Rating: Summary: Greatest Review: This is the most complete collection of Duran Duran's videos that I know of ranging from Planet Earth in 1981 to Electric Barbarella in 1997. It also includes the banned ones Girls on Film and The Chauffeur. The edited Girls on Film and the one with the alternative-ending can be found in the hidden extras. First of all, you can find out how to view the hidden extras by going to duranduran.com under Fan Forums in the Ask Katy section.
Also, to access the sub menus with the videos you have to click on every other letter of Greatest which is the starting menu.
There are two discs, the first disc including the videos done by the original five (LeBon, Rhodes and the three Taylors) and the second disc includes the videos that were made during the weird period where the band was continuously losing and adding members.
All the songs from the Greatest album are included, along with The Chauffeur and Burning the Ground, the latter being a montage of various songs and videos of theirs prior to '89.
First Disc----
Planet Earth: This is a cool video with water and fire and very tacky clothing.
Girls on Film: Supposedly about exploitation of models (from what Simon says in the hidden audio interview) and that's what the lyrics suggest (they sound very sarcastic) but Simon does admit that the uncensored video definitely "overshadowed" this message. Sexist, tasteless, indecent---you name it.
The Chauffeur: Kind of artsy but didn't need the nudity and I read somewhere that it's based on a movie. Don't know for sure. The band members are not shown in the video.
Hungry Like the Wolf: DD finally gives porn a rest and goes instead for suggested nakedness. A video in the vein of Indiana Jones where Simon is hunting down a scantily-clad woman in tiger paint while the other band members are hunting him down. Takes place in Sri Lanka with shots of snakes and such and images that conjure up the idea of literal hunger.
Rio: Rio teases the boys and has them running all over the place, trying to catch her. John throws Andy off the boat while the others snap their fingers and sing "Oh Rio, Rio".
Save a Prayer: The boys roam the beaches of Sri Lanka in expensive suits (and I don't mean the kind you swim in, although they had no problem throwing each other in the water in Rio and getting their fashion model clothes all wet). Lots of kids, shots of sand and the water, a temple that they all stand before in the end.
Is There Something I Should Know?: Takes place mostly in some kind of shadowy room with the band singing to a light shining through the ceiling. Great video. Clips from their other videos at the end. Simon dancing with someone in Save a Prayer, Nick peeking through a door in Nightboat, John having make-up applied in Girls on Film, Roger in the beginning of Planet Earth where he's trapped in some kind of embryo-state (hard to describe) and that shot of Simon (?) with the water pouring through his hands and onto his face in Planet Earth.
Union of the Snake: Takes place in the desert. Simon is led into an underground place where he meets up with all kinds of shady characters and spends the rest of the video trying to escape with this kid whom you never find out what happens to. And in the end, the rest of the band drives off with out him while he collapses on the sand with flames in the background. But a man on a donkey or something (a horse, I think) comes by and gives him a ride after he wakes up in the daytime.
New Moon on Monday: Mostly has band members plotting something, running around a city in France with lighted torches and waving flags, while those in authority ride around on horses.
The Reflex: Live concert. Water flows from screen (don't think that's real. Maybe illusion?) and shots of people on chain leashes (?).
Wild Boys: Band battling it out with the "wild boys" who try to drag them down. Simon is tied to a windmill that churns water. John is chained to a car. The others fly through the air. I don't know what is going on with Nick. But they escape in an old-fashioned, roofless car in the end, victorious as snow falls down. Reminds me of Lord of the Flies, especially when you consider how many of the band members have LOTF names.
A View to a Kill: Clips from Bond but the band also takes part in a sort of spy plot.
The second disc includes Notorious (mostly them dancing), Skin Trade (Kinda stylish. Simon is wearing a Freddy Krueger like shirt and gloves), I Don't Want Your Love, All She Wants Is, Serious, Burning the Ground, Ordinary World, Come Undone (which takes place in an aquarium room with a woman singing underwater, trying to free herself from these chains wrapped around her) and Electric Barbarella (affair with a robot. Sexist but so ridiculous. Seems tongue-in-cheek).
Overall, good collection. Gets one less star because of the porn and because of the annoying extras. But the extras are pretty good when you find them. Includes chopped up video of Violence of the Summer.
Rating: Summary: It's the History that Really Matters - D2 invents VIDEO! Review: This DVD is a compilation of the "GREATEST" hits of Duran Duran, and should not be seen as extensive or exhaustive. And yes, Duran Duran is not as popular as they were but we have to give them the props they deserve. These guys INVENTED using music videos to sell their music. They were MTV pioneers. They admitted even back in their glory days they were aspiring to a Roxy Music-like sound, and any arguments that they were ripping them off are moot. This format is the BEST way to appreciate what made them special and unique. The videos were their GREATEST! Quality issues? These short films were largely made in the 80s, and remastering would be expensive and near impossible. Yes, the menus are a little clunky and I wish they had commentaries for the videos. Some of the alternative versions are hard to find, but overall I have to say this is a GREAT collection just for the historical value. This is why these guys were so influential! They made videos an artform. They did it with their own style!
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