Product Details

• Actors: Mickey Hart, Yoshikazu Fujimoto, Eiichi Saitô, Takashi Akamine
• Directors: Jôji Ide
• Format: Cast Recording, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: May 29, 2001
• Run Time: 69 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005B34R
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #158,731 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Kodo" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Shot on high-definition video during the 1998-99 "One Earth" tour of Japan's celebrated Kodo drummers, this illuminating documentary explores the lives and philosophy of the Kodo group, who beat taiko--the signature drums of their art--to express the universal language of Kodo, a word derived from ko (or "heartbeat") and do (a reference to a childlike purity of spirit). "To beat taiko is to face yourself," says leading player Ryutaro Kaneko, expressing Kodo's goal of a complete merging of mind, body, and spirit in the act of drumming. Made up of 42 members (20 of whom actually perform on stage), the Kodo group is seen training (four months each year, with eight months of touring) at Kodo village on the Japanese island of Sado, where the group had its origins in the early 1970s before officially naming itself "Kodo" in 1981.

Through profiles of individual players, the film reveals the enlightening motivations behind this most unifying of group endeavors. It's also shown that Kodo is not for everyone; aspiring "sub-member" Yuko Tada tearfully leaves Sado, having failed to achieve the group unity that Kodo demands. A stop in war-torn Croatia is emotional and ultimately life-affirming, and a "Celebration Earth" performance with the Pueblo Indian "Red Willow Dancers" of New Mexico proves to be a highlight for everyone involved (and a joyous occasion to witness). Indeed, it's impossible to watch Kodo without wanting to beat taiko for the sheer, infectious pleasure of transcending language and merging with something greater than oneself. It's the ultimate Kodo recruitment film! --Jeff Shannon

Product Description
Experience the percussive intensity, the harmony of man and nature--the drummers of Kodo. "Kodo" literally means "Drum Child," and the name comes from the Japanese word "kodo," or heartbeat, the basic rhythm of human beings. Based on the traditional taiko style of drumming from Sado Island, the members of Kodo have chosen their name to express the desire to beat the drum freely with no restraints, just like an innocent child. When they share this revelation with an audience through their stirring and powerful rhythms, the result is an experience like no other musical art form.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Big disappointment, March 20, 2002

By A Customer

As already mentioned above: there is less than 20 seconds of actual performance in this video. While learning about the drummers is fascinating, it is not what i paid 20 bucks for!! I am incensed at the misleading editorial on the DVD, which doesn't even *HINT* at the fact that this is a documentary, not a performance. I didn't get what I paid for. Unacceptable business practices: just shooting themselves in the foot. You don't buy a car only to find out there's a vcr in the dash with a guy telling you how the car *would have* run if it were real... in another language, no less. I might have purchased this DVD if I had known that it had no performance, but I feel cheated now.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Documentary of Kodo -- Not A Concert Video, June 23, 2001

By	Brian Pound "Bachikaze" (La Mesa, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

True, the packaging and description should be clearer about the content, but the four star rating of my review reflects the quality of this video, not the packaging and advertizing. I downrated it one star only because it might not appeal to some people, though it is not only for taiko or even Kodo buffs. For taiko or Kodo fans, consider my rating 5 stars.

Like Taikophile, when I ordered this DVD, I had hoped it would be a performance, but I was open-minded. I was already a big fan of Kodo, but this new DVD had a big impact on me. It is similar to a 1983 documentary called "Kodo -- The Heartbeat Drummers of Japan", but brings us up to the present. This is Kodo fifteen years later, a group that has evolved and grown.

It has a good balance of personal stories, performance clips, Earth Celebration preparation, apprenticeship trials, the development of a new composition, and an overview of the group, their philosophy and their community on Sado island. Perhaps the main theme of this video is the challenges of being an individual in a group, very appropriate for Japanese, and something I think all Japanese viewers of the original TV broadcast could relate to.

Special segments include short profiles of Ryutaro Kaneko, Chieko Kojima, Yoshikazu and Yoko Fujimoto, staff member Atsushi Sugano, and Tetsuro Naito. A kind of climax is when guests from Taos, New Mexico, called the Red Arrow Dancers visit Sado Island and perform with Kodo for Earth Celebration 1998. The two groups develop strong relationships that draw tears when they have to part.

I have shown this video to two non-Kodo fans so far. Both were intrigued by what they saw and developed a respect for Kodo. They have both asked to see more of them.

Personally, the more I know about Kodo, the more I'm impressed with them. It has gone way past enjoying their music or respecting their talents. I love their lifestyle, philosophy, beliefs, and personalities. What great people! This video captures what makes Kodo so special. It has refined, at least a little, how I look at performing music, relating to people, and cultivating my love of drumming.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting documentary...but not a keeper, June 17, 2001

By	Moses Alexander (Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

Just like the previous reviewer I bought this DVD predicated upon several factors: 1) my love for Kodo's masterful drumming 2) my desire for "Live from the Acropolis" to be released on DVD (lamentably only available in VHS) 3) the editorial review also gave the impression that this was a concert DVD.

This is a documentary made for Japanese TV, and it is really lacking in places. The translations to English are quite awkward in places, and sometimes they are hard to keep up with (in one particular spot the translations kept bouncing back from the bottom and top of the screen depending upon who was talking...it was almost impossible to process the rapid fire assault of info...one time the translations were on top & bottom simultaneously!)

The documentary was quite interesting but didn't show even one whole drumming piece (kind of against the point of a KODO DVD you might say.) I do have to give the documentary makers credit for thoroughly covering the subject. They did in dept interviews with everyone from the 'superstars' of the group to understudies who have never taken the stage to teachers/instructors...as well as interviewing both male & female members.

This is worth watching once, but that's about it. Definately for completist KODO collectors only!