Rating: 
Summary: It's About Time I Reviewed This!
Review: Since I will have the pleasure of seeing Dream Theater in concert this coming Thursday, July 10th (along with Queensryche and Fates Warning), I think it's about time I reviewed their marvelous DVD called METROPOLIS 2000: SCENES FROM NEW YORK. I've had this DVD since April of last year, but I never got a chance to give it a justifiable review. It seemed I was too speechless to do so. Not anymore. Since I'm hyped about this performance, I can finally speak my peace, if you will.As you already guessed, this is the DVD counterpart for the live album LIVE SCENES FROM NEW YORK, which featured the entire full-length concert on three CDs. On the DVD however, it contains the band's final full performance of their classic concept album SCENES FROM A MEMORY from beginning to end. Although ironically, the sound quality of the CDs are superior to that of the DVD, nevertheless the picture quality is awesome and DT puts on a fiery, blistering performance that never lets up as soon as "Overture 1928" gets rolling. Listening to this August 30, 2000 concert on CD is a great experience. Watching it is an entirely overwhelming experience altogether. Witnessing John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, and Jordan Rudess go off on their instruments is jaw-dropping to watch. If you really didn't believe these guys could play like that, then you REALLY won't believe the stuff they do here. Lead singer James LaBrie is very strong vocally throughout, and John Myung, despite standing perfectly still the whole time, holds things together with his fast and fluid six-string bass. To bring the SCENES story to life, the band uses actual movie footage (shot in Sweden) on the screens behind them as "reenactments" for the events described in the lyrics. I didn't mind the movie footage, but the psychedelic images that pop up here and there are pretty distracting. Sometimes they look cool (like during "The Dance of Eternity") and other times they frustrate (during "Fatal Tragedy"). At least they use them occasionally and they don't detract for the overall power of the concert. There's even a live narrator for "Regression" which was a neat touch. There are a ton of great moments on here, but these have to be the best: the killer opening combo of "Overture 1928" and "Strange Deja Vu"; the band literally going nuts during the instrumental jam section of "Beyond This Life"; the dark, haunting rendition of "Home"; the breakneck performance of "Dance of Eternity"; and "The Spirit Carries On" which reaches an emotional, spiritual peak by bringing out Teresa Thompson and the full gospel choir to sing along with James. The special features are also excellent. There's an insightful yet hilarious audio commentary with the entire band, discussing how the story, album, and music came into place; a short behind-the-scenes documentary; and bonus live footage from the concert's second set, comprised of the "Mind Beside Itself" trilogy, "Learning to Live," and the 23-minute juggernaut "A Change of Seasons." This is a really great DVD. Dream Theater prove that they can pull off their complex, intricate music on stage and still know how to have fun. If the July 10th concert is anywhere near as good as this, I will be very impressed.
Rating: 
Summary: Irritating production detracts from excellent music
Review: I've been a fan of Dream Theater since Pull me under was a hit back in the day. Actually, I wasn't even aware that they were still around until I heard "Big Medley" on a "guess-who-this-band-is" contest in May of '03. My guess was DT, but the lack of a phone number prevented me from winning the contest. Since then I've attained most of their live releases. It's very refreshing hearing intelligent lyrics backed up by outstanding musicianship. That is EXTREMELY rare in today's musical universe. This DVD was the first time I've actually seen DT in-the-flesh. The musicianship is outstanding, and the overall performance is amazing. The only thing that prevented a 5 star review was the annoying visual effects. The split screen/ upside-down screen/ reverse video/ lyric enactments / DT logo overlays are more appropriate in a late '60's music video. If I wanted to see that I'd tune VH1-CR on my cable box. I would highly recommend this DVD to DT fans. I would recommend this to non DT fans as well, but I'd ask that they not let the cheesy effects cloud their appreciation of the music.
Rating:
Summary: ONE LAST TIME!!
