Rating: 
Summary: This is THE ONE!
Review: Rock & Roll = The Who = This DVD!It MUST be heard in DTS or Dolby 5.1 -- LOUD. Two speakers in front is just not good enough. The "new" recordings are visually and sonically the best rock and roll recording and presentation I have ever heard -- including many live concerts! Thank you Jeff Stein!!
Rating:
Summary: The Kids are Still Alright
Review: Who fans will not be disappointed in the great work done to convert this film to DVD. This is rock as rock was meant to be. The extras on the second disk make it worth the cost of the total package, especially the Q&A with Roger Daltrey. For those who have teenage children who constantly listen to rap and other pretenders, sit them down with this movie and show them what rock really is all about. Especially good after all these years is the closing "Won't Get Fooled Again" sequence, which gets my vote as Greatest Rock Song Ever Recorded. The band is ticked off, and playing as if they were ready to commit mayhem on a grand scale. Outstanding film.
Rating:
Summary: Rock DVD doesn't come any better than this one
Review: Really, I just don't know how this DVD could be any better. It seems like every night, Dave and Jay have some new band on stage. Some angst-projecting vocalist trying to sound like Kurt Cobain, some guitarist who knows 5 chords and 2 ways to strum each one, a bassist who plays one note at a time, and a drummer who knows only one rythem - bump-bah-bump-bah-bump-bah-badump. But no matter how bad they are, they all have one thing in common - they're all pretty enough for MTV. It's enough to make me scream in frustration, because I know how good rock and roll can really be, and THIS DVD is it. Patch your DVD player through your stereo, put masking tape on all your window glass, stuff the dog's ears with cotton, protect all small children with DOT approved devices, then pop this DVD in and hide under the couch, because THIS is rock and roll as it was and is meant to be - master musicians with genuine f--- it all attitude, playing through 10 tons of Marshall Hiwatt amps. In the late 70's there was a famous ad in "Stereo Review" showing a guy sitting in an armchair in front of a speaker, with his necktie being blown straight back behind him. Picture that, and you get an idea of what this movie and this band are all about. The movie itself is half comedy and half action-drama. The comedy comes during interviews and conversations with the band, with Keith initiating most of it and everyone else either joining in or, in the case of the slick corporate "host" types, getting skewered. The action-drama is all on stage, with Pete whirling his way through incredible guitar playing, Roger providing his usual peerless singing, Keith bringing something almost otherworldly to his drums, and John holding it all down, standing there motionless like the rock of gibralter, his fingers on the bass a blur. Unlike so many modern bands, who surround themselves with "star" mystique and who are always safe and cool on stage, The Who were self-deprecating and able to laugh at themselves when they weren't playing, and when they were playing... well, when they were playing, they consistently reached for the stars. Sometimes it didn't work - sometimes they sounded like crap. But when they were in the sweet spot, when they were in "the zone," they were, to use the apt words of another reviewer, "the greatest rock and roll band ever to draw breath." Most of what you get in this DVD special edition is "in the zone," and what little isn't, doesn't really detract from the experience. Everyone who worked on producing this DVD edition should get a medal, as the film looks and sounds as close to perfection as it is ever going to get. By the way, if you are listening through an old-fashioned, two speaker system, choose "stereo" under sound options. The reviewer who panned the sound, probably hadn't tried that option yet - on my system (Carver tuner with 2 Dahlquist DQM-9 Compact loudspeakers) choosing "stereo" cleaned up the sound greatly. Unfortunately, most of the people who buy this DVD, probably already know how great it is. You won't be disappointed, and if you show it to a friend or two, maybe the memory of The Who won't die with us. There's never been another band like them, and this DVD does them justice for the ages.
Rating:
Summary: Ditto!
Review: There's just not much more that I can say that hasn't already been covered in one of the previous reviews. Basically, I have been a music CD and DVD collector since they came into existence and this is simply the best rock DVD I have ever seen. I haven't even made it to the special second disc yet! There is just so much to see and hear in the newly restored film itself. Is this the best Who documentary ever? The answer would have to be, in Pete Townshend's immortal words "Ummmm....yeah." (If you don't get this joke then buy this DVD and watch the film NOW!
Rating: 
Summary: Great film crappy audio
Review: What can I say? The Who rule! Or at least, did once upon a time. This is a smoking DVD with lots of great features etc... I only give it 4 out of 5 stars cause the audio quality blows massively! Absolutely no comparison to the new Led Zeppelin DVD's audio quality- so don't expect it. I'm really surprised they dropped the ball on fine-tuning the audio here, since it would have made the DVD ten times better.
