Customer Reviews

Madonna - Drowned World Tour [VHS]

5 star:		(115)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

The DVD of Madonna's Drowned World Tour unexpectedly exceeded my expectations in every way. I had the pleasure of seeing Madonna's Drowned World Tour live in New York City, and this DVD is the next best thing to actually being there. For those who watched and taped this concert off of HBO, the quality of this DVD is far better and gives a more cinematic feel to the concert. Some complained that HBO's coverage of the concert wasn't that great, but this DVD has been altered in some ways to provide a better viewing experience. For example, some camera angles were improved at key points of the concert. The sound quality is amazing, especially if you have a home theater system. This DVD blows any other that I own away! As for the concert itself, Madonna has a tremendous amount of energy that never dies during her performance. Each of the four segments of the concert are unique and entertaining. I haven't seen her other concerts, but I can surely say that this is Madonna at her best!

I saw the MADONNA Drowned World Tour 2001 on HBO in late August, and I was also lucky enough to see her show Live in Las Vegas on September 1st. I just have to say this is the most amazing show MADONNA has ever done. MADONNA does songs mostly from her last two albums. MADONNA does everything from play guitar to doing a Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon performance of her song Sky Fits Heaven. MADONNA plays electric guitar on Candy Perfume Girl, and plays acoustic guitar on songs like Secret, I Deserve It, and the classic La Isla Bonita. She also brings back one song she has performed on every tour the classic HOLIDAY. Her Dancers are amazing, and never before has MADONNA looked or acted like a True Rock star. Here is a list of the songs MADONNA performs on this DVD. Drowned World/Substitute For Love, Impressive Instant, Candy Perfume Girl, Beautiful Stranger, Ray Of Light, Frozen, Nobodys Perfect, Sky Fits Heaven, Mer Girl, I Deserve It, Don't Tell Me, Human Nature, The Funny Song, Secret, Gone, Human Nature, What It Feels Like For A Girl (in Spanish), La Isla Bonita, Holiday, Music. MADONNA once again pushes the limits of what a performer and a good show should be like, and once again she gives what could be just another concert a new life with a broadway show feel to it. Once you see this DVD you will see MADONNA is still on top of her game and way ahead of her time. If your looking for the MADONNA that was wild and about throwing sex in your face this is might not be for you. MADONNA continues to grow as an artist and a performer. MADONNA has a family now and this is the next chapter in MADONNA's life. Buy This DVD you will not regret it. MADONNA rocked my world and she sure wil rock yours! This DVD has pictures taken by her pal Rosie.

When I read the set list for Madonna's Drowned World 2001 Tour, I, like many others were disappointed. Where was Like A Prayer? Express Yourself? Erotica? Madonna seemed to have discarded hits for album tracks that would be unfamiliar even to her most casual fan. Yet, as we all know, it's unfair to judge something without seeing it first.

I was very pleased with Drowned World, but then again I think Madonna is at her most creative when she's on stage. Unlike so many other performers Madonna is extremely imaginative in creating her live shows. Of course the set design, costumes and lighting are top-notch. But that's not what makes this show work; it's the little touches Madonna adds. Take for example her soulful singing on the acoustic tracks "I Deserve It" and "Gone", which sound rather bland on the album "Music", but resonate on stage. And what about the Spanish version of "What It Feels Like For A Girl" in which Madonna sings completely in Spanish and dances with a group of women that is both gender-bending and sensual? Fabulous. Then there's the warm version of "La Isla Bonita" where Madonna plays guitar and sings and dances cheerfully with her dancers. It seems more than ever that Madonna is concentrating on singing her songs rather than dancing and flashy gimmicks.

However the show is not without its' problems. Some songs seem too short, particularly "Sky Fits Heaven" which is part of the dazzling Geisha section in which Madonna becomes a flying, vengeful Geisha, and the encore of Holiday, which could have been a bit longer. The cowgirl section doesn't always work. Human Nature doesn't seem to fit in with songs like "Don't Tell Me" and "Secret". I think Madonna could have sang "Express Yourself" and/or especially "American Pie". And what a loss to not hear Madonna herself sing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" live, especially at this point in her career where her voice has never sounded better. Hearing the instrumental version is fine, but to not see and hear Madonna re-enact that stellar moment on the Casa Rosada, well, is unfortunate. I do agree with one of the reviewers who said that some of show's ideas don't always work. I don't think Drowned World is as well developed a show as Blonde Ambition or Girlie Show in terms of its ideas and theatricality, but musically (ie. Madonna's singing and musical gifts), it's just fine.

