Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: August 1, 2000
• Run Time: 47 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305943478
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #529,916 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Part concert, part interview, part career retrospective, part celebration of her Native American heritage, Up Where We Belong is about as complete an audiovisual look at the work of Buffy Sainte-Marie as anyone could need. Sainte-Marie, the Canadian-born singer-songwriter who was lumped in with the '60s folk movement despite not really being a folkie (for one thing, she provided her own material from the start), has written or cowritten some very familiar tunes, including the title song (a huge hit for Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, and an Oscar winner in '82), "Until It's Time for You to Go" (recorded by Elvis Presley and Barbra Streisand, among others), and "Universal Soldier" (a defining '60s moment for Donovan). All are here, given simple, semi-acoustic treatments with backing from Sainte-Marie's New Age-flavored band. Also on hand are two Native American groups, Red Ball and Stoney Park, whose drumming and chanting, combined with Sainte-Marie's quavering, almost keening vibrato, generate real intensity on Indian-flavored fare like "Starwalker" and "He's an Indian Cowboy in the Rodeo."

Sainte-Marie, who essentially retired from an active music career for 16 years to raise a son (and make regular appearances on Sesame Street), made something of a comeback in the '90s; age 60 when this concert was filmed, she has made a reputation as a digital artist as well as a musician, and some of her computer work is featured here as well. All in all, Up Where We Belong is Buffy Sainte-Marie's ebullient valentine to herself--and a well-deserved one, at that. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Up Where We Belong features Buffy Sainte-Marie in concert along with aboriginal singing groups Red Bull and Stoney Park, twice world-champion powwow singers from Alberta, Canada. Sainte-Marie sings hits, which she also wrote, ranging from protest anthems to classic love songs. Although she won an Academy Award for the song "Up Where We Belong," a hit for Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker, Sainte-Marie only recently recorded it herself. A renaissance woman, Sainte-Marie is fiercely proud of her native heritage and has always celebrated the power of fire and drums. This show touches on many aspects of the life and music of this singer, songwriter, artist, activist and scholar. Songs: Darling Don't Cry, Up Where We Belong, Until It's Time For You to Go, Starwalker, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Piney Wood Hills, Indian Cowboy in the Rodeo, Universal Soldier, Cripple Creek, God is Alive.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This magnificent, riveting concert, an emotional experience, March 26, 2001

By 

Stephen A. Arter (Webster, New York USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Buffy Sainte Marie - Up Where We Belong [VHS] (VHS Tape)

From the opening scene with Buffy talking to us from a campfire with wolves howling in the background, to the opening song "Darling Don't Cry", to the fantastic "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" and the final track "Starwalker,"this video is absolutely mesmerizing! She weaves her own life's story through her most famous songs in such a way that you are absolutely spellbound. Backed by a great band and the famous Pow Wow singers "Red Bull and "Stoney Park", Buffy treats us to her updated version of all of her greatest songs. Her powerful mature voice renders the old recordings outdated to say the least. If there is a negative it's that it is much too short. This video is so captivating that it is over before you realize it and you want to yell out for more. The only thing better than this video is Buffy in concert. I had the privilage of attending her concert at Pottsdam, New York March 11th, 2001. She was every bit as exciting to see in person and she does many of her songs not found on this video. This video won Canada's version of the Emmy Award in 2000 and when you view this video, you'll know why. Buffy, we need MORE videos like this!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Sainte-Marie finally gets her due, July 19, 2000

By 

Aage Nielsen (Boise, Idaho United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Buffy Sainte Marie - Up Where We Belong (DVD)

This concert video should get 11 out of 5 stars. It was a television special in Canada which beat out the likes of Celine Dion and Alanis Morissette for an award. The musical selections, as on the album of the same title, offer a retrospective of her career. Universal Soldier (her anti war anthem from 1964) still sends chills down the spine, as well as the more recent Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, which should be required listening in American history classes. Her stunning acoustic performance of her own Academy Award winning "Up Where We Belong", makes the Warnes/Cocker version utterly forgettable. Sainte-Marie's background in technology and education is effectively woven in to the program with compassionate history lessons and demonstrations of her digital artworks and recordings. She has obviously put her PHD in Fine Arts to good use here. After purchasing this concert on DVD or video, new and old fans will surely explore her vast catalogue of recordings that date from 1964-1996 and her educational curriculum, The Cradleboard Project (with interactive CD roms).

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking, August 31, 2000

By 

D. Rachlin "wunland" (Stow, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Buffy Sainte Marie - Up Where We Belong (DVD)

Buffy Sainte-Marie is one of the world's greatest artists and humanitarians. Her impact on the world has been astounding, and her status as musician, artist and teacher are unsurpassed. This much too short dvd is jam-packed with her brilliant lyrics and breath-taking voice. The guest artists enhance the experience just as they did on the (undersold) Coincidence and Likely Stories cd, to grand heights. The songs on the dvd are accompanied by bits of music videos and a wonderful amount of interview excerpts and song introductions. She gives an obvious plug for the use of computers (Macintoshes) in classrooms and as tools for creativity, thus her philosophy of "Indians are still alive" is brought well into the 21st Century. I bought both the dvd and video to cherish and use in my elementary classroom. She is an inspiration to me as an educator and writer and I have been a fan since the 60's.