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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulla Collection, November 11, 2005
This review is from: Bjork: Medulla Videos (DVD)
This is a collection of fabulous videos that show Bjork at her most creative, fruitcake best.
In Oceania, Bjork, wearing a black lace dress and covered in sequins suggestive of fish scales, is singing on the ocean floor. Special effects are used to create a host of sea creatures, jelly fish like, that go on to perform an enchanting dance with some sort of mutant sea orchids. It's all very crazy and it certainly looks beautiful.
In Who is it, Bjork is playing a bell- that is, she is both playing the bells on her bell shape dress and acting out what it feels to be a bell. She's accompanied by a pair of huskies, and bell adorned children from Bell Choir of Iceland join her in symphony of bells. Everything takes place on gorgeous lava rock, black sand Icelandic landscape. I'm a sucker for black sand, but this video does look stunning and has incredible energy.
In Trumph of the Heart she is in bed with a cat, and I don't mean in bed reading with a cat crawled up in her lap. The cat is wearing white tank top and they both look disheveled, possibly after a night of interspecies passion, but Bjork is also sad and grumpy, giving the cat some mean looks and she finally takes off in a car, drives to a city and walks into a bar called Sirkus and starts guzzling wine. They love one another but relationships are not easy... See for yourself how this story ends. The winning combo of Bjork and Spike Jonze again delivers a totally kooky and wonderful video.
Constellation of the Heart may test the patience of anyone who likes some sort of action to take place in a music video. What you get is a view of the sky/ocean with constellations beings drafted and redrafted by disjointed white arms. That's it, for over four minutes. I found it rather hypnotic and fascinating to watch, but it's a weird one, even by Bjork's standards, and it's more of a screensaver than a video.
Where is the Line video shows Bjork in a barn, wearing a dress that is like a sackcloth cactus costume. If you though that the Swan dress was far out, wait till you see this outfit. Strange creatures, looking like albino Uruk-hai orcs, covered in slime and fond of slime regurgitation, crawl out of her dress, then roll in the hay and then- I'm not sure how to describe what happens... It's all very tongue in cheek- Bjork actually cracks up in one scene- and other than exploding haystacks that look like extras from Monty Python Exploding Bush sketch, there are no special effects to speak of. The whole thing is like a cheap and campy horror movie. You will laugh or cry or you might throw up. This is possibly the most royally messed up "music video" Bjork has done and I absolutely love it, but approach with caution if you don't like this type of slimy fare.
The little featurette about making of the Triumph video shows the bar where it was shot and talks about the people involved. Most of them get to sing, or yodel. Most of them are pretty loopy and delightful individuals, described as "arty-farty types." The story of the casting for the cat role in this video is told- the winner is a cat named Nietzsche. The importance of cats in Icelandic mythology is discussed. And that's just the beginning...
Get this DVD for yourself or for your cat, it's a very tasty treat.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Medulla Videos Finally!, October 13, 2005
This review is from: Bjork: Medulla Videos (DVD)
The Medulla videos dvd was released about a year ago in Europe which is typical of Bjork's array of labels. The United States finally gets this dvd on November 8 as the release date has been pushed back. As for the actual dvd, if you loved Björk's 2004 masterpiece Medúlla then this dvd is a must get. It includes all the videos shot for the album's singles and is even more worthwhile because Björk's videos NEVER get played by any music TV station in the USA. It includes all five of the videos plus a behind the scenes look at the great video of "Triumph of a Heart" directed by Spike Jonze who can also be remembered for the "Its Oh So Quiet" video of 1995.
1. Oceania - This was the debut single and first video to be shot for Medúlla. Its was directed by Lynn Fox who also created the backdrop which was used at the Opening of the 2004 Olypics for which Björk opened with the same track.
2. Who Is It - This video was directed by Dawn Shadsforth and features Björk in a surreal landscape [which is her homeland, Iceland] and surrounded by the Bústaðakirkja Bell Choir of Iceland.
3. Triumph of a Heart - Was Björk's return to a music video with a story line, which hadn't been seen since 1997's Bachelorette. A most fun video of Medúlla.
4. Desired Constellation - A video made by Lynn Fox. The most unexciting video here.
5. Where is the Line - Björk's fifth and final video for Medúlla and supposedly the cancelled fifth single. Directed by Gabríela Fridriksdóttir, a fellow Icelandic artist.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New Björk Music Videos, September 24, 2005
This review is from: Bjork: Medulla Videos (DVD)
In case you haven't been following Björk lately, she released through One Little Indian a DVD compilation of the music videos made for her latest studio album. It was released world wide (not including the US)quite a while ago, but now OLI have decided to bring it to America. I, like many, bought this from One Little Shop and had it shipped from Europe, but it appears you can now pre-order it for a much smaller price. There hasn't been much word on what this DVD will be like, but if it is similar to the UK edition, then it will include the following videos:
1. Oceania - The video that was used as a backdrop while Björk was singing at Athens, made by Lynn Fox.
2. Who Is It - One of her first singles, where Björk dances around in her infamous Bell costume, while children surround.
3. Triumph of a Heart - Probably the best video of Björk's career, made by Spike Jonze who previously helmed It's Oh So Quiet. Features a lovable cross-animal relationship and a whole lot of booze!
4. Desired Constellation - Another Lynn Fox experiment, where we see stars take shape and underwater creatures come to life. Most definately one of the lesser videos.
5. Where Is The Line - Although not a proper single (as of yet???), this video was made by Björk's long-time friend Gabriela. Originally part of Gabriela's Tetrolgia, this version is merely a part with Björk, where cheap editing tricks are used to make the "creatures" move to the beat. Very poor. :(
There is also a special feature, where we see Behind-the-Scenes of the making of Triumph of A Heart. Sort of real facts interspersed with jokes.
Well, that's at least what's on the UK edition, so you can probably expect at least this much, if not more. But it's unlikely, as most of her releases are the same in each country. But for those who held out for this release, you should be very pleasantly surprised.
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