Product Details

• Actors: New York Philharmonic, Lorin Maazel
• Directors: Ayelet Heller
• Format: Classical, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Stereo)
• Subtitles: French, English, Spanish, German, Japanese
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: EUROARTS
• DVD Release Date: September 16, 2008
• Run Time: 159 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001DELX1M
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,005 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

PYONGYANG CONCERT - Blu-Ray Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Historic Concert!, September 22, 2008

By 

Y. Park "ctreric" (Seoul, Korea) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Pyongyang Concert - New York Philharmonic & Lorin Maazel [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

As a S. Korean, who has never been to N. Korea, I really enjoyed this concert and thought the event was meaningful and historic in a once-in-a-lifetime way. At the beginning, the N. Korean audience looked like rather nervous and uncomfortable but as time goes by, they seemed to open their hearts and to be free by the power of music. At the end of the concert, their ovation was almost endless as if they would never let the musicians go. Lorin Maazel, who later mentioned that he'd felt warmth and enthusiasm from the audience, kindly explains about each music he's going to play next with some short Korean sentences, which makes the audience laugh.

New York Phil played many different works including Richard Wagner: Lohengrin, Prelude to Act III; Antonin Dvorak: Symphony No.9 in E minor "From the New World; George Gershwin: An American in Paris; George Bizet: Farandole from L'Arlesienne Suite No.2; Leonard Bernstein: Candide, Overture; Traditional: Arirang. I thought New World Symphony in Pyongyang makes sense and liked the long version (maybe too long?) of the Korean traditional music "Arirang", which was appropriate to play at the end.

Along with the flawless concert, the hi-def documentary "Americans in Pyongyang" is very interesting and enjoyable to watch. You will be able to peek some aspects of N. Korea and people's lives there.

Technically, this EuroArts's very first blu-ray is a bit disappointing, however. The concert was shot in 1080i and AVC coded but birates are around only 10mbps, which means more compression was made than most other blu-rays whose bitates are usually between 20-30. I don't understand why only one layer (25B) was used to include both the concert and the documentary in hi-def. The feature of trailors is available but actually you cannot see them (the click button doesn't work). The audio is excellent with PCM 5.1 and 2.0. A 36 page booklet included.

All in all, this blu-ray is definitely worth getting to enjoy not only the great musical performances but also the historical moments happened in Pyongyang, the last place isolated in the world.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Music conquers over politics, February 5, 2009

By 

Johnny (Fla.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pyongyang Concert - New York Philharmonic & Lorin Maazel [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

The repertoire was not the best, but the opportunity to view this historic concert makes this DVD worth the purchase price and more. It is a rare glimpse into this closed society and of how music definitely is a universal language. Congrats to all involved in making this concert happen and in making it avalable to all those of us who will most likely never get a chance to visit Pyongyang. Image and sound were very good so the viewing experience is most satisfying. Enjoyed the special feature almost as much as the concert itself, although it makes it very evident that brainwashing is alive and well in North Korea. Sadly, North Koreans seem terrified to speak (like the beauty who could not utter a single word when interviewed) and those music students who dared to speak made it a point to say that they could learn nothing new from the visiting musicians because their teachers were just as good. Really sad.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Profound Human Experience, July 28, 2009

By 

Robert Wolovitz (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pyongyang Concert - New York Philharmonic & Lorin Maazel [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

This historic concert is a document of monumental significance, musically and politically. During the reign of the "imperial" presidency, an American orchestra achieved a connection on lots of levels (human, artistic, diplomatic) with an audience of brain-washed communists who stood up for the American anthem and even cried, moved by the Americans' performance of the Korean folk tune "Arirang" ! What was going through their minds, listening to the New York Philharmonic's brilliant renditions of Gershwin's "An American in Paris" and Dvorak's Symphony "From the New World" ?

Were they really appreciative of the New Yorkers' exquisite interpretation of Wagner's Prelude to Act 3 of "Lohengrin" ? Judging by their obviously sincere smiles and frenetic standing ovation, the North Koreans loved the performance. Judging by the reaction of the New York Philharmonic members, who were all deeply moved by this unique and profound experience, a miraculous level of rapport had occurred, that no diplomats or ideologues could have ever achieved. The human beings on both sides of the stage reached out to each other - the audience applauding and expressing frank appreciation, the performers - waving with tears in their eyes, savoring the moment of true connection, lingering around, reluctant to leave the stage, and their listeners, behind. What a transcendental, unspoken, deeply felt, enormously touching act of offering this was - an olive branch only hinted at in the mystical language of music, and accepted for what it truly was - a simple handshake, a warm smile, a gentle greeting.