Rating: 
Summary: A Great Documentary
Review: Brilliant. This documentary is an exceptional portrait of the life of a genius. If you want to know more about his life, this DVD is a great start. If you want to dig deeper, read his excellent auto-biography, (Miles, Simon & Schuster, available on Amazon). Ignore some of the useless bad ratings given by some individuals about this DVD: if people want to listen to Miles music, they'd better buy his albums. This documentary is about Miles' life, featuring interesting interviews with his family members, fellow musicians (from Dizzy Gillespie to John Mc Laughlin), ex-girlfriends etc. A great document. A must have. Ciao!
Rating: 
Summary: Spotty and spread too thin, but a decent introduction
Review: Glad I decided to Netflix this instead of making it an impulse buy, because if you know at very least the basics of his work and career, you're bound to be frustrated by this by-the-numbers skip through Davis' life.
Since it just focuses on one figure, "The Miles Davis Story" is able to focus in on Miles with a more intense magnification than "Ken Burns' Jazz" was, but it sorely lacks that entity's engaging, fascinating approach. Talking heads and short clips is the M.O. here.
It moves quickly, skipping through the high points so fast you might find it hard to believe they've said all they're going to say about "Kind of Blue," "Sketches of Spain," "Bitches Brew," etc. And since this is a Sony project, they give particularly short shrift to his pre-Columbia years.
Granted, it would take hours to cover all the various aspects of Miles Davis' art sufficiently and this program is merely intended to give an overview. But watching it, I wasn't sure if a newcomer would be pulled into the documentary or if, overwhelmed by the pace and the subject, they might get a little bored.
I'll watch and, on some level, enjoy *anything* that features the music, performances and photographs of one of my favorite jazz icons, but Sony should apply the same marketing strategy they're currently employing with the Miles Davis box sets and start issuing as much live performance footage as they can on video, particularly in light of the enthusiasm of myself and the other reviewers.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy this
Review: I am so glad that I rented this disc from my local video store before I bought it. All Sony has done is buy the rights to some British television documentary and dump it straight to DVD. If you enjoy listening to other people talk about Miles and his music, this disc is for you. If you enjoy watching Miles play his music, this disc is not for you.I would pay $100 for a DVD that contained a complete, uninterrupted performance from any one of three of Miles bands shown on this disc: 1) The 1959 television special featuring the Kind of Blue band and Gil Evans 2) 1967 footage of the second great quintet featuring Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams 3) 1969 footage of the "lost" quintet featuring Jack DeJohnnette, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, and Wayne Shorter. You see glimpses of each these performances on this disc, but they are cut short by the endless stream of talking heads giving their "insights" into Miles's music: "Miles sure was moody", "Miles sure was a fine dresser", "Miles sure was violent in his personal life, but he sure did play some beautiful ballads on stage", etc. etc. In the words of Miles himself, so what. The only persons whose comments about Miles's music I would like to hear are either dead (John Coltrane, Tony Williams) or unwilling to participate in idiotic exercises like this t.v. special (Wayne Shorter). Please, Sony, release a DVD containing nothing but uninterrupted footage of Miles playing his music live. This disc is a frustrating waste of time for someone who cares about the music, not the myth that has grown up around the man.
Rating: 
Summary: Uncomplete
Review: I do understand what a documentary really is, but why these guys give us just a couple of SECONDS of the vintage video tape material. The classic quintet; the first shows with Chick Corea and Keith Jarret; the Charlie Parker period...everything is there but absolutely and dramatically abridged (not even one single track is shown complete). I don't like this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Uncomplete
Review: I do understand what a documentary really is, but why these guys give us just a couple of SECONDS of the vintage video tape material. The classic quintet; the first shows with Chick Corea and Keith Jarret; the Charlie Parker period...everything is there but absolutely and dramatically abridged (not even one single track is shown complete). I don't like this DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Are they stupid, or what?
Review: I'm wondering if all the people who gave this DVD a low rating because it contains "too much talking and not enough music" understand the meaning of the word "documentary?" This is not a concert performance, it is a documentary. As such, it did exactly what it should have. It tells the story of Miles Davis from his early youth to his untimely death. I bought it exactly for that reason and was not disappointed. Perhaps the critical reviewers would have saved themselves a great deal of frustration if they had simply read the description of the DVD on the back cover. Talk about dumb!!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent !!!!
Review: If you want to learn about the man, his music and his life as a human being and artist buy this ! Buy the way, it is a 2 hour documentary not a 2 hour concert ! It is very informative and almost complete. It's a great starter for everyone interested in the life of this awesome artist. Take a chance ! Note to Jazz Purists who says they already know ALL the facts about Miles Davis, just skip this one, anyway you think you already know everything...
Rating:
Summary: Could not agree more....
Review: It is a DOCUMENTARY, not a CONCERT. And a pretty good one at that. If you're interested in learning more about the Man behind the "incredible music" this is a great place to start. Right now, I'm more of a late 60's- early 70's Miles fan, I trust that I will appreciate all facets of his art. An American Icon.
Rating:
Summary: Could not agree more....
Review: It is a DOCUMENTARY, not a CONCERT. And a pretty good one at that. If you're interested in learning more about the Man behind the "incredible music" this is a great place to start. Right now, I'm more of a late 60's- early 70's Miles fan, I trust that I will appreciate all facets of his art. An American Icon.
Rating:
Summary: Could not agree more....
Review: It is a DOCUMENTARY, not a CONCERT. And a pretty good one at that. If you're interested in learning more about the Man behind the "incredible music" this is a great place to start. Right now, I'm more of a late 60's- early 70's Miles fan, I trust that I will appreciate all facets of his art. An American Icon.
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