Product Details

• Actors: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards (II), Charlie Watts, Ron Wood, Bobby Keys
• Directors: Bruce Gowers
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: November 17, 1998
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305134979
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #210,530 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Like any good brand, the Rolling Stones know to preserve the formula even when updating the package, and this long-form concert video underscores that market strategy. As with each of their tours since the early '80s, the quartet, augmented by a discreet auxiliary of backup musicians, gives the fans new eye candy while dishing up a familiar set list spiked with Mick Jagger's lip-smacking vocals and Keith Richards's signature guitar riffs. The visual twists are at once spectacular and conservative: a cyclopean main stage design with massive pillars (presumably the Babylonian connection), a vast oval video screen (shades of Big Brother), and a hydraulic bridge enabling a midconcert sortie into the audience, with the Stones playing a more stripped-down, intimate set on a small satellite stage.

That huge physical setting doubtless made the live shows eye-filling rock spectacles, but the video crew necessarily accepts the limitations of the small screen, focusing more on close-ups of the band, rapid cuts, and racing, hand-held tracking shots to convey excitement while keeping the viewer close to the action. The evening's repertoire sticks to the band's most familiar hits, and if the Glimmer Twins occasionally slip their masks to let the routine show, the real wonder is how effectively they keep the playing focused. During the first half of the program, the band's newest songs (especially "Saint of Me" and "Out of Control") elicit conspicuously higher energy from the band, if not the audience. But just as the show seems doomed to a certain anomie, the escape onto the smaller, no-frills stage pumps up players and crowd alike, particularly when they launch into "Like a Rolling Stone," a cover that winds up sounding like a great idea too long deferred. --Sam Sutherland

Product Description

A classic live performance from the Stones' 1998 tour, with special guests Dave Matthews and saxophonist Joshua Redman. Songs: Satisfaction, Let's Spend the Night Together, Flip the Switch, Gimme Shelter, Wild Horses, Saint of Me, Out of Control, Waiting on a Friend, Miss You, I Wanna Hold You, It's Only Rock & Roll, Like a Rolling Stone, Sympathy for the Devil, Tumbling Dice, Honky Tonk Woman, Start Me Up, Jumpin' Jack Flash, You Can't Always Get What You Want, Brown Sugar.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid performance from the greatest of bands ..., January 22, 2002

By 

Rudolf Spoerer "dowadiddi" (Weston, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rolling Stones - Bridges to Babylon (DVD)

Although I am not a 'wild nut' type of Stones fan I saw this concert at the Orange Bowl, in Miami, and Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, et. al. are THE consumate professional showmen giving the audience more than their money's worth performance. Even though Mick may be getting a little long in the tooth for rock concerts (aren't we all) and rumours have it that Keith Richards is really dead, you could see and feel that this band loves performing, and would put together a 5 hour show if they could.

The band shows up on time, (something very unusual now a days for rock star wanna be's) and rocks your socks from beginning to end, non-stop.

The DVD brought back memories of that performace and did not fall short in any respects. The video is crystal clear, sound is exact and sharp, and the editing absolutely fabulous. The director seemed to know where one would be looking during the concert and it made me feel as if I was back there again.... some of the editors of concert videos that I have seen had no clue as to where and when to focus attention during the concert .....

Although I would give 'Voodoo Lounge' concert DVD a slight edge, (I mean a very very slight edge) over Babylon, trust me, this is a must have DVD that will, like Voodoo, go out of print and you'll be buying the DVD for 50.00 bucks just to have it in your collection......

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST HAVE, September 13, 2003

By 

K. Ellis "kjjcellis" (Central Coast, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Rolling Stones - Bridges to Babylon (DVD)

This is a MUST HAVE if you like the Rolling Stones. This DVD has excellent sound quality and visual quality. This is the best Rolling Stones DVD on the market. This covers 40 years of hits with today's dvd technology.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Concert....Average DVD, May 21, 2001

By 

Maekju "Maekju" (APO, AP USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rolling Stones - Bridges to Babylon (DVD)

The Stones put on a great show and it's captured beautifully on video but this DVD is lacking in a few things that would have really made it special. First of all, why no DTS sound? If you're not sure what this can add to a concert video, watch the DTS version of The Eagles "When Hell Freezes Over" and compare it with this or another non-DTS DVD (provided your player supports DTS).

The other minor complaint is there are no bonus features (ie. interviews, backstage scenes, music videos, etc) that would have added greatly to the live performance. It's as though the makers of this DVD did not realize the potential of the format they were using. A few little additions would have made this one of the all-time greats. I'd still recommend this DVD to any Stones fan because it's wonderful to see Mick, Keith and the boys in this format and the concert itself is a fantastic performance. I just hope the next time they release a DVD, it has more bells and whistles.