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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Legends in Pop, December 1, 2006
Quite simply, THE definitive documentary spaning the Pet Shop Boys 20 plus year career. This DVD consists of interviews of the boys, both individually and together, footage of perfomances from throughout their career, and some celebrity and music insider commentary on various aspects concerning the PSB. Of particular interest is how gragarious Chris Lowe is during his individual interview, but how he retreats to his more stoic, silent personality when he joins Neil for the interview. Also addressed, the decline of the Pet Shop Boys career in the United States. The music industry is held to account for not playing their records (which is true) because of the sudden surge in popularity of grunge rock (thanks to Nirvana). Also held responsible is the American music buying public, who are not known for being the most tolerant of people "who don't fit in, who follow their instincts and are told they sin". Their loss. No other band or group has ever been able to make me feel as many different emotions while listening to their music as the PSB (and sometimes many emotions within the same song). The Pet Shop Boys are a duo who have been consistently underrated, but maybe not so much anymore. As time goes on, more and more people realize the depth of their songwriting, the poignance of their lyrics, and their innate ability to consistently supply great and addictive pop "hooks". This DVD examines the PSB's career in an honest, sometimes critical, but mostly complimentary way. And why not? They deserve it! Highly recommmended and a must have for any Pet Shop Boys fan (and playable in US DVD players by the way).
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable and sincere documentary, April 19, 2007
Usually I have no patience for documenaries but I enjoyed watching this one, maybe because the content is so relevant - the band, after all, is still making fantastic music. As if to prove that, the DVD bonus features include recent videos along some old rare TV perfomances. One can think the Pet Shop Boys have issued enough DVDs and interviews, but this is actually their first complete biographic documentary which traces their career from school days to Potemkin's premiere.
The narration goes through candid interviews or rather edited monologues of Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant filmed together and separately (watch Lowe walking on the gloomy beach in his hometown, Tennant's silhouette as London is fading away in the twilight behind the window). It's quite intriguing to see them talk about the essence of their distinctive image, music and career nuances. The timeline is supported, throughout the film, by extracts of their videos and various TV footage. Plus, as usually, you have a little variety of guests: Brandon Flowers of The Killers, Robbie Williams, Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters, Trevor Horn and others.
The only inconsistency I find is that after the Behaviour era the documentary speeds up its pace and Bilingual, Nighlife (especially) and Release periods are covered quite superficially.
In a way the DVD audiovisually duplicates 'Pet Shop Boys Catalogue', a massive book by Chris Heath.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Hong Kong Version is NTSC Region 0 and NOT a bootleg!, December 5, 2006
Just to settle the discussion on this item, I know someone who got this and it is NTSC and Region 0 and not a bootleg. Unfortunately some of these were mispressed without the Flamboyant video. The credits on the case don't show the Flamboyant video but it is included on the HK or Hong Kong version. Unfortunately when I ordered this version from Amazon they did not send it to me. They sent me the non-HK version that does not have the Flamboyant video (which is great!) so when you order this make sure that Amazon sends the right one. I am sending mine back for a replacement. The picture of the case is misleading. The HK version does come in a standard US-type DVD case, not a CD case as the cropped picture leads you to believe.
12-14-06 Update: The replacement came and it IS the Hong Kong version however, I have found out that not all Hong Kong discs have the Flamboyant video. The only way to tell is to look at the disc itself and if the code of numbers on the inner rim ends in @1 then it has the video, if it ends in @2 then it does not have Flamboyant. Unfortunately my 2nd copy doesn't have the video and I am sending it back to Amazon as defective and they have been very kind about it. I am asking for a refund and will attempt to get the right copy on ebay as Amazon cannot open an item to check the code for me. Good luck!
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