Live Aid (4 Disc Set)
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Movie Reviews of Live Aid (4 Disc Set)
Movie Review: The good the bad and the 80s... stop complaining though!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I think that as far as live concerts go, this one is one of the biggest of our era.
As far as benefits go, I think that we'll be seeing more like "Tsunami Aid" and "America A Tribute To Heroes" which are more easier to assemble on a soundstage in comparison or the occasional "Concert for NYC" after 9/11 and Freddie Mercury tribute (which would be in the same venue 7 years later), but nothing like this...2 (not counting the other countries that took part that day) stadiums, 1 day. Farm Aid also happened the same year, and surprisingly they still do concerts. Neil Young's acoustic Bridge benefit concerts (which should be released on DVD, lots of amazing performances) also stemmed from Live Aid.
The centerpiece is the concert, but the beginning, end and the footage shown throughout the concert puts the event into perspective. The BBC footage at the beginning is truly disturbing, enough for Bob Geldof to try to do something about it (and continues to).
The documentary at the end of the DVD was okay, but they should've made a new one talking about what had happened in years since,esp. in the early 90s. "We Are The World" and "Do They Know It's Christmas" videos are also included.
As some of you have been reading, there are missing pieces, the most notable being the "Led Zeppelin" reunion with Phil Collins on drums. I think they should've included it just because it was a highlight of the concert but it's not really a big deal (you'll hear why they never did "Stairway" after Bonham died). It was neither Plant or Page's best moment. Yet the Black Sabbath footage made it (not Ozzy's finest moment)... go figure that one out...
No, you're not getting the complete, beginning to end concert. You're also not getting MTV VJs every 2 seconds showing their reactions. But in comparison to "Woodstock" where far more performances were cut out, this is still a healthy amount of material that you're getting for half the price of the Monterey DVD box set.
The sound is great in surround, mostly used for ambience than separating the instruments the video footage pretty good, although it would get lines across the screen from time to time (something they've improved on since). The rockers from the 60s were still somewhat young, and bands like U2 proving themselves with a billion people watching, Queen proving their mettle as one of the best live acts in rock, and the array of artists (and celebs that would be introducing the acts) that ARE on there is still staggering. Even Brian Wilson made it out to play with the Beach Boys... the only disappointing thing were that the Stones had more or less splintered by that time, Mick opted to duet with Tina, and Keith and Ron Wood opted to back up Bob Dylan. And for some reason, Bruce Springsteen (who was the biggest live act of that year) decided not to take part in the show.
To me, this encapsulates the 80s as much as any of John Hughes' movies have, if not more so (and you'll hear "Don't You Forget About Me" on the DVD). It's awesome..totally awesome!
Movie Review: Rockin' all over the world!
Summary: 5 Stars
My memories of the Live Aid concerts are very fragmented because I was only five years old at the time, but I have been waiting for years to finally get this on video. While not being complete, this DVD set contains some excellent concert footage from many acts at the peak of their success, and the humanitarian purpose behind the concert makes it all the more moving.
The set contains some priceless performance footage. My personal favorites are Queen, who perform six songs (the most of any artist in this set), David Bowie, Madonna (only six months after she burst onto the music scene), The Who and Dire Straits. All of the above bands perform their signature songs, with the exception of The Who, whose generator blew up and prevented "Pinball Wizard" and "My Generation" from being broadcast. The DVD set is also littered with some excellent footage from some of the most popular bands in the 80's. Other notables include U2, Duran Duran, Nik Kershaw, Ultravox, Hall & Oates, The Cars, The Pretenders, Elton John (in his "fez hat" phase) and Mick Jagger's priceless duet with Tina Turner are all included. The list goes on and on, but needless to say that any music fan will find something to like in this package. Overall, you get 10 hours of great music for a great price.
The problems with this DVD set are trivial when you look at all that is included, and the worthy cause. Sure, many bands and songs were excluded, but the book that accompanies the DVDs explains that much of the footage was lost or unusable. The occasional hiccup with the sound and video is to be expected, since this was recorded almost 20 years ago. The Wembly concert is definitely better quality, as it was professionally recorded. The American concert in Philadelphia is variable as it was not. The sound quality is generally good, but crowd noise and static sometimes impedes the music, and the introductions from the MCs at the show (Jack Nicholson, Bette Midler, and Chevy Chase) are often inaudible. But I really wasn't bothered, as 99% of what is included here is brilliant.
There are also some DVD extras, which are usually minimal on music DVDs. The videos for the excellent Band Aid song "Do the know it's Christmas?", the abysmal "We are the world" video, the original BBC report on famine in Ethiopia, and segments from the CBC documentary (shown live at the concert) which was the catalyst for organizing the concert. All of which bring awareness to the strife in Africa, and it is difficult to watch at times.
Ignore the overly-critical people who complain from the rooftops about what was left out, and be grateful that it was released at all, and now that every penny raised is going to a good cause. This is a great DVD set by any standard, and at the modest price, it is an essential part of any collection.
Movie Review: A flawed gem, like the decade and the artists it captures
Summary: 5 Stars
I think the majority of reviews here miss the point: This was never meant to be dissected 20 years on. It was meant to raise money in July 1985, then become nothing more than memory. Decisions made in haste then led to omissions now. But what is here is often electric.
Fortunately, at least some of the concert survived. More than perhaps was intended, and less than would be archived now. Despite the passion of the moment, watching the (now very young looking) Bob Geldof, the manic catylist behind this, it's easy to see how the intensity of the moment may have overswept the perspective and dicipline to document all of this event for posterity.
