of it. Her programs always offer both operatic highlights and popular standards. The Lerner/Loewe gem "I Could Have Danced All Night" gets a completely different treatment than in the film but (thanks again to her intuitive musicality) crosses genres well. Her signature song "Pokarekare Ana", as always, is sung beautifully. It's here, without accompaniment from the Orchestra where one understands just how lovely her voice is, and how good she is. The instruments are never missed. The sets have a few surprises. Handel's work is less popular in the operatic repertoire than that of Puccini, Mozart or Verdi but it gets a decent representation here. "Non Disperar" from Julius Ceasar and "Care Selve" from "Atlanta" with their transparent and light scoring common to Baroque opera contrast nicely with the rest of the program. As with everything else (though the assertion may be getting redundant) they are given beautiful and radiant treatment by Dame Kiri. Another surprise is a sort of an "unofficial Easter egg" in the form of "Ch'il bel sogno di Doretta" which immediately follows "Tu, Che di Gel" from Turandot. It's not listed on either cover, nor in the liner notes or even in the chapter listings on the DVD itself but is lovely and shows the full range of this woman's magnificent voice well. Because of this it earns terms like "Easter Egg" or "bonus" rather than "packaging blunder" which is what it probably was. There are other problems with the disc. The sound isn't what it could be. It's far from bad but is not great either. Essentially, it's CD quality (and pretty good CD quality at that) but doesn't stand up with the best of what DVD has to offer. That it's an older recording that was made for television doesn't excuse this. Image (the same label) has a recording of Lohengrin out from the same time period and the quality of the sound there simply leaves this in the dust. Listen to those trombones (for instance) in the Prelude to Act III on a decent set up and you'll hear it. I'm guessing, but the transfer and the bit rates the recording was sampled with are probably at fault. Another is the lack of subtitles. Granted, this set comes from a pair of concerts, not a full blown opera so the subtitles aren't really necessary, but they would have been nice to have.

These are minor complaints though and nothing that prevents the music from winning the day. This is a wonderful set of performances of great music from one of this age's greatest singers and is easily appreciated as such. The end of this set when the credits are running as her rendition of Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro" washes over the audience is an exquisite moment. To listen to this and not be touched one would have to be without a heart.

What can be said but, "thank you" Dame Kiri and "thank you again".

That this set contained a complete performance of Mozart's "Exsultate Jubilate" alone made buying it a no-brainer. The piece is one of the most joyous and beautiful works by the youthful Mozart and Dame Kiri's treatment of it is second to none. Mozart preferred solid song structure and subtle forms of expression to bravura coloratura passages, using the last only when the effect would truly serve the music. To this end his music and Kiri Te Kanawa's voice are a perfect match. She has the capacity to deliver coloratura passages beautifully (and does) but thanks to her enormous range of shadings along with love and feel for the music itself delivers a rendition that's better the second time it's heard. That's when all the little treasures Mozart hid in the music begin revealing themselves. Dame Kiri, to her credit, serves them with her voice as opposed to things being the other way around as is so often the case with recording stars.

The rest of this set fares just as well. Dame Kiri loves music and not just one form of it. Her programs always offer both operatic highlights and popular standards. The Lerner/Loewe gem "I Could Have Danced All Night" gets a completely different treatment than in the film but (thanks again to her intuitive musicality) crosses genres well. Her signature song "Pokarekare Ana", as always, is sung beautifully. It's here, without accompaniment from the Orchestra where one understands just how lovely her voice is, and how good she is. The instruments are never missed. The sets have a few surprises. Handel's work is less popular in the operatic repertoire than that of Puccini, Mozart or Verdi but it gets a decent representation here. "Non Disperar" from Julius Ceasar and "Care Selve" from "Atlanta" with their transparent and light scoring common to Baroque opera contrast nicely with the rest of the program. As with everything else (though the assertion may be getting redundant) they are given beautiful and radiant treatment by Dame Kiri. Another surprise is a sort of an "unofficial Easter egg" in the form of "Ch'il bel sogno di Doretta" which immediately follows "Tu, Che di Gel" from Turandot. It's not listed on either cover, nor in the liner notes or even in the chapter listings on the DVD itself but is lovely and shows the full range of this woman's magnificent voice well. Because of this it earns terms like "Easter Egg" or "bonus" rather than "packaging blunder" which is what it probably was. There are other problems with the disc. The sound isn't what it could be. It's far from bad but is not great either. Essentially, it's CD quality (and pretty good CD quality at that) but doesn't stand up with the best of what DVD has to offer. That it's an older recording that was made for television doesn't excuse this. Image (the same label) has a recording of Lohengrin out from the same time period and the quality of the sound there simply leaves this in the dust. Listen to those trombones (for instance) in the Prelude to Act III on a decent set up and you'll hear it. I'm guessing, but the transfer and the bit rates the recording was sampled with are probably at fault. Another is the lack of subtitles. Granted, this set comes from a pair of concerts, not a full blown opera so the subtitles aren't really necessary, but they would have been nice to have.

These are minor complaints though and nothing that prevents the music from winning the day. This is a wonderful set of performances of great music from one of this age's greatest singers and is easily appreciated as such. The end of this set when the credits are running as her rendition of Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro" washes over the audience is an exquisite moment. To listen to this and not be touched one would have to be without a heart.

What can be said but, "thank you" Dame Kiri and "thank you again".