Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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112 of 116 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Greatest Rock Theater You'll Ever See, July 4, 2003
Saturday, July 21, 1990 is a day I will never forget. Former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters & special guests performed a charity concert of the classic Floyd rock opera, "The Wall," at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany, to celebrate the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. I just so happened to be in England at the time, and I watched the worldwide broadcast of this staggering rock concert on BBC TV that evening, and it left an impression on me that has never gone away. This phenomenal show was and IS the ultimate in rock theater, and has never been surpassed. Since I never got to see Pink Floyd perform "The Wall" live back in 1980, watching the Berlin concert more than made up for that. 13 years later, this landmark concert has finally been released on DVD at last, and it still holds up magnificently. Granted, Pink Floyd themselves had nothing to do with this concert, as Roger Waters was (and still is) not on good terms with his former bandmates, but Roger, the main composer of "The Wall," is in top form in this show, and he alligned himself that evening with some pretty huge names in music---Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, members of The Band, Bryan Adams, Sinead O'Connor, the Scorpions, Paul Carrack, James Galway, Ute Lemper, as well as 80's staples Cyndi Lauper & Thomas Dolby, and many more. Along with an orchestra & chorus conducted by Michael Kamen---as well as the Marching Band Of The Combined Soviet Forces---Roger & his own Bleeding Heart Band, including guitarists Rick DiFonzo & Snowy White, play this famous rock concept album superbly, and the vocal turns by Roger and all the guest vocalists are marvelous. The production values, including the mammoth Wall itself (reportedly measuring 550 feet wide and 82 feet high), the gargantuan inflatables of the Teacher and Pig characters, the colorful costumes, props, lighting effects, Gerald Scarfe animations and other provocative projections shown on the Wall itself are all absolutely astonishing. And when you see that mighty Wall come crashing down brick by brick at the concert's end, it is one of the most phenomenal sights you will ever see. "The Wall: Live In Berlin" is also outstanding in that it is probably the only concert ever staged that is actually *better* to watch on TV than if you had actually been there live. The camerawork throughout is amazing, and takes you places that the live audience couldn't go: into the specially-built living room in the high corner of the Wall as Roger sings "One Of My Turns" and "Don't Leave Me Now," behind the Wall as Paul Carrack sings "Hey You," and high atop the Wall as Difonzo & White do their awesome guitar solos on "Comfortably Numb."Admittedly, the video version of "The Wall: Live In Berlin" has a little bit of touch-up work done on it, or, what is affectionately known in the business as "cheating." The power went out early in the show during Ute Lemper's "The Thin Ice," Roger's "Another Brick In The Wall Part 1," and again during Sinead O'Connor's "Mother," so the performances you see of "The Thin Ice" & "Another Brick...Part 1" were actually shot several hours *after* the concert had ended, and "Mother" was taken from footage of the final rehearsal that was done the previous night (Roger's lack of sunglasses during these songs is the giveaway). Also, Ute's portrayal of The Wife during "The Trial" sequence was also shot *after* the concert, as the camera malfunctioned during her live performance. But it certainly goes without saying that these touch-up performances were absolutely necessary in order to present the show in it's entirety, and besides, they blend in with the genuine live performances very seamlessly.Following in the footsteps of Pete Townshend, who brought The Who's classic rock opera "Tommy" to the Broadway stage, Roger Waters has been working for many years on a "proper" theatrical staging of Pink Floyd's "The Wall." Whether or not "The Wall" ever makes it to Broadway still remains to be seen, but, at the very least, Roger successfully brought the live rendition of the album to the masses in this landmark concert, blessedly recorded for posterity to be enjoyed again and again. "The Wall: Live In Berlin" is one of the most sensational rock concerts ever staged, and is a must-own DVD for every fan of this legendary concept album. Thank you, Roger!
