Rating: 
Summary: LOVELY BAND
Review: I GREW UP ON ABBA, THEY ARE WONDERFUL THIS DVD CAPTURES ALL THE GREATEST HITS IF YOUR A FAN THIS IS A MUST
Rating: 
Summary: On and On and On
Review: Three first videos are with white background but the rest of the videos are "live performances" or basic videos---more or less. I like the videos "S.O.S.", "Money Money Money", "Eagle", and "That's Me". This is a great collection for ABBA fans but not for music video fans who are not ABBA fans.Track list:
1. Waterloo [2:46]
2. Ring Ring [3:05]
3. Mamma Mia [3:31]
4. Sos [3:18]
5. Bang-a-Boomerang [3:02]
6. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do [3:18]
7. Fernando [4:16]
8. Dancing Queen [3:50]
9. Money, Money, Money [3:07]
10. Knowing Me, Knowing You [3:59]
11. That's Me [3:17]
12. The Name of the Game [4:56]
13. Take a Chance on Me [4:06]
14. Eagle [3:50]
15. One Man, One Woman [4:32]
16. Thank You for the Music [3:49]
17. Summer Night City [3:45]
18. Chiquitita [5:26]
19. Does Your Mother Know [3:11]
20. Voulez-Vous [4:14]
21. Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie! (A Man After Midnight) [3:22]
22. On and On and On [4:12]
23. The Winner Takes It All [4:57]
24. Super Trouper [4:12]
25. Happy New Year [4:27]
26. When All Is Said and Done [3:13]
27. One of Us [3:56]
28. Head Over Heels [3:46]
29. The Day Before You Came [5:47]
30. Under Attack [3:45]
Rating:
Summary: Thank You For the Music (and the Videos!)
Review: The '70s pop music supergroup, ABBA means lot of different things to different people. Some people despise it as cloying over produced "Pop", mixed with bad fashion. Others view these four Swedes as a guilty pleasure. They secretly dig the addictive hooks of their songs, that grab the brain and refuses to let go. Finally, there are those fanatics, who openly and loudly proclaim the brillaince of the song writing craft of Benny & Bjorn and the vocal abilities of those two beautiful songbirds, Agnetha & Frida. As a classic rock music fan, who's been collecting music for over thirty years, I surprised myself by finding the ABBA pop sound both compelling and addictive. A big addition to this growing fascination was when I bought the DVD, "ABBA - The Definitive Collection". This DVD includes all 30 of ABBA's groundbreaking videos of 1970's and early '80s. In a pre MTV era, ABBA was one of the few bands to pioneer the concept of using music videos to promote albums. This was due to the band's reluctance to do extensive touring and be away from family for long periods of time. But there is more to this comprehensive DVD collection, than a historical visual document of the band and their sound. The visuals of these videos (directed by famed Swedish Director, Lasse Hallstrom) perfectly match the almost dreamy, ethereal quality of the music. It dosn't matter if the song's are about happy or sad topics. The music and the accompanying visuals seem to seep into your brain and take you to another place. If you've had a hard or bad day then this collection seems to be the perfect antidote. My personal favorite of the bunch is the song "Happy New Year". The visuals show Agnetha mournfully singing during the sad aftermath of a New Year's party. This is mixed with lively fantasy sequences of the band standing among a crowded, festive circus ring, maby suggesting happier times to come. Another great video "Thank You For the Music" is performed in a live setting in an almost cabaret style and is just wonderful! Other great tracks include "Mama Mia", "Super Trouper" (about finding one's love while in the arena spotlight) and the mournful divorce tale, "The Winner Takes it All". All are great songs with wonderful visuals. The one video that's a disapointment is one of ABBA's biggest hits, "Dancing Queen". While the song is one of my favorites, the accompanying images of the band singing at a crowded disco just sort of comes off flat. For those interested, check out the dramatic film, "Summer of Sam", where Director, Spike Lee uses the very same song and nearly the same visual concept, brillaintly. All these videos have been remastered for picture and sound and are of excellent quality! Also included are Bonus videos of alternate Spanish Language versions of their songs and footage of the band performing at the Royal Swedish Opera house in 1976 (in some pretty unusual costumes, even for ABBA). If you are a fan of ABBA or of just good music in general then I highly recommend "ABBA - The Definitive Collection"!
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS THE ONE TO BUY
Review: IF YOU ONLY EVER BUY ONE ABBA DVD, THIS IS THE ONE, SO FAR AT LEAST, TO BUY. EXCELLENT VIDEO AND SOUND QUALITY, AND A SELECTION OF 30 SONGS AND 5 BONUS SONGS, AND NUMEROUS PICTURES OF THE GROUP, AS WELL. IT IS WELL DONE AND PLAYS EXCELLENTLY. THERE ARE NO OBVIOUS ERRORS, AND BELIEVE ME, I PLAY IT PLENTY, BECAUSE I AM WORKING TO START ANOTHER ABBA TRIBUTE BAND. THIS IS THE ONE THEY SHOULD ADD A SECOND DVD TO IN RE-RELEASE FOR ANOTHER 35 GREAT ABBA SONGS.
