Rating: 
Summary: MORE THAN THE RYKODISK EDITION
Review: ... but less than promised ... I'd rather not call
the extras 'easter eggs', but more precisely HOW
IN THE WORLD CAN THESE EXTRA TAKES BE ACCESSED AND
WATCHED? For the $$ I shelled out, I can only feel
resent....
Rating: 
Summary: my favorite Martian
Review: As an overview of nearly 2 decades of David Bowie's work, mostly in the form of videos, this is a remarkable 2 Disc set that shows the changes from the 25 year old with the cobalt blue guitar and rather shabby looking teeth in 1972, to the sophisticated superstar of the late '90s.
Though the first few videos are rather simple in their presentation, he quickly learned the theatrical, unique style he is famous for, with his space alien themes, outlandish costumes, and marvelous red hair.
"Boys Keep Swinging" from '79 is the first number with some uniquely Bowiesque dance moves, and there is one song with Mick Jagger from '85, "Dancing in the Streets".
My favorite piece, which is pure musical artistry, is "Wild is the Wind", with Bowie in everyday clothes and no fancy makeup. I was entranced by this track, and wish there had been more like it.
With his androgynous charm, skill as a performer, and musical/vocal/songwriting talent, Bowie is deservedly one of the longest lasting and most fascinating of all pop/rock icons. This set is a must for Bowie fans, anyone who would like to know more about this superstar who continues to be an influence in the music industry, and to view the pure magic of "Wild is the Wind".
Total playing time is 4 hours and 12 minutes.
Disc # 1:
"Oh ! You Pretty Things" (1972) / "Queen Bitch" (1972) / "Five Years" (1972) / "Starman" (1972) / "John, I'm Only Dancing" (1972) / "The Jean Genie" (1972) / "Space Oddity" (1972) / "Drive-in Saturday" (1973) / "Life on Mars ?" (1973) / "Ziggy Stardust" (1973) / "Rebel Rebel" (1974) / "Young American" (1974) / "Be My Wife" (1977) / "Heroes" (1977) / "Boys Keep Swinging" (1979) / "D.J." (1979) / "Look Back in Anger" (1979) / "Ashes to Ashes" (1980) / "Fashion" (1980) / "Wild is the Wind" (1981) / "Let's Dance" (1983) / "China Girl" (1983) / "Modern Love" (1983) / "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" (1983) / "Blue Jean" (1984) / "Loving the Alien" (1985) / "Dancing in the Streets (with Mick Jagger) (1985) .
Disc # 2:
"Absolute Beginners" (1986) / "Underground" (1986) / "As the World goes Down" (1986) / "Day-In Day-Out" (1987) / "Time Will Crawl" (1987) / "Never Let Me Down" (1987) / "Fame" (1990) / "Jump They Say" (1993) / "Black Tie White Noise" (1993) / "Miracle Goodnight" (1993) / "Buddha of Suburbia" (1994) / "The Heart's Filthy lesson" (1995) / "Strangers When We Meet" (1995) / "Hallo Spaceboy" (1996) / "Little Wonder" (1997) / "Dead Man Walking" (1997) / "Seven Years in Tibet" (1997) / "I'm Afraid of Americans" (1997) / "Thursday's Child" (1999) / "Survive" (1999).
Rating:
Summary: You Little Wonder (So So Far Away from My Music Style)
Review: At first the track list of this DVD:DVD 1: 1. Oh! You Pretty Things [3:35]
2. Queen Bi?tc?h [3:29]
3. Five Years [5:13]
4. Starman [3:48]
5. John, I'm Only Dancing [3:02]
6. The Jean Genie [4:15]
7. Space Oddity [5:20]
8. Drive-In Saturday [4:45]
9. Life on Mars? [4:10]
10. Ziggy Stardust [3:18]
11. Rebel Rebel [4:39]
12. Young American [5:19]
13. Be My Wife [3:13]
14. "Heroes" [3:40]
15. Boys Keep Swinging [3:28]
16. D.J. [4:19]
17. Look Back in Anger [3:12]
18. Ashes to Ashes [3:46]
19. Fashion [3:35]
20. Wild Is the Wind [3:46]
21. Let's Dance [4:18]
22. China Girl [4:15]
23. Modern Love [4:00]
24. Cat People (Putting Out Fire) [4:29]
25. Blue Jean [3:36]
26. Loving the Alien [4:54]
27. Dancing in the Street [3:07] DVD 2:
1. Absolute Beginners [8:07]
2. Underground [4:53]
3. As the World Falls Down [3:52]
4. Day-In Day-Out [6:54]
5. Time Will Crawl [4:19]
6. Never Let Me Down [5:04]
7. Fame '90 [3:57]
8. Jump They Say [4:14]
9. Black Tie White Noise [4:21]
10. Miracle Goodnight [4:23]
11. Buddha of Suburbia [4:38]
12. The Heart's Filthy Lesson [5:10]
13. Strangers When We Meet [4:33]
14. Hallo Spaceboy [4:43]
15. Little Wonder [4:16]
16. Dead Man Walking [4:01]
17. Seven Years in Tibet [4:11]
18. I'm Afraid of Americans [4:37]
19. Thursday's Child [4:57]
20. Survive [3:44] There's very excellent videos like "Little Wonder" where's eyes and all that kind of cool stuff. The videos "I'm Afraid of Americans", "Stangers When We Meet", "Underground", "As the World Falls Down", and "D.J.". There's also very good songs like "Little Wonder", "I'm Afraid of Americans", "Starman", "Space Oddity", and "Life on Mars?". There's some songs like "Wild Is the Wind" where David Bowie is singing like Finnish vocalist V-M Loiri. He has great voice! Like all the artists should have. Unfortunately some of the videos in the beginning are only life performances and someof them are boring both musically and visually. There's also "Changes" missing. That's one of Bowie's best songs. Why isn't it here? Well, if you like Bowie, I think you should have this one! David looks cool and has cool videos where you can find weird things.
