Product Details

• Actors: Stevie Wonder
• Directors: No Director Available
• Format: Color, DVD, Import, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: 101 DISTRIBUTION
• DVD Release Date: December 16, 2008
• Run Time: 50 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B001LDROZY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,873 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Release is questionable, but performance is solid, March 5, 2010

By 

vampidemic (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Of Wonder- Live In London (DVD)

I was surprised to see this DVD at my local video rental store because as far as I know, Stevie's "Live at Last" is the first and only legitimate live concert DVD from Stevie Wonder. This disc is of European origin and though Amazon lists it as region 1 disc, the rental I viewed has a region logo with "ALL" printed on it. There's no mention of Motown, Stevie's long time record label on the packaging and though the exterior says this is from the BBC I didn't see that anywhere in the credits on the actual video. Then again, the credits also did not seem to be complete either. The packaging advertises a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, and though the disc is designed to play that way, the source material is clearly 4:3 video that has been stretched to fill the screen; the video looked pixelated in widescreen format. I was able to resolve this during playback by changing my widescreen TV to 4:3 aspect ratio, but I would expect the "stretch to fit" authoring on this disc to be problematic and annoying for anyone still using a 4:3 set or any set that doesn't include an option to force widescreen video to 4:3 for that matter. This disc has Dolby Digital 2.0, 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks, but it sounds to my ears like a 2.0 stereo recording which has been mastered to playback in 5.1 rather than a discrete 5.1 mix from a multitrack master. Though it didn't give the true 5.1 experience, it was still quite listenable.

These things mentioned above and the fact that another online retailer has a copy of the same disc with completely different cover art lead me to question the origin of this disc and wonder if Mr. Wonder is getting any royalties for this disc. That having been said, the picture quality is reasonably clear (once converted to the proper aspect ratio) and the sound isn't too bad (mix is not great, but the audio is clear, not muddy, hissy or distorted).

Though not a full length set (the show is about 50 minutes long, likely designed to air on television in an hour slot with commercials) what's here is inspired and funky. Stevie's voice sounds great, as does the tight band backing him which includes Stevie's longtime bassist Nathan Watts and background vocalist Keith Johns. This show was recorded around the time of the release of "Conversation Peace" and includes a few songs from that album as well as a number of Stevie's classics from the 60's 70's and 80's. Stevie plays a Yamaho Clavinovo, Kurzweil PC88 as well as an acoustic grand piano. Regretfully, this was before he started bringing his Clavinet back on the road.

It's a fun show to watch, but clearly not the definitive Stevie live concert disc. For that, fans should turn to the Motown/Universal release "Live at Last: A Wonder Summer's Night" -- which is true 16:9, discrete 5.1 surround sound and a full length show captured for an experience that is only second to actually being at one of Stevie's concerts in person. That having been said, "A Night of Wonder Live in London" captures Stevie at a different time, so longtime fans and collectors will still have something to enjoy here.