Product Details

• Actors: Janis Joplin, Sam Andrew, Dick Cavett
• Directors: Howard Alk
• Producers: Janis: A Film ( Janis ), Janis: A Film, Janis
• Format: Import, PAL, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Dutch, French
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Universal
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001C42PS8
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,288 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Netherlands released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Dutch ( Subtitles ), French ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: The short, electrifying career of singer Janis Joplin (1943-1970) is chronicled in this 96-minute documentary. Using family photos, interviews and concert clips, a fairly thorough portrait is painted of the dynamic, self-destructive R&B singer. With Joplin, what you saw was what you got: she is as volcanic and unpredictable off-stage as on. Janis Joplin's family had a lot of input in this production; thus, Joplin's music is given precedence over her private demons and her fabled substance abuse. Even so, the language is extremely raw at times, so you may want to preview the film before showing it to your kids. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Golden Globes, ...Janis: A Film ( Janis )

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Incredible footage of one the best stage performers ever!, June 15, 2010

By 

K. Gordon - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Janis: The Way She Was [Region 2] (DVD)

Amazing live performances captured on film are the reason to see to see this.

The interviews with Janis don't reveal much, and there's no real sense of her history. Even the stage stuff is shot pretty straightforwardly, but, man-o-man could she sing!

One wonderful thing is that a lot of the numbers are uncut, allowed to go their full length, which, with Janis in concert, could easily be 8 minutes or more. The power, the emotion, the energy, the sexiness, the sweet sense of fun she brought to the stage could only be hinted at on her albums. For those reasons it's more than worth sitting through the slightly homogenized off-stage material.

It awful to think that this is essentially unavailable. Time for a decent US DVD re-release!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SEE WHAT THE LEGEND WAS ALL ABOUT: YOU'LL COME AWAY KNOWING WHAT JANIS WAS LIKE.., November 23, 2008

By 

C. Rocklein - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Janis: The Way She Was [Region 2] (DVD)

And she was like no other. I've always liked Janis Joplin, but to see her live in concert just takes it to a whole new level. Like seeing Hendrix live, there's a magic about the visual experience that has to be seen to be beleived. And when you see it, you know you are witnessing magic.

Nice thing about this DVD is that besides a very generous helping of live performances from different times in her career, there are lots of interview segments as well (one segment even has a camera crew follow her back to Fortworth, Texas for her 10 year high school reunion). An incredible singer, as raw and full of soul and humanity as ever there was in a stage performer, I was often surprised by how much humour comes out in her presence. This is at the full-blown height of the hippy era and Janis just seems to demonstrate how really far-out and willing to tread new ground people were at the time. As far as I'm concerned, what she did has not been done since.

In a nutshell, this is music history lessons 101, and I can't beleive it's not out in zone 1. Janis Joplin, and it's not available on DVD in America (It is available on VHS "JANICE: THE WAY SHE WAS" 1974)!

The sound on this DVD is not always fantastic, and there is some real variation in sound quality between concert performances (some in black and white, some in color). Much of it is more than sufficient to give you the idea - watching her is at least as interesting as listening to her. The 15 or so songs on film here can only be described as rare at this point (at least for Americans). I'm glad I lived to see this. Like stepping into the Twilight Zone, it's hard to beleive you're really watching her.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great summary of Joplin's career but would have like more recordings, January 1, 2012

By 

Yvonne M. Matute "YSMatute" (CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Janis: The Way She Was [Region 2] (DVD)

While I did enjoy the material and most of her great songs were covered, I would have like to see a bit more concert coverage.