Product Details

• Actors: Roy Orbison, Barry Gibb, Bono
• Format: Black & White, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Kultur Video
• VHS Release Date: November 30, 1999
• Run Time: 52 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1561279072
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #263,692 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

An interesting idea that works well enough to merit attention from Orbison's fans and students of rock history, Roy Orbison: The Anthology provides a home for desultory clips of the much-missed pop pioneer in live and lip-synched performances. The emphasis, of course, is on the midnight dreams of his familiar canon: "Only the Lonely" (from an American Bandstand appearance), "Oh, Pretty Woman" (an odd film of Orbison meandering through a Spanish villa), "In Dreams" (a music video piggybacking shots from David Lynch's Blue Velvet, which featured the song prominently). But what really makes this a special project are interview highlights with a number of Orbison's more famous admirers: k.d. lang, Bono, Robert Plant, Don Was, the Bee Gees, and Raul Malo of the Mavericks among them. Rather than merely rummage through personal thoughts and memories, these talking heads bring their focused craftsmanship to the table and offer eloquent appreciations of Orbison's unique gifts. Bono speaks of a certain masculine freedom imparted by Orbison's powerful falsetto, the way it leaves "a man open" to a fuller experience of emotion. Lang marvels at her late friend's songwriting construction on "Running Scared," and Plant ingeniously sums up the solitary, nocturnal appeal of Orbison's classic hits as "pillow talk" for the wounded. For dessert, there's a clip of the star performing "Blue Bayou" in concert, and the late-'80s video of Orbison and lang locked in an impassioned duet on "Crying." --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Orbison at his best...., March 20, 2000

By 

joseph s shockey (Kansas City, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roy Orbison - The Anthology (DVD)

If you are a Roy Orbison fan...this is must see...the music alone, especially the stirring duet rendition of "Crying" with k d lang, is worth the price of admission...but you get so much more...interviews with some of music's top performers, concert footage from today and yesterday, information about the man and his music that you may never have known..."Anthology" should be in everyone's DVD player or VCR...if you never see it, it will be your loss.....

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Legend Lives Again, March 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Roy Orbison - The Anthology [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The "Anthology by Roy Orbison" is a "must-have" for those who cherish the beauty this great talent gave to the art of ballad. The video features interviews of those who knew him which adds dimension to this enigmatic giant of a past era. Several songs were played that I have never heard in over 30 years of enjoying Mr. Orbison's music. The video truly presents the intensity, talent, beauty, and charismatic intensity of Roy Orbison's singing and brilliance as a song writer. I rated the video four star instead of five only because of the below average quality of some of the video/audio segments. Other than some quality problems which were the result of the recording at the time the videos were made, this video is a classic. Those who love Roy Orbison will want this video.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Detailed History of Roy Orbison, May 29, 2000

By 

N. Stock (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roy Orbison - The Anthology (DVD)

This is a great DVD.It shows Roy live in concert,doing promo videos for single releases,singing on TV in the early years.It has interviews with people like the Beegees,Jeff Lynne(of ELO fame),K D Lang(who features in a video duet with Roy) and others praising Roy.It even has a song from the famous "black and white night"with a beaming Bruce Springsteen looking on. It also has very detailed liner notes telling Roys history from the 1950's onwards.Well worth the money for fans of Roy Orbison.