Product Details

• Actors: Roy Orbison, Jackson Browne, T-Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang
• Directors: Tony Mitchell
• Producers: Albert Spevak, Barbara Orbison, Stephanie Bennett
• Format: AC-3, Black & White, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: November 9, 1999
• Run Time: 64 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (516 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000203YR
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,793 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #31 in Music > Rock > Oldies & Retro > Rockabilly
• Learn more about "Roy Orbison - A Black & White Night (DTS)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Few early rockers were more gifted or less honored in their prime than the late Roy Orbison, whose vaulting tenor and vulnerable love songs conjured heartbreak and desire with operatic intensity. This 1987 concert special, originally broadcast on Showtime, came two decades after Orbison had retreated from pop's front lines, yet neither Orbison nor his music coasts on mere nostalgia: in every respect, A Black and White Night survives as a triumphant performance and a superb video production, as well as a first-rate retrospective of Orbison's hits.

Filmed in black and white against the streamlined art deco stage of the since-demolished Coconut Grove in downtown Los Angeles, the concert is buoyed by a remarkable cast of A-list Orbison fans who signed on as his accompanists. Under the direction of producer T-Bone Burnett, the stage band thus includes Jackson Browne, Burnett, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, J.D. Souther, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, and Jennifer Warnes, along with the rhythm section from Elvis Presley's fabled late '60s and early '70s touring band. That astonishing lineup is all the more noteworthy for the restraint with which they collaborate--it's evident that those superstars came to honor Orbison, not upstage him, resulting in a gratifying cohesion to the performances.

Orbison himself sounds as powerful as ever, his soaring falsetto cresting as dramatically as it did on the studio versions of the hits that inevitably dominate. Those songs meanwhile confirm that his blue chip admiration society came as much for the caliber of his writing as for his ravishing voice: if he remains best known for the jaunty come-on of "Pretty Woman," Orbison was first and foremost a rock balladeer, capable of bringing lumps to our throats with such classics as "Crying" and "Only the Lonely," or conjuring romantic trances through such gentle charmers as "Dream Baby." On this night, he handled all of them with fervor and finesse. --Sam Sutherland

Product Description

An all-star concert featuring the immortal man behind the shades performing his biggest hits including Oh Pretty Woman, Only the Lonely and more with the help of Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello and many more guests. 1987/color/64 min/NR/fullscreen.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

259 of 264 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Star studded vid of a great singer/lyricist October 17, 1999

By bill brophy

Format:VHS Tape

When Springsteen wrote and created his Born To Run album he explained to critics that he wanted "to have an album with lyrics like Dylan, singing like Roy Orbison, and a sound like Phil Spector." If you're 25 or older and you can only give your children one snapshot of popular music, circa '60- '90, buy them a copy of this tape. Bonnie Raitt, Jennifer Warnes, k.d. lang, John David Souther, Jackson Brown and Steven Soules sing backing vocals. Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen and T-Bone Burnett, among others,play instrumental second fiddles. And they all do it for The Man. Roy Orbison. The architect of the symphonic, Ravel-like love song. The singer of singers. Just weeks before he died he played a concert in Boston and the local critic said, (I paraphrase) "he repeated that last line, in his falsetto voice, over and over and over as if to say, 'I'm still here and can do it...anytime.'" The videotape is revelatory. Stephen Burton (gtr) shows, over and over again, why he is to studio musicians and especially to guitar players, an icon non-pareil. He is Chet Atkins, Django Reinhardt, Bucky Pizzarelli, all in one. The tape does a tidy review of Orbison's hits. More remarkable than the performance of those hits is the reverential looks and obvious excitment of Springsteen, Costello, lang, Raitt, Browne, etc. as they accompany him on his tour of transistor radio hits. Forget the Wilbury's. This is Roy's night. Deservedly. Roy knew how to constrain all that emotion behind his words until he was ready to release it. In the last moments of the tape Roy sings "Pretty Woman" and it opens up into a jam-for-all. Noteworthy is how Springsteen acquits himself in a mano a' mano guitar trade with Burton. First they trade twelve bar solos, then they raise the stakes and trade four bar exchanges. Springsteen shows that all those hours spent in his bedroom paid off, ("..well I got me a guitar and I learned how to make it talk...") not topping Burton but filing a tasty, even nasty, testament of his own licks and sources. Perhaps most easily, and unjustly, overlooked in a star studded vid like this is Elvis Costello who plays, no, contributes in a huge way, turns as a harp (harmonica) player, guitar player, singer and pianist. But instrumentally, Burton, Springsteen and Alex Tutt (long-time Orbison drummer) truly set themselves apart. And...It's a real hoot to see k.d. lang and Bonnie Raitt and Jennifer Warnes doing "steps" and singing "sha la la la" and "doo wah doo wah doo wah" and obviously loving it. It is a video to love. And that doesn't even begin to address Orbison's lyrics: "A candy colored clown they call the sandman; tiptoes to my room every night; just to sprinkle star dust and to whisper: "go to sleep, everything is alright." Dylan, Springsteen, Orbison, ..... Quick. Name three more lyricists of that stratum. Buy the tape. Re-learn what was good and true (men "do" cry") about popular music in the sixties and the seventies.

116 of 121 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Very Best Music DVD Released July 20, 2002

By Richard R. Carlton

Format:DVD

The DVD release of this one *IS* the legacy of Roy Orbison.

A number of reviewers comment on the absolutely spectacular 5.1 and DTS mixes for this release and I couldn't agree more....this is not only arguably the best DVD yet released, the remix was done from 1987 tapes and really shows why it is worth considering re-buying your favorite music when remixes are released.

Regarding the black and white format.....it is sharp and clear with excellent video mixes.....you are usually on the right person at the right time throughout and the fact that it was shot at LA's Coconut Grove makes it even better.

And now the music....ah, the music....of coure it has Pretty Woman, Cryin', Dream Baby. But what is spectacular is Roy's delivery of Blue Bayou, the sailing lyric in It's Over, the rhythm section on Candy Man, the fun in redoing his 1st hit from Sun Studios...Ooby Dooby...there isn't a track on this one that won't find a special place in your heart.

It simply cannot be said any other way.....this is what Roy was always all about....and you've got Springsteen, Lang, Souther, Riatt, T-Bone, Costello, Browne......all to vouch for it!

54 of 55 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Magical Night March 21, 2005

By H. Goodman

Format:DVD

On September 30th, 1987, the stars were in alignment, and an incredible concert took place. Thankfully, they filmed and recorded it. This DVD features not only an amazingly warm and relaxed performance by Roy, but also includes a remixed SACD soundtrack of the film. If you already have the "Black & White Night" CD (first issue) you may want to pick this up anyway. The sound mix is crystal clear. I think there were at least three acoustic guitars being played that night, and on this reissue, they positively shimmer! The other differences from past issues of this concert on disc or video are the inclusion of "Claudette", restored to its proper place in the running order, and on the SACD, "Blue Angel" is added on as a bonus track.

This package is really worth the price. I paid no more than I would for an average new DVD, so the SACD is really a bonus. If you're a fan of the great Mr. Orbison, I think you'll watch this one over and over.