Customer Reviews

Cirque du Soleil - La Nouba

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While the performances cannot be critiqued in the least and thus my rating of 5 stars, it should be noted that the editing is less than perfect. In fact, this is my only disappointment with the DVD, and I am surprised as I had assumed they would get it right after the beautiful job they did on Alegria. Some of the camera shots are literally two second shots followed by another, and then another; while at other times the camera is simply so far away from the acts I could get a better view by being there. It is a frustrating thing when you are trying to focus on the acts being performed. CdS had the trampoline act in their television show "Solstrom" and it was amazing to watch; here I was struggling to see exactly what they were doing. I am giving this 5 stars because of the amazing performances, but people should know in advance that this is not up to the standards of some other CdS DVD's.

It also should be noted that this is a 2 DVD set with special features, something other shows did not have.....glad they are getting this part right.

Even with my word of caution, this is a highly recommended DVD, a must-have for any CdS fan.

I just finished viewing "La Nouba" and I have to say that it displaces "O" as my second favorite Cirque du Soleil show. "Quidam" remains my favorite and the gold standard against which all other shows must be measured. In addition to these three, I've seen "Mystere", "Zumanity", "KA", "Varekai", "Alegria", "Saltimbanco", and "Dralion". It's no coincidence that my top three picks are all creations of Franco Dragone, who unfortunately, has left the company. All three also feature the music of Benoit Jutras. The artistry, surrealism, visual imagery, and music are all earmarks of a Dragone/Jutras show. There are some similarities between Quidam and La Nouba which might be the reason they are my favorites. They share some of the same acts such as the "German Wheel" and "Diabolos". The German Wheel acts are a bit different because in Quidam, there is only one wheel whereas in La Nouba, there are two. The result is that the single performer in Quidam maintains a faster, more acrobatic, pace where the duo in La Nouba act in sync. The Diabolos acts are virtually identical in both shows, except that Quidam's version has a spectacular ending that is lacking in La Nouba's. In both shows, the finale is the main event of the show - "Banquine" in Quidam and "Power Track (PT)/Trampoline" in La Nouba. Although "PT/Trampoline" is absolutely superb, "Banquine" remains my favorite of any act in any Cirque show. The combination of artistry, music, costumes, and unbelievable acrobatic ability in Banquine is sheer perfection. The weakest acts are the "Cloud Swing" in Quidam and "Cycles" in La Nouba. I've never really liked the clown acts in any of the Cirque shows and these two are no exception. Most Cirque shows have one or possibly two acts that are good enough to be the main event. La Nouba has two - "PT/Trampoline" and "Flying Trapeze". Quidam has three - "Banquine", "Skipping Ropes", and "Statue". Most main event acts feature large casts of at least 8-10 people and usually more. "Statue" is perhaps the only main event-quality act that has only two people. The one other advantage that Quidam has over La Nouba, at least on DVD, is the singing voice of Audrey Brisson-Jutras who is the daughter of musical composer Jutras. The lead vocalist in La Nouba is amazing, but there is something magical and haunting about Audrey's voice that sends chills up my spine every time I view Quidam. The reason that "O" drops to third place is that, as wonderful a show as it is artistically, the acrobatics are weak compared to most other shows. "O" does not contain a main event-quality acrobatic act. One other difference between Quidam and La Nouba is that La Nouba, with acts such as "High Wire", "Balancing on Chairs", and "Flying Trapeze" more closely resembles a traditional circus than Quidam. Both Quidam and La Nouba are "must have" DVDs for anyone who enjoys the Cirque du Soleil.

There is no way you can compare a Cirque du Soleil live show and one on DVD, so I cannot say anything critical about the content of this video. If you have ever seen a show live, you know that there is far too much going on at one time for a camera to take in, and that the music and acts can only be truly appreciated when heard and seen in person. However, the quality of the sound and picture of this DVD is a really big letdown. I have seen Varekai on DVD and the colors are vibrant, the sound clear and wonderful. La Nouba looks like someone filmed it with a camcorder. The colors are dull, the picture fuzzy, and the sound less than impressive. I am thoroughly disappointed. I'm not particularly picky about picture & sound quality (I don't expect everything to be state of the art) but this is just not good. Unless maybe I just got a bad DVD (is that possible?), this is not really what it should be.

I have to criticize the editing of this DVD. I saw La Nouba in person in Orlando this last winter and loved it (front row seat on right side). I purchased this DVD just outside the doors of the building. The first part of the DVD they do this 2 second collage segment instead of showing more of the initial parade. Some of it is cool but I didn't care for it. Reminds me of what the big networks did to us in the 1970's (show "previews" of the show you are about to watch for 5 minutes).

Having said the above, even though it may be painful, watch through it anyway. It is worth it. The begining is AMAZING! If you can fast forward, look for a screen with a countdown 4 - 3 - 2 - 1, fade. They even have a character that rides a bike on a wire about 20' above the floor - upside down! Yes, that is right, the bike and the guy riding it are upside down as if gravity has been reversed. I have watched this DVD more times than I can remember and would like to watch it some more. This is why I say use your best DVD player so you can go back and forth. The video quality is excellent (s-video if you have it).