Rating:
Summary: An Awesome Compilation For The Bowie Fans!
Review: Before I review the program, I must say that David Bowie is one of the most impressive, and most important people in music. No other artist has gone from 1965 to present day, and maintained such a fresh, modern & experimental sound. NO...not even the Rolling Stones, who are still writing the same stuff they wrote 40 years ago. With Bowie, it's completely different. The man has been everything in music...working with everyone from John Lennon, to Iggy Pop...Mick Jagger...Lou Reed...The Pet Shop Boys...Queen...The Smashing Pumpkins...Moby and the Nine Inch Nails. David Bowie has been strange and obscure....serious and political....funny and popular. The man deserves a tribute...and this double DVD compilation, is one heck of a start! Disc one: Starts out in the early 70's, where we see the young David Bowie performing such early hits as "Oh! You Pretty Thing" "John I'm Only Dancing" and of course the classic "Space Oddity" As the disc plays on, we slowly move through some of Bowie's bizarre phases, such as Ziggy Stardust...then up into the 80's with songs like "Ashes To Ashes" "Fashion" "Let's Dance" "China Girl" "Modern Love" and then Bowie and Jagger are "Dancing in The Street" Disc Two: Picks up where the first one left off...going through the rest of the 80's with songs like "Absolute Beginners" "Day-In Day-Out" and then we hit the 90's with a remix of the Bowie/Lennon hit "FAME"--90 The disc eventually makes its way up to "Little Wonder" "Seven Years In Tibet" and then my personal favorite "I'm Afraid Of Americans" which features Trent Reznor of the Nine Inch Nails, chasing Bowie through the streets of New-York City. There's also the video for "Thursday's Child" on here. Bowie fans will definitely get their money's worth! A great mix, with some of David Bowie's finest work!
Rating:
Summary: So where is It?
Review: Brett Anderson (lead singer for Suede) once asked Bowie during a Q&A why he seldom performs "Let Me Sleep Beside You" live. He might well have asked why the song rarely appears in Bowie retrospectives, audio or video. Licensing issues, perhaps, but its a shame that the video--which shows the thin white one playing his guitar in a blank setting a la "Be My Wife"-- could not be included in this collection. Despite its minimalist appearance, it is essential early Bowie at his romantic peak. Given the thoroughness of this video set, you may just have to take my word for it.
Rating:
Summary: I am biased
Review: David Bowie has been a huge favorite of mine for years. However, this compilation has been a long time awaited-- and doesn't disappoint. It does overlap the Rykodisc 'Greatest Hits' compilation-- but not entirely, and in different format (the rykodisc one only came out on laserdisc).
Further, it includes a TON of easter eggs, including the full 20-some minute video of 'Jazzin' for Bluejean', with the beautiful line of "...please go away". Which finally, I can use as my answering machine message.
Rating:
Summary: A Must for Bowie Fans!
Review: David Bowie has finally remastered his video collection to DVD for mass consumption. It's a nice package too. There are quite a few additions to the Bowie Video Companion VHS a few years back, but basically, this is the same collection in the same order. There really isn't anything I would change here. I am also grateful that there are two disks, with disk one comprising the best of David's career - (disk two being Bowie's 90's material, of which I am not a fan). Most of the mpegs are mastered well, with a slight graininess however. The sound quality is good, but overall the sound is much louder than most DVDs and you'll find yourself having to turn down your speakers when you first insert this DVD - most annoying! Also, it doesn't allow you to bypass the intro animation and go directly to the main menu, which is another DVD pet-peeve of mine. Besides those minor setbacks, this is a good set to have for all fans. The price may be a tad high, but true fans will not likely be dettered (I wasn't at all). A good DVD package overall.