Review: I want to start off saying that Dream Theater is one of the most original and superb progressive rock/metal bands in existencce. Now I want to make clear that I read all of those reviews below stating that the sound quality wasn't the best. Fans even gave the DVD one, two, or three stars due to the sound. When I popped the DVD in I was too enthralled to focus myself on bad sound or the such. I thought the sound was fine. Seriously, no matter how good dvds aare now, you will NOT have the same quality as actually being at the show. I know, i've been to concerts and seen concerts on dvd theres a HUGE difference. And if you were a TRUE FAN you wouldn't knock dt becasue the sound didn't please you. everyone cant be pleased i'm sorry to say. Anyways, any band that can take a song over 74 minutes and stratch it into 90 minutes and still totally ROCK THE HOUSE is an awesome band! They not only jam their way through that masterpiece but they play "Metropolis part 1: Learning How to live", "A Change of Seasons", and "A Mind Beside Itself Parts 1 2 and 3" Plus pics and Interviews and stuff. If your a true fan of Dream Theater, it is your DUTY to own this DVD, no matter what the uncultured, ignorant, other people say.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I would like to say first of all that I'm not going to fault this DVD for the lack of surround sound and letter box. This DVD was produced by musicians, not professionals, and it was intended for musicians, not home-theater aficionados. However, despite the lack of surround sound, the STEREO sound that exists here is very well-mixed with a great balance of each instrument. It is a little on the quiet side, it seems, however. Now that the technicalities are out of the way, this DVD is fantastic. Its only drawback are the brief bits of "concept footage" that are spread throughout the performance of the Metropolis album (it gets especially annoying during "Finally Free"). Mike Portnoy is an excellent drummer, but a terrible filmmaker and it shows sometimes. This DVD contains the entire Metropolis 2 album played straight through INCLUDING a guitar/vocal duet track before "Through her eyes" and an additional Closing Scene at the end of "Finally Free". Especially fantastic is the presence of Theresa Thomason, and the hypnotherapist to make this performance a true reenactment of the studio album. The band itself is absolutely brilliant throughout. Everything from the pounding chords of Strange Deja Vu, to the frenzy of Dance of Eternity, to the breathtaking drum fills at the end of Finally Free that have to be seen to believed is executed perfectly. Well, almost perfectly (Petrucci plays a rather noticeable wrong note in "Home" and it is my opinion that the "Fatal Tragedy" solo is a little bit sloppy. Jordan Rudess also makes a mistake too, at the end of Finally Free). However, the band MORE than makes up for the few tiny blunders by absolutely nailing the entirety of most songs (including Dance of Eternity) and many of the live "extensions" they add to songs (such as Spirit Carries On and Finally Free) are absolutely amazing and truly have to be seen to be appreciated. This DVD undoubtedly displays the finest hour of Dream Theater's legendary career. If you like Dream Theater, this is it, folks. In addition to Metropolis 2, this DVD contains undisturbed (no video effects) footage of the entirety of "A Mind Beside Itself", "Learning to Live", and "A Change of Seasons". Also, there are a few live shots of Metropolis I and The Mirror in the "behind the scenes" portion of the DVD. There is a "World Tour Photo Gallery", but its not something to write home about. Annoying video effects and concept footage aside, this DVD is simply amazing. I was worried at first from reading other reviews that the aforementioned video FX would disrupt the experience, but they are only a slight inconvenience. And besides, Dream Theater can easily shine through any inconvenience, large or small.
Rating:
Summary: Good...
Review: This DVD is a good live DVD, but I find the editing to be choppy at times. I wish it flowed better and that it would actually contain the entire evening like on the live album. DT always rocks live. This just doesn't do them justice at 100%. I'd say it does them justice only at about 85%. If the guys of DT ever read this, I hope you can pitch in an idea for a full length movie on the story line and throw in Metropolis Pt. 1 in to the mix. Infact, I find that if you go from Regression to Pt. 1 and then kick in to the overture, it works like magic.
Rating:
Summary: By far, the absolute best!!
Review: Dream Theater has set the standards for which all musicians should follow! This DVD is outstanding! Even if you are not a musician, but just a fan of true talent, purchase this product. John Petrucci?? What can I say. I'm convinced he's not human! Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: It's okay. Nothing great. Read why.
Review: I'm a huge DT fan, and I thought Scenes from a Memory was a monumental achievement in the band's history. However, this DVD doesn't do the album the justice it deserves, but not because the performance is bad. The live show is fantastic: tight, full of energy, and fun to watch. But the actual production of the DVD detracts so much from the performance, that it gets annoying after the first 5 minutes. Obnoxious phrases from the lyrics flash up on the screen every few seconds, and the special effects such as blurring, multiple camera angles, and cutting away to "reenacted scenes" are way overdone. I bought this DVD for one reason, and that is to watch the band play their instruments, without having the camera pan away to some other nonsense every 15 seconds. I didn't expect all this other garbage that they threw in there for who knows what reason. Now, the Change of Seasons extra bonus was done well- it actually shows the band for more than a few seconds at a time. They could have done much better.
Rating:
Summary: Missing two things
Review: Great DVD just missing two things from the live album. Another Day and Metopolis pt 1 are greatly missed
Rating:
Summary: Great show; Terrible DVD
Review: Like others have said, I give this 3 stars based solely on the quality of the DVD. The music is incredible; the visuals look like they were put together by a middle school television production class. ... give me a widescreen edition, with real stereo sound, and I'll give you five stars. I'd rather just throw the triple-live CD version of this album in the player and crank it up, because this is hard to watch with all the visual [stuff] they throw in there.
Rating:
Summary: Could anything by Dream Theater not be incredible?
Review: And Dream Theater continues to amaze me, this time by producing an almost exact replication of their "Metropolis Part II: Scenes From a Memory" album in an epic New York concert. As usual, the band doesn't miss a single beat and adds new dimensions of energy and excitement to the original music with their emphatic, brilliant musicianship on stage. Included with the original album (and awesome onstage videowork that flawlessly complements the live performance) is a great background commentary by the entire band (though one gets the feeling that John Myung is a bit shy on tape) and performances of other songs from the concert not from "Scenes From a Memory."
If you're a Dream Theater fan, then buy this DVD. If you haven't really heard much by the group, but you are a fan of advanced progressive/metal rock (especially by a group of such talented performers: John Petrucci is by now a guitar legend, John Myung less famous, but a brilliant, brilliant bass and lead bass player, and Jordan Rudess is one of the most impressive keyboard performers in the world), then buy this DVD. The performance only adds to the magic of the already genius music.
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