They have a 2nd DVD that contains interviews with some of the performers. This is amazing stuff. How they paint themselves, prepare for a show, and how some of their characters came about. They also interview the musicians.

I haven't felt like that since I was at a Ringly Brothers Barnum Baily circus as a child in the early 1970's. Great show Cirque!

What can one say about Cirque? It's simply undescribable, and this show proves it again. If your budget doesn't allow it, specially if you live far from Florida, what better way to watch La Nouba than in DVD? Once again the combination of nearly all of the arts makes this a performance to remember, though the video editing looks somewhat hazy at times, but not in a way that interferes with your enjoyment of the show.
The theme this time around is an urban theme, mostly noted in the acts and its jazzy, hip-hop influenced music. The acts are very varied, and they're all flawlessly executed by awe-inspiring artists, though there's a rather bland BMX act that's nonetheless difficult to perform. One of the musical highlights is the use of a counter-tenor as the male vocalist; I don't know why, but it just seems to blend perfectly with the music and general theme of the show
The DVD this time around is just as loaded as Varekai, disc 1 once again has the show available in 3 types of sound encoding. Disc 2 has all the extras, though saddly there's no multi-angle feature or "Meet the Artists" this time, but the latter is replaced by an equally interesting "Meet the Musicians". There's also cast interviews, a picture gallery and more.
In short, another excellent choice for anyone, whether you are a Cirque fan or not.

I don't share the criticisms about the editing of this dvd found in other reviews. La Nouba is surely one of the finest Cirque du Soleil shows and dvd captures issued so far. The living wheel segments are incredibly beautiful, and the trampoline act toward the end of the show will blow your mind! The finesse of the trampoline artists jumping onto and INTO buildings is spellbinding! It's off the mark to argue that a filmed presentation of a live show like La Nouba is not the same thing as being there; of course it isnt, and cannot be. But the cameras are consistently used with intelligence and artistic fire, and fully capture the essence of the live show. Once again, the musical score for La Nouba is scintillating and always beautiful, sampling jazz, Latin funk, European pop - original music of the highest quality. This troupe continues as one of the artistic wonders of the world. Dont miss this amazing dvd. It's a must have if you're a Cirque du Soleil fan, and the perfect way to become one if you've yet to experience these athlete artists. Unequivocally recommended - get this unforgettable dvd performance with confidence!

I have other Cirque DVDs....I guess what made the anticipation greater was that they were never going to film one of their "resident" shows. Now that it finally here, it is great. The brilliant shots of the various acts are really impressive. It was good news to see that there were no acts that had been cut out (like the other Crique DVDs). The whole show is there. But, does it give you a reason to either go see it live for the first or third time? Yes it does, there is no topping the "in person" experience. Also, I was glad that Cirque released another 2 Disc DVD. It was money well spent.

Maybe I am being unfair by giving this DVD 3 stars, because I just saw this program at Disney Downtown. I was blown away!!! The live show was just awesome! I visited Disney World's Epcot and MGM theme parks as well as Universal Orlando's Universal Studios, and La Nouba made my trip. The set was colorful and very interesting. The performers were beyond talented. They were spellbinding. The program included acrobats, a high wire act, trick bike riding, four little girls who performed a skin tingling juggling act while they did acrobats (they were the most exciting), and other performers. There was something going on, constantly, and I never got bored. So, I bought this DVD right outside the theatre so that I could enjoy the show over and over again. However, it wasn't exactly the program I saw; as I was told by the seller. The arrangement was different and alot of the program was cut out. For example, the little girls segment was cut drastically short and their performance was what I wanted to see the most. The audio is poor. The DVD just doesn't do the live show justice. The second disc in this set contains interviews of some of the performers. It doesn't include enough info on the performers. I guess if I had not seen the live performance, this DVD may have received a higher rating. I realize that this show was recorded at an earlier date and some changes have been made in the live performance since its recording i.e there were 3 little girls performing in the DVD set,but 4 performed the night I saw them. However, I just can't help being disappointed!!! If you are ever in Florida and have an opportunity to visit Downtown Disney, go see La Nouba live. The tickets are high($61-91.00/ticket) but worth every cent. I guess I should mention that I paid twice as much for this DVD as listed by Amazon!!!

I saw La Nouba last July, second row, during my visit to Orlando, FL. How I felt watching this amazing show cannot be described with words. My only complaint was that there were WAY TOO MANY THINGS going on at once on that stage. I didnt know where to place my attention. I bought the DVD to remember this great experience, and with the hopes that I could appreciate the show better. Like some other reviewer commented, the editing is done very akwardly. The scenes switch from one to another so fast that I couldnt concentrate, hence my dissapointment came. The show itself is fantastic. The clowns are nothing but hilarious and the performers beyond perfect. This DVD is an amazing way to relive my experience over and over again!

After catching a few minutes of the amazing trampoline act on the Bravo channel, I bought this not only so I could see the rest of the show but so I could loan it to my friends. The trampoline act alone is worth the price. I believe it to be without question the single best act of all the Cirque du Soleil shows I've ever seen.