Product Details

• Actors: David Bowie, Carlos Alomar, Steve Elson, Stan Harrison, David Lebolt
• Directors: David Mallet
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
• DVD Release Date: March 2, 1999
• Run Time: 87 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000ICYN
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,496 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Serious Moonlight" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All things considered, not bad, plus a hidden little bonus, April 1, 2006

By 

Philip P. Obbard "pobbard" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: David Bowie - Serious Moonlight (DVD)

My first exposure to Bowie was seeing him on MTV in the "Let's Dance" video back in 1983. While I've since acquired just about everything he's ever recorded, and have no trouble identifying the strongest part of his career as coming to an end around 1980, I still have a fondness for the 1983 incarnation of Mr. Jones. I also - truth be told - love horn-laden, synth-heavy, bright rearrangements of much of the older material showcased on the Serious Moonlight tour, like "Star", "Station to Station", "Scary Monsters", etc.

I enjoyed this video back on VHS, and it has transitioned as well as can be excepted to DVD. I am still annoyed at a few of the artistic choices -- especially truncating the beginning of "Station to Station", as well as omitting tour staples like "Modern Love" and "Star", from the video record -- but at 20 songs, I can't accuse the producers of being skimpy. It serves well as a record of an exciting, commercially successful tour -- and one that isn't as artistically bankrupt as critics claim.

The video quality is still somewhat grainy, but the sound is excellent.

Getting the "Ricochet" documentary as a bonus is a real treat.

Finally, for a hidden bonus: I almost bought the revised SOUND & VISION box set back in 2003 just to get the live b-side version of "Modern Love" -- a rarity from the days of vinyl that had previously not made it to CD. I'm glad I didn't, because it's actually hidden away on this DVD, as the soundtrack for the "Gallery" feature!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Let's Dance!, April 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Serious Moonlight (DVD)

This is the way old tube cameras recorded things back then in the eighties - lights would smear, and soft focus filters and spotlights shining through smoke just add to the at-time-fuzzy, at-times-glossy look. Don't believe the reviews that say the DVD had bad visual mastering; my criteria for this disc is simple: Does it look and sound the way it did when it aired on HBO those many years ago? It does. That's both relief (the master video could have deteriorated - except for a couple split second breaks, it hasn't) and unfortunate (the sound needs to be remixed/remastered). About that all-important sound: Background hiss exists, but what really bothers me is that the mix doesn't do justice to Carlos Alomar's guitar. A modern mix would bring him out more, but who knows if the unmixed audio tapes from the show even exist anymore? At least the vocals are clear. About the show itself, this was Bowie at his most accessible, with everyone dressed up in shirts & suspenders and proper shoes (except for Earl Slick, who looks and acts like he escaped from an episode of Welcome Back Kotter), and just a few smoke and light effects, with some great performances; Cat People sounding great, and even Fame - which often turns into a laborious affair - is engaging.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor audio and video quality, January 8, 2001

By 

J. Gitzlaff (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Serious Moonlight (DVD)

I am about as big a David Bowie fan as anybody can realistically claim to be, but even I cannot muster much enjoyment from watching this DVD.

True, several of the interpretations of songs on this disc are classic and highly worth hearing. However, there is no escaping the fact that the disc started with dated media and was remastered sloppily, if at all. The video is in "soft focus" throughout (to put it charitably) and the technical sound quality low.