Product Details

• Actors: Dead Can Dance, Lisa Gerrard, Brendan Perry
• Directors: Mark Magidson
• Producers: Mark Magidson, Alton Walpole, Ivo Watts-Russell, Robin Hurley
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Bros / Wea
• VHS Release Date: October 25, 1994
• Run Time: 75 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303266762
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,628 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

There are few voices in popular music like that of Dead Can Dance's Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard. Perry's is rich and earthy, whereas Gerrard's multi-octave instrument is, at times, downright unearthly. Toward the Within, the audiovisual version of a 1993 concert at Santa Monica's Mayfair Theatre--chosen, no doubt, for its excellent acoustics--is a fine showcase for their unique talents. Joined by five musicians on keyboards, strings, and percussion, Mark Magidson (Baraka) has filmed the proceedings in a straightforward manner, but the music is intricate and exotic enough that no special effects or fancy camera moves are necessary. The songs, which incorporate pop, folk, and world-music influences, are interspersed with interview clips, turning the release into a hybrid between a concert video and a documentary. Highlights include the hypnotic "Rakim" and soaring "American Dreaming." Toward the Within was also issued on CD, sans the interview and video clips. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming!, December 2, 2005

By 

Anthony Morelli "Woofbear" (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Can Dance - Toward The Within (DVD)

I went to see DCD with my partner when they came here on October 4th of this year (my birthday). We sat so far from the stage, it was hard to see Brendan, Lisa and the entourage, because they were so small and we were so high up in the rafters. If it hadn't been for the DCD website and Lisa's website, I wouldn't know what the duo look like. So...getting back to the DVD...I always had the CD somewhere in my music collection. The music was just 'okay' on the CD, because I couldn't see DCD performing. But now that I own the DVD of the concert, it's so pleasing to watch & listen at the same time. Obviously, the band puts a lot of effort into their performances, coming up with a sound so similar to the studio recording, it's incredible.

Yes, it's true...the picture is a bit fuzzy, but so what? For the price I paid for the DVD, I'm more than happy for buying it. And, the DVD plays on both my computer and TV DVD players. The sound is great and there's little distortion. My only gripe regarding the item is due to the editing of 'Yulunga' and 'The Carnival is Over' from the live setlist. Why did they have to cut out those 2 fantastic tracks? Darn! Oh well, that's what you get when they give you 5 bonus tracks to watch instead. Not bad, but it would've been nicer to see those 2 extra tracks live. It is nice to have 'The Host of Seraphim' on this collection, because it's one of my fave songs of DCD.

Customer note:
- There are 2 editions of this DVD, depending on when it was made.
- Early edition was released in a hard plastic, slimline jewel-case DVD case.
- Re-released in an amray case (standard 'fat' DVD box).
- Amray case comes with just the front & back insert (1 piece) without any booklet.
- Additional performances are NOT live performances. They are MTV videos.

The amray case edition is the one I have. It's obvious the DVD was re-released. When I bought the DVD, I thought it would come in the slimline jewel case. What i'd like to know is...did the original have a booklet? Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry are cool, intelligent musicians with a God-Given talent. I love the little interview snippets between performances. Lisa is pretty and her voice doesn't match the face. Everyone I've played DCD to, says the same thing, and it was amazing to watch the DVD for the first time, right from my computer.

Tracklist:
01- Opening Credits
02- Rakim
03- Song of the Sibyl
04- I Can See Now
05- American Dreaming
06- Cantara
07- The Wind That Shakes The Barley
08- I Am Stretched On Your Grave
09- Desert Song
10- Oman
11- Gloridean
12- Tristan
13- Sanvean
14- Don't Fade Away
Additional performances:
15- The Carnival Is Over
16- The Host Of Seraphim
17- Yulunga (Spirit Dance)
18- Frontier
19- The Protagonist

Hopefully DCD will release more live concert DVDs in the near future. I've already purchased "Nierika" on DVD from the October 4th performance in Montreal. That show was an excellent birthday gift. Perhaps if DCD read the reviews on amazon, they would sell the DVDs commercially. But then again, that's wishful thinking.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A backstage pass into a tapestry of sound, December 9, 1999

By 

Adam Detweiler (Santee, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Can Dance - Toward the Within [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video is NOT for those of the MTV generation who believe that a song must be accompanied by a "music video." In this video you find yourself front row and behind the sounds of one of the most enigmatic and fantastic bands in recent history. From Lisa Gerrard's hauntingly rich, honeyed voice to Brendan Perry's smoky, powerful ballads, A true fan of music will appreciate this video. Dead Can Dance has a mysterious and unique blend of sounds form India, Asia, the Western world, and Tribal influences from around the globe that leave the listener enveloped, invigorated and in a complete state of awe. This video also takes us behind the scenes to whence the influences have come and personal insights into the sounds that can only have come from a band of this calibre.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars pure aching human joy, March 24, 2004

By 

caleb ben moore (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Can Dance - Toward The Within (DVD)

dead can dance were an amazing band. chances are if you are looking to buy this dvd, you already know that.

this dvd is made up mostly of a film of DCD's live album "toward the within", recorded at the mayfair theatre in santa monica california. it had been available for some time now on VHS, but i'm very pleased that they upgraded the format. the performance itself is beautiful. transcendent, otherworldly, ethereal. these words have all been used to describe DCD's music, and in particular, lisa gerrard's voice. and they are all correct. lisa gerrard's voice is at once human and angelic. i wept (sanvean) and i swooned (don't fade away). you will also. buy this dvd at once. don't let their musical legacy fade into the shadows of time. you wont be sorry.

the dvd also contains a handful of their videos, the best, in my opinion, being 'frontier' previously only available on 4ad's "lonely is an eyesore" video comp. i've heard that it's the first DCD song ever recorded, and it really takes your breath away with it's tribal rhythms, and lisa's warbling voice. another standout video is 'the host of the seraphim' which is comprised of footage from mark magidson's critically acclaimed film Baraka (...).