Much has been said of Maddy's last tour, Drowned World 2001. Eight long years passed between this tour and her prior tour ('93's The Girlie Show). Was it worth the wait? Yes, and no.

Madonna has become so incredibly self-conscious in recent years, that she doesn't allow herself to be spontaneous at times. Madonna's shows have always been precise and cohesive. That doesn't necessarily equate a show that connects with its audience, although it may entertain and wow the senses. Madonna's lack of spontaneity performing live weakens her shows at times since it's the same production night after night. After a certain amount of shows, the performer (this case being Madonna) becomes bored with the show...wouldn't you after doing the same thing over, and over, and over again?

Before, Madonna rose above such calculation because she seemed to genuinely enjoy performing. This was most evident on '93's Girlie Show tour. Although Blond Ambition will forever remain Maddy's classic tour, The Girlie Show came after a Madonna backlash by the media and public. The only thing Madonna had supporting her was herself, her close friends/family, and lastly her fans. She gave her all to her fans during her '93 tour, as was captured on film and for anyone who saw her live that year. Madonna connected to her audience because she *wanted* to connect.

Drowned World, unfortunately, suffers a lot from Madonna's newfound spirituality, children/husband, and self-consciousness. Madonna no longer needs to connect to her audience because she, in a way, no longer needs them. The show is strictly there for Madonna alone, not for her fans. This is why most of the tracks played during Drowned World are new tracks off her last two albums. Out of a 22 set-list, she only includes two old/classic tracks...the rest are mostly tracks she had never performed live before. This might be exciting for the artist performing, but it's not very enjoyable for the fans.

Madonna is distant in Drowned World, and somewhat cold. Again, due to the fact that she doesn't truly involve the audience in the show. The only time she speaks to the audience is during "The Funny Song" and for anyone who has seen multiple shows from the Drowned World tour (myself being one of them), they know it's the same song/dance routine for every city she hit.

On Madonna's most recent promotional tour for her "American Life" album all she had was her voice, her guitar player, and small audiences of 300 or less people. It's during these small shows that Madonna seemed happy, and seemed to genuinely connect with her fans (or at least pretended to). During a show of 20,000 + people every night in front of you, it's not so important for them to see what you emote vs. simply getting through the show, singing the songs, and hitting your dance steps.

Not to say that Drowned World is not amazing to watch, it absolutely is. The show is an incredible combination of lights, music, and theatrics. The coreography for Madonna's troupe of dancers is forward, and agressive...it works for the show since Drowned World is very much about agressiveness, and power. The show is solid, and it doesn't stop for anything, not even audience applause. The show is like a beautiful art/masterpiece in a museum...you look at it in awe, but you never connect to it.

Maybe Madonna should consider this the next time she goes on tour. The audience reactions when she performed "Like A Virgin" and "Like A Prayer" during the promo tour for her latest album was overwhelming. It was during these songs that you saw the audience smile, and Madonna smile with them. Obviously, Drowned World shouldn't have *only* included the oldies, but she should have split it up like she did during '93's Girlie Show (half of the tracks performed were new, while the remaining half were the classics).

Hopefully the next time Maddy tours she will remember that concerts are there for the audience as much as the artist. It is where the performer's audience finally gets to connect past their CD player. During Drowned World, you never see Madonna smile. It's sad, she used to really enjoy performing for us.

Ahh well...

After an 8 year absence from the stage, Madonna hits the road with an extravagant production divided into five themes. The intro begins with a "close encounters" like setting where the stage lifts up like a space craft leaving Madonna behind, similar to "ET's" famous arrival on earth. The first 5 songs are set in a "star wars" type set with a very dark ambiance filled with mysterious dancers wearing gas masks and Madonna as a wild punk rock star with a surprising edge.
The second set is an artistic martial art production where dancers burst from cocoons to Madonna rising up from below as a severe Geisha.
The third set is all Western "cyber-cowgirl" theme, where Madonna shows off her guitar skills and undying dance skills.
The fourth and probably the most elegant segment of the show had a Latino theme, where Madonna sings "What is feels like for a Girl" in Spanish and proves her undying dance skills. This dramatic portion of her show begins with a stunning and artistic "Avita" segment which leads to her fourth arrival on the night rising up once again with an entire new look and attitude.
The fifth, last but not least chapter of the show is typical Madonna style stirring the crowd with a disco version of "Holiday" in a "Pimp-like"manor. The encore is an awesome power shot of "Music" where the stage is adorned with a timeline display of her entire career.
The overall lineup consists of her 1994-2000 music with only a few classics from the early years. The entire production is ahead of it's time with the most advanced technology. The show is a substantial departure from her previous ones of Sex and Circus. If you miss her old stuff you may find the show a bit dark, but if you appreciate her reinventing ways, you will enjoy the show.