Rating:
Summary: Great, but could have been amazing
Review: David Bowie has long been known as one of the greatest pioneers in the music industry, but he is one of the top innovators in the music video medium as well. What this set chronicles so well is not only his journey as a musician but also his progress in pushing the boundaries of the video format. The track selection here is quite good, with a sampling of each of David's various musical periods. The video quality of the set benefits greatly from the remastering, especially considering the age of some of these videos. My problem with this set is with the audio. Keep in mind that if you do not own a home theater system and are listening to normal stereo sound, you will not be disappointed with the CD-quality audio. However, that PCM stereo track is the only one on the set. That means no DTS surround, not even Dolby Digital. Perhaps I've been spoiled by the excellent Queen Greatest Video Hits DVD's (where every track has been remixed in unbelievable DTS surround), but I found the lack of any sort of surround option for this set to be quite disappointing (especially since this is David Bowie we're talking about). So if you're looking for a DVD to showcase your home theater audio, you should probably look elsewhere. Otherwise, this set is a must-have for fans of both David Bowie and rock music alike.
Rating:
Summary: Watch David Bowie change before your eyes.
Review: David Bowie is one of the pioneers of music video, so watching the first disc of this set is like watching the history of the medium from the early seventies through the eighties. It's also interesting watching Bowie transform so many times through the course of this dvd. This is a major improvement over his last vhs video collection from 1994. Sure he made more videos in the eighties when his music was becoming dull, so naturally both editions include all of those promos. But in the new Best of..DVD they compensate by including some great live television performances from the early seventies on British music shows like Top of the Pops. The live/lip synch clip for Rebel Rebel is great(a new one on this edition) with its cheap blue screen effects and Bowie's loud costume (w/eyepatch). Some of the other highlights from disc one include the classic videos Life on Mars, Boys Keep Swinging, Ashes to Ashes, Let's Dance as well as the hidden easter egg of Jazzin' for Blue Jean, a 20 minute short film he made for the song Blue Jean. However, some of the videos from this era haven't transferred as well as you'd think since the original source is probably deteriorated video tape. But oh well. I'm also a little surprised that Under Pressure wasn't included. Maybe they couldn't get the rights. The second disc is nice because it includes a few promos for his nineties albums that weren't shown much on TV (at least not in the US). Many of these videos continue to prove that Bowie is one of the leaders in the medium even through the nineties. Standouts include Jump They Say, Hallo Spaceboy, Little Wonder, and I'm Afraid of Americans. The clips from the 'Outside' period are trite and annoying though. They look like every other "alternative video" from that time with the sepia tones, scratched cross-processed film, dirty sets, flashes of light between shots(so annoying). In short, this is essential for Bowie fans, and fans of the music video and video art. The easter eggs are fun, but the best stuff is the easily accessible stuff. There are many classic clips along with some embarrasing and goofy moments that ultimately make this worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous collection - but why the easter eggs?
Review: For the record, I hate easter eggs. Why hide stuff? I've already bought the disc. That said... Best of Bowie is a thoroughly decent collection of David Bowie videos, many of which will be unfamiliar to American audiences - especially if you tuned out after the mid-80's. The video quality is consistently good throughout, though some of the production values of the videos produced during the '70s ("Space Oddity" is a good example) seems downright quaint now. The late '70s/early '80s stuff (pretty much everything from "Be My Wife" through "Fashion", and, maybe, "Wild Is The Wind"), though, is a good reminder of how much Bowie brought to the then-fledgling art of music videos. The sound quality, unfortunately, is not as consistent. Most of this is due to the source material - much of the TV clips are in mono, for example, and the performance of "Young Americans" on the Dick Cavett Show is downright distorted in many places. Some of it, however, could have easily been corrected in the mastering - for example, "Fashion" appears to consist of one side of the stereo mix presented as a mono track. The easter eggs are a major annoyance - especially after having spent some [money] on the collection; their inclusion as such is - in my opinion - a remnant of the geek chic that surrounded the DVD format during its first two or three years of existence. Some, like the interview and the Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture DVD promo on disc 1, can be easily accessed via the track listings; others (pretty much everything else - the Credits section on disc 2 lists all of the easter eggs contained within) involve more trickery and/or careful observation (or hit-and-miss searches) of title and chapter numbers. So far, I've managed to access all of them except the live performance of "Survive". I'm a little disappointed that neither "Golden Years" nor the original version of "Fame" are included, especially given the embarrassing performance (flubbed lines all over the place suggest either lack of rehearsal or the influence of certain illicit substances) of "Young Americans" that is included. Still, this collection is a fabulous reminder of why David Bowie remains such a vital presence. Even the less interesting songs (mostly from the late '80s) still have perfectly good videos to accompany them.
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