Product Details

• Actors: ABBA
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1)
• Subtitles: French, German, Italian, Swedish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Classic Rock Legends
• DVD Release Date: October 10, 2006
• Run Time: 190 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000GYI03Y
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,660 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #12 in Music > Pop > Euro Pop > Swedish Pop
  • #12 in Music > World Music > Europe > Scandinavia > Sweden

Editorial Reviews

Studio: E1 Entertainment Release Date: 11/28/2006 Run time: 180 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some Interesting Commentary & Rare TV Appearances Makes This 3 Part Critical Review Worth Seeing., December 26, 2006

By 

E. Valero "Eterno" (Woodbridge, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Abba The Ultimate Review 3DVD Set (DVD)

"ABBA: The Ultimate Review" is a 3 DVD collection that asks several experts; music critics, performers etc to evaluate ABBA's individual albums and their most famous singles. The third DVD is a critical look at ABBA as a live stage band and features some interesting archival footage from their live TV performances/concerts.

This collection may appeal to the die-hard ABBA fans because it does feature some rare television performances and interviews that have not appeared in any of ABBA's recent DVD releases. They show very little of ABBA's actual promotional videos (the ones that have appeared on countless DVD's and videotapes) and concentrate more on their rare appearances; "Abba-Dabba-Doo", "ABBA in Japan", "ABBA in Germany"...etc. However, the actual ratings of the original albums are what may surprise several of their most passionate fans. I was pleased to find that ABBA's much loved "Arrival" (considered to be one of ABBA's finest studio albums by many fans and music critics) received a perfect 5 star review and that the runners up; "Waterloo", "The Album", "Voulez-Vous" and "The Visitors" all received no less than 4 stars. What was surprising is that their 1975 album titled "ABBA" received a lower rating (3 stars) than their 1974 effort, "Waterloo" (4 stars). Many fans and critics agree that the 1975 LP was superior to their previous record in almost every way. But the biggest surprise came when the much loved "Super Trouper" album received only a 3 star rating therefore reducing it to the same level as ABBA's first studio album "Ring Ring". That doesn't make sense to me.

For the most part, several of the people interviewed do nothing but praise ABBA for their talents (Benny/Bjorn are praised for their songwriting abilities and Agnetha/Frida are admired for their considerable vocal talents) and their contribution to the world of popular music. However there were some errors in research and evidence of sloppy work. One of the things that bothered me was that they referred to ABBA's 1977 hit "The Name of the Game" as "What's The Name of the Game?" It may be a minor issue but there is more to come. When analyzing the "Voulez-Vous" album, they concentrated mostly on "Summer Night City" and "Gimme Gimme Gimme", 2 great songs but they were not a part of the original 1979 studio album (In later re-issues of "Voulez-Vous" these 2 songs were inserted as bonus tracks but what about the other songs that made up this particular record originally? "Angeleyes"? "I Have a Dream"? "If It Wasn't For The Nights?" etc). When making reference to "One of Us", one of ABBA's last glorious recordings, they chose to play, not ABBA's original but another version sang by some unknown singer that sounded inferior to ABBA's and did not do the song justice. Another annoying bit on this documentary was when one of the experts referred to the 1974 song "Honey Honey" as "Money Honey" (wrong). This same individual later makes reference to "Frida's vocals" in "The Day Before You Came" (wrong again) when it is in fact Agnetha who sings the lead in that track.

Another complaint is with the third DVD; "ABBA: In Performance". It features some fantastic footage of ABBA singing live and doing it very well and the reviews/comments from the experts and host only confirms what ABBA's fans knew all along; that they were a fantastic live band but when the interesting footage is shown, we don't get to hear the wonderful vocals because the "experts" do not stop talking over the footage and/or the footage is shown briefly and/or shown considerably reduced so the initial magic is lost. However it is still interesting because ABBA did a lot of television performances that have never been released on DVD and unless you have "YOU TUBE" you may never get to see these wonderful mini-concerts.

"ABBA: The Ultimate Review" is somewhat informative, somewhat interesting and when the group is revealed doing their thing, always compelling. But it may not be to everyone's liking. A lot of these commentators do nothing more than confirm what ABBA fans have been saying for the last 30 years, that they were amazingly talented musicians who crafted and performed ravishingly beautiful music enhanced by rich, intricate vocal harmonies. We don't need a panel of 10 people to tell us this. However, if you have the extra cash to spend, this 3 DVD collection is worth it if only for the rare archival footage, especially the live performances.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ABBA Ultimate review 3 dvds, February 5, 2010

By 

Gina M. Lara "Christian Mother" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Abba The Ultimate Review 3DVD Set (DVD)

I love it and enjoy it. I recommend for ALL true ABBA fans. This is three dvds that are usually sold seperately. Just buy this one and you save yourself a lot of money. They are done by ABBA and they are in them all.

2.0 out of 5 stars How to See and Hear Rare Footage, December 29, 2011

By 

Hilaryd - See all my reviews

This review is from: Abba The Ultimate Review 3DVD Set (DVD)

Usually there is a choice of watching the DVD with commentary or without. I thought this would be so but the only way to watch ABBA perform on these DVD's was with the reviewers talking above the footage and the singing. A great disappointment. As an ABBA fan I would like to see and hear their early live performances.