The Who - The Kids Are Alright (Special Edition)

Rating:
Summary: "My friends call me Keith, you can call me John"
Review: When I bought this DVD, I only sorta liked The Who, having just one of their greatest hits CD's. Before I mainly liked The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Now, The Who is DEFINATELY my favorite band, thanks largely to this DVD, and now I own ALL of their CD's plus several other DVD'S. But THIS DVD IS THE BEST. I've watched it literally DOZENS of times. The footage of the band in this DVD is AMAZING. Watching Pete during "Sparks" is one of the most awesome sights ever. Of course, all of the footage is great (although I would've included the Isle of Wight version of "Young Man Blues" instead) Curiously, the only complaint I have is there are NO songs from Quadrophenia (perhaps there wasn't any footage, I'm not sure) Otherwise this gives a brilliant portrait of their spectacular career (up until the death of Moon anyway) BUY THIS DVD AND CRANK THAT SUCKER LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: A Tribute to The Who is majestically remastered
Review: This DVD is part of the new breed of DVD remasters (the other, so far, is the Led Zeppelin DVD remaster). Decayed and broken film reels are reprocessed and digitized to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. Reels were literally pulled from garbage cans!! This is a masterwork of engineering and devotion to the music.

And what music it is!! The sound is crystal clear and LOUD. The picture is as pristine (if not MORE pristine) as when it was first shot.

The extras are nearly as good as the film! Check out the multiple camera angles, or better yet, listen to two isolated tracks of The Ox's bass. Only Entwhistle's bass can be heard in this "extra," and it's fun to turn up your subwoofer to maximum and feel him shake your walls! There is also a small documentary on the actual restoration of the film, a Who Quiz, and more.

I really recommend this to any fan of Rock and Roll. As for the film CONTENT, you watch a hungry young band that is having fun and at the pinnacle of their powers (1969's Rock and Roll Circus appearance) morph into a band that is old, tired, and simply running thru the motions (final Baba O'Reilly sequence). And the music, when cranked up on your 5.1, will crack your walls!

Rating:
Summary: Possibly the Best Rock Documentary Ever Made
Review: "The Kids are Alright" is everything a rock documentary should be, edging out the Beatle's "Anthology" and the Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter". The Who in their prime were a devastating band, fueled by Keith Moon's relentless energy. Watching Moon's chronic alcoholism progress from each period is painful to see. This director's cut is superior in every way to the edited VHS version. The bonus DVD has a revealing interview by Roger Daltry that clears up many Who myths.


Rating:
Summary: Absolutely essential for a fan of the Who.
Review: If you're a rock n' roll fan and want to know what the Who is all about, or if you are a Who fan and want a DVD of live and TV performances, this film is where you start. I'm 37 years old, and I first saw this movie on cable when I was in the sixth grade---I instantly became a fan of the Who, and have been one ever since.

This film is essentially a montage of performance footage from the band's beginning to about 1978, interspliced with interview segments and some voice-overs. It's not a documentary in the usual sense insofar as it doesn't attempt to track the personal histories of the band members or the band itself in a studied or chronological fashion. Rather, it's more of an attempt to capture the raucous and explosive energy of the Who on film, and it totally succeeds in doing so.

Among its many excellent performance clips, it contains definitive and complete live performances of the "mini-opera" "A Quick One While He's Away", "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again". It also includes the band's literally explosive (and infamous) performance on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in the mid to late 60's, wacked appearances by Ringo Starr, and even a sketch comedy segment featuring Steve Martin with the late Keith Moon. It's a total hodgepodge, and its all brilliant, all Who, in all their ragged glory. If you buy only one Who DVD, or even only one rock n' roll DVD, this is it right here.



Rating:
Summary: Finally!
Review: It took far to long for The Kids Are Alright to get out on DVD. After seeing and hearing the new special edition, it was worth the wait! Keith Moon has to be seen to be believed. The extended A Quick One really shows how amazing and entertaining he could be. The Ox Cam on the 2nd disc is a fitting tribute to the man who held the band together, but is rarely seen compared to his more flashy band-mates. This is a great package with great content and should be required in every home where music is played. Just don't smash your TV when it's over.

Rating:
Summary: Best Rock N Roll Movie Ever !
Review: This is a "must see" Rock N Roll movie, there are not bands like this anymore. Thankfully, the movie has been fully restored,and the quality far exceeds the cinema release.
Although I would have loved it if Jeff Stein could have located
more concert footage or even added more of The Who's Woodstock
performance. I know for a fact that 5 songs were filmed, as I have seen them, years and years ago.