Rating:
Summary: abba ; definitive collection
Review: I got this dvd for a xmas gift this year and i have to say it is by far the best music collection that has been done for the band since they started with abba gold back in 1992. dont get me wrong all the video and dvd'd that has been done have been great and i own all of them but this one is very well done. and yes i have to argree some of the picture qualitly is not the best but you have to realised some of the videos are 30 years old or more and there isn't really much that can be done with them. sound qualitly is excellent i listen to the dvd on xmas day at my parents house and sounded great, but when i brought it home and play it it didn't sound as great the reason for that was that my tv is to old and i dont have the proper speakers yet. which i am going to fix really soon. anyway for all the die hard abba fans like myself it is a must have and also when abba the movie comes out later this year i hope my abba collection will be up to date.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: I love this DVD. I had the VHS of ABBA Gold and More Gold. They were good but the DVD is a must for any ABBA fan or even a semi ABBA fan. First the videos are very well done for the time. Most videos back them where stage videos. Very boring. ABBA does have some of them like "Voulez-Vous" and "Does Your Mother Know". The best feature is random. You don't know which song is comming up next and is a great cleaning tool if you seen the videos tons and tons of times like me. Besides the Voulez-Vous 1979 area videos, the videos are very good. Knowing Me, Knowing You and Money Money Money are my favs. along with almost every other video. Enjoy
Rating:
Summary: All of ABBA's Videos, For Better and For Worse
Review: Since Universal Music had recently released the double-CD THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, the first ABBA collection that contained all of their hits and nothing but, it was perhaps inevitable that a collection of their music videos was in the works, for there had been no video collection on the market collecting all of their essential videos. That collection arrived eight-and-a-half months after the double-disc collection, sharing the same title and the same cover picture. The DVD generously contains thirty essential music videos (or "promotional clips," as they were called back then) that ABBA made over their career; these videos naturally represent all the big hits, plus a few lesser-known album tracks released as singles in individual countries. The clips are all logically sequenced in chronological order, therefore giving a clear overview of not just ABBA's evolving as a group, but also the increasing sophistication of the videos.
So, these facts hint at a great music video collection, but with ABBA's THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION, that's actually not quite the case. The thing to understand with these videos is that most of them were filmed before the birth of MTV, and like most promotional clips made by artists during that time, they were generally operated under low budgets (which is kind of a surprise, given that these videos helped made ABBA popular all over the world). This means the key to making these videos appealing primarily rested on the work of the cameras and the editing crew, and they usually did this by filming the band at various angles or focusing on particular members for each individual clip. That is the key visual in this set of videos- there are almost no special effects, and the clips were always filmed in conjunction with the songs themselves, so if you're expecting videos as clever as Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" or as epic-like as Michael Jackson's "Thriller," you've come to the wrong place.
This camera and editing work, of course, isn't bad by itself, but the problem is that the approach of Lasse Hallstrom (who directed most of these videos) is essentially rewritten over and over again, and about halfway through the set of videos, this predictability becomes a little too monotonous to provide compelling ear-candy. Whenever a video is presented that was not directed by Hallstrom- such as the picture slide-show of "On and on and On," the BBC broadcasting of "Chiquitita," or the two videos at the end- the change of pace is a relief, regardless of the quality of the video. There are exceptions to this rule, of course- the clever ironic pastiche of shots of the members and different currencies in "Money, Money, Money"; the silly "Take a Chance on Me"; the bouncy "Bang-a-Boomerang"; the hauntingly beautiful "The Winner Takes it All," highlighted by a somber performance by Agnetha Faltskog- but the ongoing reputation clearly states that this DVD is for the people who have come to love the music of ABBA.
That said, it should be mentioned that this collection is still positive proof that ABBA deserved the success they earned in the 1970s, and by watching these videos, it's not hard to see why- the videos helped give their corresponding songs- most of which are quite terrific, of course- a visual flair that enhances the songs and makes them sound even fuller. (On that same note, it must be mentioned that these films were arguably the best example of the music video's potential before MTV.) You'll still have to adapt to the music before going to the videos- together, they're almost two hours long, not counting the bonus films- but once you do, THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION DVD is essential viewing.
FEATURES- 2 OUT OF 5: The opening scene leading to the main menu is quite enticing and clever- a snippet of "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A Man After Midnight" played over a well-arranged menu. Unfortunately, THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION DVD doesn't pack a lot more revelations along those lines. The DVD is only available with a fullscreen "pan-and-scan" picture, and even though the music has never sounded better, the picture is still noticeably grainy (though those distractions don't hinder too much from the overall viewing experience). Bonus features include five bonus films that were broadcast to smaller markets- "When I Kissed the Teacher"; Spanish versions of "I Have a Dream," "Happy New Year," "When All Is Said and Done"; and a live performance of "Dancing Queen" at the Royal Swedish Opera- which are all uneven in quality; a 20-minute photo gallery that is played as a slide-show with random ABBA music; and a booklet by Carl Magnus Palm briefly describing the story of ABBA through their videos. Perhaps it would have been nice to have had more reflections on the videos as well as any behind-the-scenes features on making the videos, but considering the limited time and budgets these videos usually worked with, that kind of information would probably be just for the historical record. It would have been nice, though, if the DVD would have returned to the main menu after playing all the videos- instead, it immediately jumps right back to the first video and starts playing them all over again. But flaws aside, this DVD will still please many buyers.
Rating:
Summary: abba glorious!!!!!!
Review: Buy this dvd! It is superb sound and excellent content! you won't go wrong with the price, it is worth every penny! ABBA at their BEST!
Rating:
Summary: Jam packed collection !
Review: With thirty-five videos to view on one disc, this truly is the ultimate ABBA collection. Although music videos were progressive in the seventies, these still look very dated. Most are just poor lip-synching with bad sets, but that's okay. ABBA was about the music more than anything and the quality of the sound is fantastic. The video that truly stands out is, "The Day Before You Came". The song has always been under-rated and it seems like a lot of thought was put into this filming. It's too bad this is not available on DTS Surround Sound, but maybe in the future it will be available on that and SACD! To top it all off, the profiling against face-on head shots is hilarious. You know they had fun with those. In the end, however, it is all about what four Swedes accomplished in a very short period of time. ABBA made a huge mark on the world of music and this is a great way to celebrate it.
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