The carping about missing songs, and the lack of documentary backstage footage, etc. seems over critical to me. The DVD IS the documentary, it's just up to the viewer to add their (nostalgic?) thoughts to the event. It doesn't have a commentator speaking over it, but if you saw this event on TV back then, the feelings of that day will flood back unfiltered by time. This is more of a historical marker than a concert film, really. And to watch it is to melt back into 1985 for, as David Bowie puts it in one of the concert's highlight moments "...just for one day...."
The music, not to mention the film quality, is like the decade it sprang from: often erratic. A sampling of everything from the ridiculous (Thompson Twins and Madonna doing a Beatles cover? Honestly!) to the sublime. U2 were not icons they are now, but to see them in 1985 you can't be surprised at their metoric rise that lay just ahead, like an unpolished gem. But their day hadn't quite arrived yet....
Seeing Queen again walk onto the stage at Wembly and unleash perhaps the greatest live music onslaught ever will give you chills. I'm not even a big fan of the group, but they not only stole the show, but single-handedly lifted the concert from significant to legendary in the span of 20 minutes. Seeing Freddie Mercury so very alive that day, the irony of his passing in the context of all the suffering in Africa is almost too much to bear.
The scenes of the hungry in Africa are no less disturbing now as then, and the music is no less compelling either. Perfect DVD? No. The concert wasn't technically flawless, and despite the money raised didn't solve all the world's problems. This DVD is both thouroughly worthwhile but falls short of it's promise. Just like the concert that it captures so well.
No...this DVD isn't perfect, but it may be fitting that it isn't. For a decade often derided as superficial, for a moment the people of the world came together for something greater than themselves, and despite the flaws created something that still inspires awe.
Movie Review: Don't forget the whole point of this..
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, nothing really needs to be said about Live Aid, it was quite literally the event of a lifetime, never equalled, and probably never will be. What most people tend to forget in our nicely cushioned and pampered lives, is the fact that technologically this event was the equivalent of David slaying Goliath. Arranging two massive concerts accross two continents in an age where there were no mobiles, no emails, international calls had to be made through an exchange, and BOOKED anywhere up to a day in advance, and digital tv was still over a decade away, it is quite literally staggering how Geldof, Midge and everyone involved from the ground up brought it all together.
Anyone who remembers it will love this DVD set, it's a brilliantly put together 4 disc collection encompassing pretty much all of the acts from the two gigs, as well as a lot of bonus performances (Judas Priest, INXS, Run DMC etc) that were never seen on the day. Yes, there are missing acts and songs (mainly from the US gig), but if people actually take the time to read the accompanying literature, you'll discover that this is down to the original film no longer existing, and is NOT deliberate. In fact, it is purely by luck that the DVD ever made it out, with virtually the whole american concert missing until by luck tapes were turned up at MTV.
It's so ironic that people complaining about this set. 'Oh the quality isn't very good in places...' - what do you expect??! Any idea what happens with analogue recording when you place a camera next to a stack of marshall amps booming out at God knows how many decibels? Come on! As it happens the vision has been sorted as much as it could be (no digital remember), and the sound has a great 5.1 mix. But what the heck does that matter anyway, what exactly was this day about? Was it about you and me? A huge number of international stars to play the world's biggest rock concert all for our entertainment? Of course not. Just watch that opening section, which plays the entire BBC broadcast from Ethiopia, and whatever degree of greedy obsession you might have over owning the perfect complete set, with perfect sound, and perfect remastered vision will fly right out the window. Instead, you'll get swept up in the spirit of what was without a doubt the day that music really did change the world, and we all made a difference - the essence of the entire event is encompassed in this set through the music, interviews, documentaries and accompanying book. If you, like me, were there when it happened, it will be an almost unrivalled journey into one of the most memorable events of the 80s - so do something useful, and buy it!
Movie Review: The biggest concert event that proves music can really change the world
Summary: 5 Stars
This is, no doubt, the biggest concert event in the history. The biggest stars in the music business performed together in the same concert and donated all proceedings to help Africa that was suffering from terrible famine ("Feed the World" was the motto). This is not only the biggest concert event but also the celebration of the human spirit. Hundreds of thousands of spectators filled in concert stadiums and greatest musical artists performed without expecting anything in return, all for one common purpose of feeding hungry people in a continent far, far away. If Jesus were alive, he would be so proud.
You will see the greatest musical artists and legends, and this is especially meaningful since the music sounded so much better in those days; it was simply extraordinary. I still hard time believing how such phenomenon could occur: Duran Duran, Sting, George Michael/Wham, Madonna, Elton John, David Bowie, Phil Collins, Boy George, Tina Turner, Bryan Adams, Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, U2, Queen, Paul MCartney and many others singing all in the same concert and sharing the same stage! Not to mention princess Diana with Prince Charles showing up at Wembley stadium (This DVD is like historical documentary and a great one at that). Phil Collins was the only artist that peformed at both concerts; he flew from London to Philadelphia (another piece of history).
If not for music, which is more than enough a reason, you should buy this DVD to continue to help Africa (certain percentage of this DVD's sale is donated to Africa). And one more thing, this DVD also contains video of the song "We are the world" written by Michael Jackson & Lionel Richie and performed by most of the aforementioned artists and many others.
Having said all that, I have to admit that I am a little disappointed by the fact that not all the footage from that day is available on this DVD. The reasons for this are given in the booklet: Bob Geldof, for reasons of legal expediency, did not even want the concert to be recorded. BBC didn't heed this notion (Thank GOD) but the tapes were largely forgotten in BBC's vaults, some had been destroyed or missing. The producers of US concert had taken Bob at his word and deliberately disabled all their footage so that it could never be re-broadcast. And some performances were lost because of satellite and power failures." I wanted to add this last part because I noticed other reviewers were pretty upset about the missing footage too. It seems there are some moments of the show that are lost forever but I still think some more footage could be gathered.