Product Details

• Actors: The Pretenders
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Strat. Mkt.
• DVD Release Date: September 9, 2003
• Run Time: 67 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000B1A55
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #43,178 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Fans of the Pretenders' 1995 live CD, The Isle of View, will be delighted that the DVD release of the band's televised performance at London's Jacob Street Studios (the source for that album) is an even greater thrill. Clearer now is the Pretenders' experimental intention to transform and unify its songbook with majestic pop arrangements--comparable to, say, George Martin revisiting a load of diverse Beatles songs and making them all sound and feel, for an hour or two, like "Yesterday." For the Pretenders, the result is exquisite. Familiar recordings such as "Sense of Purpose" and "I Hurt You" are renewed with brilliant, acoustic-based pop clarity; other songs are almost unbearably beautiful as their subtlest values intensify. A cover of Radiohead's "Creep" proves a bathetic misstep, but the emotional fulfillment of "Kid," "Criminal," and "Revolution" make The Isle of View an essential live set. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, "The Isle Of View" available on DVD!, November 19, 2003

By	Michael Behuniak (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Many bands have ventured into the 'unplugged' format, but few have succeeded as triumphantly as the Pretenders did with this performance. Along with stripped-down, acoustic only instrumentation, the Pretenders are also augmented by a string quartet, with the combination rendering mostly sublime new renditions of classic Pretenders hits and assorted album tracks.

Amongst the highlights are "Sense Of Purpose" and "Criminal", two lost gems from the sadly neglected "Packed" album (1990). Here, happily, they are given their just due. "Chill Factor", "I Hurt You", "Private Life" arguably exceed the original studio versions. "Back On The Chain Gang", "Kid", Brass In Pocket", and "2000 Miles" remind why this band was so vital in the first place. Finally, "Revolution" and "Night In My Veins", two new tracks off the then current "Last Of The Independents" album, showed Chrissie Hynde still had not lost any of her talents as one of rock's premier songwriter and singer.

The sound and picture quality are very good, and happily, presented in 'widescreen' format. The camera-work is commendable too, steady and focused, a welcome change from the typical distracting split-second editing found in most concert videos.

Rhino should be applauded for finally issuing this terrific performance by the Pretenders on DVD. Not much else to add, other than if you're a Chrissie Hynde/Pretenders fan, this is a DVD you won't want to miss

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like a break in the battle was your part....., September 23, 2003

By	o dubhthaigh (north rustico, pei, canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Chrissie Hynde and her ensemble have stood always and ever for an independence, and in this remarkable film from MTV's Unplugged era (hey, remember when MTV had something to do with music?), that independence is so achingly poignant and terrifically presented that it nearly justifies all the other crap for which MTV has been responsible.
Hynde looks great. She is no one to trifle with and that inner strength she commands is front and center. Most of us would kill for that kind of self-confidence: it aint strut and swagger, she is the real deal, the genuine article. That said, the music is rendered with a more string influenced side, and that serves to bring out the drama in the songs more ardently. "Chain Gang" is a revelation on this disc, as is "Kid", "Creep" (a nod to Radiohead before anyone knew who Tom Yorke was), "Hymn to Her."
Opening with "Sense of Purpose" Hynde leads memebers of the Pretnders and a string quartet through her catalogue. It is just a greatly inspired jaunt. The sound on the DVD is stellar (MTV is capable of something), and the video swirls around in early 90's fashion, but there is a cold determination in Hynde's eyes that is unforgiving, asks and offers no quarter. The musicianship is protean. This is what real musicians do. Particularly in service to Music. And in this case, through Hynde, Music leans over and takes the audience into its confidence, delivering a textbook lesson on the metaphysics of communicating beyond words, gestures. This is all of the soul.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even better than the CD, December 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pretenders: The Isle of View [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The same material as the CD of the same name EXCEPT there are extra songs notably a stunning rendition of Radiohead's song "Creep" with every four letter word intact. Overall, marvellous performances.