So what if she left out the major hits- was this a farewell tour? Hardly. Who wants to see a 40 year old woman singing songs like "Lucky Star" and "Like a Virgin" anyway? And while, "Like a Prayer" is my all-time favorite single, Madonna seems past that point in her life. Her fascination with the icons of Catholicism have given way to a whole new inner spirituality- and only Madonna could give birth to the many dimensions of meditation on a rock stage.

Visually, this is the most striking thing to witness since Pink Floyd. Who else is doing such intriguing work with stage, lights, costumes and screens?- and this time it transcends the broadway and cabaret-styled shows like "Blond Ambition" and "The Girlie Show". This is the ultimate rock-concert experience. Hard hitting, fast paced, pure art. Don't try to make sense of it. Just experience it.

My only complaint: her voice sounds a little tired in the show which they filmed for this DVD. While Madonna may not be the greatest singer, I've heard her sound better. And she seems a little nervous and tentative perfoming in front of her hometown audience. But, the fact that a woman as powerful as Madonna can be nervous at all, is somewhat endearing.

I really enjoyed this show, although like other reviewers I have seen on here, I wished she had done a little more older material. Still, you have to understand she had to catch up her last three albums, since there was no tour right after Bedtime Stories or Ray of Light. Most of the show has material from Ray of Light and Music, which were two really good albums. She opens with "Drowned World (Substitute for Love)", and then dives right into "Impressive Instant", one of the best from 2000's Music. There were a few songs I wouldn't have included personally. I think she should have replaced stuff like "Candy Perfume Girl", which I don't think is a terrible song, I just wasn't feeling it for the show. It kind of fit into the creepy skin head-punk theme she had going on though. Also, "Beautiful Stranger" isn't a bad song either, but it didn't do much for me live. We also could have done without "Mer Girl" as a live song. It's nice and pretty, but kind of makes the energy and fun come to a screeching halt. The images of a bruised and bloodied Madonna weren't very flattering either. Still, I could understand the way the show worked; almost as if it was all a juxtoposition of beauty and ugliness. I liked it because it was a departure for her usual live fare, but some of the costumes and hair were just hideous! I hated the Kill Bill/ninja outfit for "Sky Fits Heaven", but I did enjoy the jumps and kicks. I did like the "Frozen" costume-that was amazing and should have remained on stage for longer than it did. I liked that they included one of the remixes of the song as well to mix it up a bit. I love "Nobody's Perect" as a studio song, but not live. By then, I was a bit over the whole Madonna-as geisha thing. "Nothing Really Matters" might have made a better song somewhere in however. The western set that included such songs as "Don't Tell Me" and "Gone" were really good and "Human Nature" was a much welcome return to older material. Loved the mechanical bull! It was all very cute and well done. "The Funny Song" was not very necessary, and though it was meant to be novelty, was stupid to those who wanted maybe an older song in it's place. Also, I think the Dixie Chicks have already made a song about killing and cooking a no good man. "Secret" was one of my favorites! I absolutely love this song played live. The last couple of sets were the best in my opinion. I loved "What it Feels Like for a Girl" in espanol (could have done without the remix with the accompanying disturbing anime on the screens). Of course, "La Isla Bonita" was brilliant, and the usual closers "Holiday" and "Music" were right on point. Overall, it's a DVD worth buying. Madonna is a genius at putting all this together with so many different themes and ideas. While I disagree with a few apects of it, mainly song choices, it wasn't my show. It was Madonna's show and I'll get over it. I do like some of the other tours a little better though. But it's all good!

The drowned world tour is madonna's 5th tour.this tour does not include alot of old songs of madonna so if you like maddy's old
songs you will be dissapointed.


