Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
No car chases. , January 9, 2006
It's good to see these video pieces by Brian Eno out on DVD. I own both on VHS and have enjoyed them over the years, particularly the Manhattan pieces. I probably would have watched them more frequently but for the rather inconvenient matter of having to roll my television on its side because of the vertical format. Once, I tried to simulate this by the considerably easier method of turning my self on my side, but it was surprisingly ineffective as entertainment. (I do recommend it for inducing sleep.) Happily, the DVD offers both vertical and horizontal viewing options.
Now, no one should sit down with this DVD with friends and popcorn and expect to be entertained. I like the title "video paintings." They don't move much. So, I recommend, in the true "ambient" tradition, put these on and go about your business. Go in and out of the room, read the paper, have conversations, whatever.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thursday afternoon on DVD at last!, March 13, 2006
The DVD of Brian Eno's Thursday Afternoon is finally out on DVD, packaged with Memories of Midiaeval Manhattan, another ambient video project from the early 80's. Both pieces are formatted vertically, but for those of us unable to tip their monitors or TVs on their sides, horizontal can be chosen as an option.
The concept here is that video, like sound, can be a decorative element in a space and not have to be "watched' in the traditional sense. All these pieces have ambient music and the static, almost still pictures change veerrrrrrrrry slowly over time and then fade out. The Manhattan pieces all feature dramatic shots of the New York skyline, most with clouds surging by and recalling the paintings of Constable. Thursday Afternoon is one long continuous track of music with several different video treatments of a naked woman in a tub and other places.
I have always been a big Eno fan and enjoy these more than other installations of his I have seen. That said, this is not for everybody. I was very glad to find them in print, and you may enjoy this stuff if you're an ambient fan.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Relaxing, March 22, 2007
Video, in this release, is like a form of painting with light. Images shift slightly and slowly, then fade in and out. The images themselves are very carefully selected-- in "Mistaken Memories" they are shots of the skyline of New York, often with the sky figuring prominently, and, especially, clouds. "Thursday Afternoon" showcases the body and face of a woman, in different postures and poses.
It is interesting that the music, especially in "Mistaken Memories", was not created for the video exclusively, but appeared in "Music For Airports" and "On Land", with, I believe, one previously unreleased piece. As a result, though relaxing, I wondered from time to time what the swamp and bog sounds had to do with the shots of New York. But the power of the shots themselves and the quality of the music, though somewhat disparate, won out in the end.
This project is great for sitting back, and focusing on the things in life that change more slowly over time.
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