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43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasantly surprised, September 10, 2003
My expectations were rather muted going into this. Primarily due to the "Celebrity" cast. I also had some real concerns over sound quality since it was recorded almost 15 years ago. The sound however is flat out amazing though. Although my issues with the Celebrity cast did not disappear, the quality of the sound and enormity of the production itself made the cast of characters seem less important. The list of those performers seems really stale today, but at the time of the show, they were all "A" list. I think some complaints I've read hold little merit or were the product of lack of understanding of the original source material. Someone said the scorpions attire was in bad taste for such an event. Well folks, that was on purpose! They were the "Surrogate" band which was supposed to be representative of all of the excess in rock and roll that has at one time or another caused many of us to lose sight of the music.Although, I've never been a Sinead O'conner fan, I thought she was a perfectly appropriate representation of the child in Pink. Her vocals were also very moving. Again, I'm not a Brian Adams fan, but his gritty voice was an excellent fit for "Young Lust". And, no he wasn't really playing guitar, or at least he wasn't wired for sound. He, like the scorpions were there simply to provide vocals and window dressing. The music was thankfully performed strictly by Roger's amazing band. Joni Mitchell's performance was flat out creepy (in a good way)perfect for "Goodbye Blue Sky". Cindi lauper was nothing but annoying. Van morrison (who I love), seemed painfully out of place in this production. I ached for the return of David Gilmour's silky voice during Van's performance of "Comfortably Numb"
My biggest issue with the DVD was the camera angles and distances used for the bulk of the show. The show was so enormous that I think the best overall perspective would have been maybe a hundred and fifty feet or so from the stage. This view was curiously entirely absent. Everything was shot either up close (Like most concert footage), or so far away that the perfomers were merely a speck in the camera lense. These longs distance shots were used primarily between songs though and really did give the viewer an idea of just how huge the show was. In fact I would say the production was probably 4 to 5 times the size of Pink Floyds original prodution. All of the tight camera shots made me feel too much like I was watching a concert video rather than experiencing the show. Another interesting perspective was the footage shot behind the wall after the band had been completely closed off from the audience. It really made me appreciate how weird that must have been for Both Pink Floyd in the original performance and for Roger's band in this version. I mean here you are playing your heart out and you can't even see your audience, and you know they can't see you either. I would liked to have seen a little more of the audience perspective during this part of the show. And to those Floyd fans who don't think the wall should be done without the original band, I do sympathize. But the fact is, they were asked to perform, and declined. Understandably, the bad blood between the Waters & Floyd camps was too much to overcome under such short notice, even for such a meaningful event and cause. But, the bottom line is that "The Wall" is Roger's brain child. You can count both the musical & lyrical credits of other band members for the double album on one hand. The wall is the least musical of the Floyd creations due to the lack of input of those other band members. But in pure lyrical and conceptual terms, I still feel it is once of the most brilliant and important works of my generation. I still hold out hope that some day, all of the members including Roger will be able to put their egos and bitterness aside and re-unite to produce new music and tour. Until that day however, I feel very fortunate to re-live the wall experience in this powerful incarnation.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Concert, July 28, 2000
True there are some faults with this show, but come on folks, this was one great concert. Read the reviews and you will see how many people contradict one another. The only problem I had was Sinead was barely audible when singing "Mother". Members of "The Band" singing the mother's part was good. Roger in concert 7-13-00 at the Garden sings his part and has the female vocalists sing the mother's part. I like to hear good artists doing other people's music. The fact that so many major acts of that time showed up, shows the respect that Roger Waters gets in the music industry. I feel that they stayed as true to the music as possible. His band, The Bleeding Heart Band can play this piece as well as Pink Floyd did. Rick Difonzo plays his guitar almost exactly like Mr. Gilmour. Mr. Waters still has some of these great musicians in his band today like Graham Broad, Andy Fairweather Low and Snowy White. Rent the video and if you don't like it then you don't know a classic show even if it bites you on your behind. The Scorpions did an excellent job with "In the Flesh" both parts and I'm not a Scorpions fan. Van Morrison did a very soulful version of "Comfortably Numb". The Orchestra was superb, they probably never preformed in front of such a large audience. Any one who claims to be a Waters fan or a Pink Floyd fan should enjoy this CD and the video. I wish this would be released on DVD, then you have the best of both worlds. Any chance to see Roger Waters in concert no matter what band he has or music he chooses to perform should jump at the chance. This concert was an historical event and is a must for any collector of live shows.
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