Set in 1945 during the Red Army invasion of Berlin. Women are victims of rape and devastation; one of them is
Anonyma, who had been a journalist and photographer. In her desperation, she decides to look for an officer who
can...
While I thought this was a strong movie about a story that needed to be told, I found there to be an excessive amount of emphasis on the Soviet soldiers and their thirst for rape. Other than the two main characters, who are oustanding (especially Nina Hoss), we never get to know the others much. Those two things weaken the movie in my opinion.
If you are looking for an action-packed war movie (like the cover very misleadingly suggests) this movie won't cut the mustard. There is little to none. However, it is still a movie about the war and the indignities suffered by those who are defenseless, and the courage it takes to survive, regardless sometimes of the means.
Warner Music | 2006 | 55 min | Not rated | Region free
| Oct 24, 2006
The critically-acclaimed Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis - the first weekly television series
devoted to jazz in more than 40 years - debuted nationally on PBS stations in April 2006. Now
presented on the superior new...
I was lucky enough to come across a copy of this amazing Blu-ray some time ago. It is my understanding that they are very difficult to obtain currently. As such, if you have disc consider yourself one very lucky person.
There isn't a weak or uninteresting track on his whole disc. Every performance showcases the artist in their best light and they all perform up to the task. Some personal highlights for me are:
ALL OF THEM! Yes all of them. I can't pick a single performance that I prefer best of all, althoug Clark Terry's "Mumbles" brings a huge smile to my face. The man is certainly a legend and will be celebrating his 89th birthday this December 14, 2009.
I am not a videophile so I saw nothing distracting or disappointing from the visual representation offered. Colours were solid and clear and I thought very defined as well.
The audio is the real strength of this disc and it is superb in every regard. There is no doubt great care was taken by everyone to produce and mix the possible sonic experience they could put together. They succeeded beyong expectation in my opinion.
I won't comment on extras as I don't watch them.
My only issue was that at 55 minutes this disc is too short. As such I only rated the movie a 4 out of 5. The overall score thereforew dropped to 4.5, but I hurt me to do so.
Legends of Jazz is one of my Top 3 fave BD's and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a purchase, despite it's short length. The performances, video presentation and audio perfection it provides more than makes up for it.
A little too staged for my liking! Still glad I bought it though!
Although the reviews were good on it, I was still somewhat hesitant despite my familiarity with a lot of the artists. This is a very relaxing kind of concert and something you'd want to watch when in the mood for just chilling out. It certainly has it's moments of grandeur and pace, but all in all it's a disc that just doesn't make you jump up and dance.
Having said that, the performances are all oustanding. I think the artists really tried to put their best foot forward in making this a celebration of David Foster's immeasurable talent. Some of the outstanding performances for me were:
Track 5: Brian McKnight - Mornin'/After The Love Has Gone
Track 7: Katherine McPhee - Somewhere
Track 14: Eric Benet - Chocolate Legs
Track 18: Andrea Bocelli & Katherine McPhee - The Prayer
Track 21: Babyface - I Swear
Track 22: Michael Buble' - Feeling Good
Track 26: Charice - I Have Nothing/I Will Always Love You
That's not to say the other tracks weren't interesting or less worthy. It's just that these captured my attention. I'm not a Michael Buble' fan at all (I find him a bit arrogant in his on-stage presence), but Feeling Good was an absolutely outstanding number.
I can't comment too much on the video as I only have a 720p/1080i Panny Plasma, but I noticed some shots (mainly of the audience) that I felt were soft and kinda a la the David Gilmour disc in some sequances.
My biggest reservation about this disc was that it was a staged event. The commentary by David and Friends was certainly scripted, which took away any feeling of spontaneity I look for in a live event. As such, it tended to be somewhat corny and cheesy. I also did not like the interspersion of the video clips. It only confirmed to me that this was not a concert BD in the truest sense, but rather a live show reminiscent of the old-time variety-show spectacles (albeit on a larger stage).
All in all.....I enjoyed the disc immensely despite my reservations as outlined above, and I have no reservations at all about recommending this Blu-ray concert disc.
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