THE PUNK/ROCK GIRL SEGMENT
1 drowned world/substitute for love
2 impressive instant
3 candy perfume girl
4 beautiful stranger
5 ray of light

THE GEISHA SECTION
6 paradise(not for me)-video
7 frozen
a instrumental intro of open your heart
8 nobody's perfect
9 medley:
mer girl(part 1)
sky fits heaven
mer girl(part 2)
10 what it feels like for a girl-remix interlude

THE COWGIRL SEGMENT
11 i deserve it
12 don't tell me
13 human nature
14 the funny song
15 secret
16 gone

THE LATINO SEGMENT
17 don't cry for me argentina-instrumental interlude
18 lo que siente la mujer-what it feels like for a girl in
spanish
19 la isla bonita

THE GHETTO SEGMENT
20 holiday
21 music


Overall I liked the way she performed which convinced me to give
this dvd 5 stars. I hope madonna will release her new documentary "I'm gonna tell you a secret" which show her performing in her most recent tour, The Re-Invention Tour on
dvd soon!

I have to admit that before seeing the concert live in Oakland, I have lost track of Madonna and her music. I scored some great tickets and took three out-of-town buddies to see "Madge" for the first time. Let me tell you - every song was terrific and her voice was great. Having never heard Drowned World, Sky Fits Heaven, Lo Que Siente La Mujer, ect. before seeing the show made me go and out get her last three CD's the next day. The show clipped by at a nice pace and (I don't see how she did it) she was out there performing (almost - there were a few video moments to allow for costume changing) every song without missing a beat. One thing I loved about her dancers is that they avoid the "tired as Hell" Britney/JLO approach - these dancers had some fresh moves and it's nice to see Madonna still distances the copycats and competition by beefing up the creativity factor. In fact, the show had a very "Broadway" theatrical quality that put it so far ahead of the typical "screaming fans" type of show pop artists put on.
I must say, the DVD is terrific in terms of sound, but the picture quality lacks the maximum sheen a DVD can provide. I think the reason for this is perhaps the broadcast elements in addition to the actual video source lead to this. Overall, however, the picture is much sharper than the original broadcast and the colors, especially reds (the Geisha segment is smashing) are vibrant and rich (blues are good, too).
I recall the Oakland show I attended to be MUCH livelier and the crowds danced a lot more than the crowd here - still it's difficult to be a crazy audience member when you're so mesmerized by her on stage - her moves, expressions...she is quite the personality and you want to catch every moment (I'd be out of breath and exhausted after one song if I were to perform a concert like this!). I think her decision to stand still and actually sing several songs was a wise one - she over-extended herself in previous concerts and her vocals suffered at some venues (the Blond Ambition tour on laserdisc being a prime example - her voice was somewhat hoarse for that performance).
Like I said the songs were terrific and I can see why her older hits weren't included (weren't they done EVERY tour since '84, anyway?) - I can't (wouldn't want to) see Like a Virgin performed after Mer Girl or how about Material Girl after Substitute for Love - they just wouldn't fit.
Great DVD, but I would have loved more extras: Donna DeLory's interviews, "Madge" before the concert, fan testimonials...anything would have been great! Still as a showcase for a more "mature" Madonna, our lady is still as entertaining to watch as ever.

This is a review of the European PAL DVD of DWT. According to Amazon, the "NTSC All regions" version features only a Dolby 2.0 and a stereo PCM tracks. I am not sure if the NTSC disc is really limited to DD2.0 and stereo PCM, but what I found is that the PAL Reg.2 DVD features two astonishing 5.1 multichannel tracks encoded in DTS and Dolby Digital. The DTS track is absolutely fantastic, one of the finest music DVD I have ever listened to. The recording is so detailed that you can't figure out it's a live recording, and the multichannel mix is perfectly balanced, spacious and effective in delivering a consistent 3D sound field, including some "special" audio effect (like front-to-back panning etc). The Dolby 5.1 track (448 kbit/s) is very very good as well, even if a bit less defined and less rich mainly in the mid-high fequencies.
There is also a Dolby 2.0 track encoded at an unusual 256 kbit/s bitrate, which is pretty fine and detailed, but far less spectacular compared to the multichannel tracks.
Video is rich and detailed in colour, but somehow inconsistent because of the conversion from 60 Hz to 50 Hz, which reduces smootheness of movements: this shouldn't be an issue of the NTSC disc. Of course Madonna's fans must have this disc just because of the perfect performances of the versatile artist, but it must be considered that this DVD is also a perfect a sampler for an home-theater system.