Rating:
Summary: This is Rock 'n' Roll!
Review: I already liked The Who when I first saw The Kids are Alright at a University of Texas theater around 1984, but based on the '70's and '80's radio hits and HBO concert special I was familiar with, I didn't understand why metal kids I knew who swore by Rush drove hundreds of miles to see them in Dallas, or why punks considered them the first punk rock band. Until I saw the movie! The Kids are Alright is the perfect distillation of this incredible band, from the striking visual spectacle of them performing live, to Keith Moon's spontaneous lunacy, to Peter Townshend's caustic wit, to the thunderous noise they made, and the stages they left looking like fresh battlefields. Though this movie is more in the nature of a audio/visual collage rather than a chronological history of The Who, watching this you will understand who Messrs. Townshend, Daltrey, Entwhistle and Moon are (or were), and what all the fuss was about. As bonuses on this dvd set (besides the cleaned up audio and picture), you get an interesting commentary by the director that conveys the labor of love that this movie was for him, and a revealing interview with Roger Daltrey that provides some fascinating insight on The Who's music and the movie. All in all, if you care about a kind of music known as rock 'n' roll, you must own this. The Kids are Alright is brash, angry, rude, violent, dangerous, and VERY, very funny.
Rating:
Summary: The kids are still alright
Review: In their glory days no band delivered a more explosive live show than the Who, and the members of the band have always felt that their studio albums never quite captured that astonishing energy. Well, this re-mastered version of this classic rock movie captures it just fine. The producers of this re-release did a lot of work finding old film and tape and making it all look and sound better than ever before, they deserve our thanks for putting so much effort into this. The results make the Who jump right through your TV-audio system. I've seen much of this footage before on other releases, it has never looked as sharp and rich, or sounded so powerful, they really did a fantastic job. The special edition is worth a few bucks extra as it comes with a second DVD with extra features. Hardcore Who fans have their little gripes, even more rare footage would have been nice etc., but the complaints pale beside the quality of this release, which shows just how good these old rock films can be made if somebody puts enough effort into them. It's an erratic film, it jumps all over, sort of like the band, but it's a time capsule of one of rock's mightiest acts at their best. Well done, highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!
Review: I remember going down to Bleecker Street Cinema in 1980 to see this film on the big screen. The place was rockin' that night; it was the next best thing to a Who concert. If you have a big TV, a decent stereo, and this DVD, the next best thing can be in your living room. Previous DVD and VHS versions of this film were pale imitators of the original. Now, you can see the film as only those who saw it in theaters previously had. The restoration is flawless, the sound rocks, and the complete "A Quick One While He's Away" is finally back. The price is worth it for that one track alone - probably one of the best live tracks ever recorded by the best live act ever. If you love The Who, this is a must have. If you've never appreciated The Who, you will after watching this.
Rating:
Summary: the who-the first punk band
Review: "The Kids are Alright" proves once and for all that The Who are the first punk band in music. Their lack of respect for anything and anyone is shown through out in this movie. From smashing instruments, to throwing pies at police officers, to ignoring the American Dream to simply "conquer America because we're English", according to Pete, the Who demonstrate what set them apart from other acts of their era: the total lack of respect. this film is a must for anyone who wants to see punk in action.
Rating:
Summary: At Long Last
Review: I never had to suffer the VHS 'TKAA' (which by all accounts is "flipping lousy"), as I had a Betamax recording of the theatrical release (no omissions) that was shown on a UHF pay-per-view service (c. 1980); of course, the sound wasn't so hot, as Beta Hi-Fi wasn't to be for another 15 years. I'd always watch it straight through -- never pausing, stopping, cueing, or reviewing, hoping to preserve it till they invented what I'd imagined would be "recordable video CDs" or something.
So, I bought a DVD recorder to save it with, though time [20+ yrs.] had taken its toll on the videocassette anyway (shock, horror) and then only a few months later they release this 'restored' DVD.
I'm glad to have the stereo sound, now.
I'm sure it's a real treat to see for somebody who hasn't seen it at all in all this time (Roger), as well as for those who put up with the VHS-trash (pity.)
So, now, I can crank it, and go back and look at thus & such, and pick & choose, too. Splendid.
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