Rating: Summary: Sarah Rocks Review: You may have heard "Angel" or "Building a Mystery" on the radio but to see them live in this well made DVD is the best. The sound is top rate and the camera work is good. But Sarah's stage show can not be beat.
Rating: Summary: To date, probably the best music DVD out there ... Review: I fail to see how I can possibly give a rating of less than 5 stars for this totally superb DVD. At first glance, one would probably be tempted to give a lower rating - hey, for all intents and purposes it's just a concert video right? And no spectacular fireworks display, biting heads off of chickens or anything at that! So why the high praise?Firstly, it's the fact that Sarah Mc Lachlan was able to create an emotionally stirring atmosphere amidst a "simple" concert stage backdrop. Her songs come out crisp and clear (5.1 helps a lot of course!), and the choice / changing of camera angles and views was perfect - no glare or anything (compare this with, say, Belinda Carlisle's Runaway Live DVD and you'll know what I mean). Simple, yes, but it was "near-perfect" simplicity nevertheless. Also, I personally liked the live versions of certain cuts better than the standard ones. "Hold On" and "Fear" in particular, more, well, "upbeat". I especially liked the portion where she emerges from near total darkness during the transitiion to the first refrain in "Fear" - awesome! And to cap this all off, you have a featured interview plus multiple angle viewing options for select songs. And at a very low and affordable price (at least when I got my copy!), what more can one ask for? Along with "Eagles: Hell Freezes Over", I rank this as one of my favorite DVD's, worth revisiting over and over again.
Rating: Summary: Need more stars ... Review: Wow ... I mean, like WOW! I am unable to rip my eyes away from Sarah. She is positively incandescent in this video. Her songs have been polished to a jewel-like finish, and every nuance of phrasing is right on. I can't understand the quibbling with the editing. The camera lingers lovingly, as opposed to that infuriating MTV-style of cutting every nano-second, which I suspect is just a distraction from absence of talent. But I digress. The band is wonderful, and with 24 songs, you get fantastic bang for the buck. My favorites are Adia, Vox, and the whimsical Ice Cream. Do yourself a BIG favor and get Mirrorball. Thanks Sarah. I think I'm in love.
Rating: Summary: Actually, 4 1/2 Stars! Review: This is the second DVD Video I bought for my Toshiba DVD Player and I am very happy to say that Sarah McLachlan continues to shine in making quality DVD Videos. This one has tons of special features (more special features than in the 'Sarah McLachlan Video Compilation 1989-1998') that are a joy to work with, like an interview of Sarah, discography, photo gallery, multi-angles (on 3 songs), and lyrics. The digital photos on these screens are top, top, notch quality. However, I gave the DVD video 4 1/2 stars instead of 5 stars because the quality of the sound and visuals in the concert itself is not exactly what I had expected (like in the 'Sarah McLachlan Video Compilation 1989-1998'; those on this DVD video are SUPERB like I said in my review for this DVD video), and that's what you buy the video for, mainly, mostly, for the concert, and not for the special features, even though they're many and great. I guess it's because the concert was filmed live and on stage in a theater, and that's why the quality is not as good as MUSIC VIDEOS from the artist. But, it's still a great concert, but I also gave it 4 1/2 stars instead of 5 because I don't like concerts, ANY concerts, as much as music videos from an artist.
Rating: Summary: Ignore the naysayers! Review: I absolutely love it. Like many concert videos, it waspieced together from two back-to-back shows; that's how they makethem--they film two performances and take the best shots and make one video from it. That doesn't mean that the performances are fake. And as for the editing, maybe a few fades would have been nice, but overall I find it very enjoyable (love the close-ups of Sarah!) Of my current collection, this is the DVD I watch most often, and I haven't even been a fan of hers for very long. As for the picture quality, it is fantastic. I can't rate the 5.1 channel mix because I do not yet have a Dolby Digital receiver, but I am very happy with the quality of the stereo mix, and I think that's all you need for a music program anyway. END
Rating: Summary: Horribly edited, and painful to watch Review: I loved Sarah's Mirrorball album, and really looked forward to the DVD. Unfortunately, the DVD is beyond horrible, mostly because of the editing. Every few seconds they change the camera angle, with never a fade-in or fade-out. After the first few songs it literally became hard to watch. Many of the songs seem lip-synched, though it could just be a poor match-up of the video and audio portions. Even the interview with Sarah was tough to watch, with the camera person zooming in and out and bouncing around. Buy this DVD at your peril, but if you do, do yourself a favor and pick up some Dramamine while you're at it, you'll need it.
Rating: Summary: Me parece un "VIDEO MUSICAL" de larga duración muy bien hech Review: La verdad es una de mis cantantes favoritas, pero hay que decir que el "concierto", no parece ser una interpretación en vivo. Es un doblaje de voz y audio grabados en un estudio. Parece que están interpretando en vivo, pero no es así. La calidad es muy buena, pero desgraciadamente no representa ni por mucho lo que es un "verdadero concierto" de Sarah y su banda en vivo. No hay contacto visual, ni se siente la energía de la gente durante la interpretación del mismo. Creo que para apreciar su música está muy bien, puesto que deja escucharla. Los paneos son muy suaves, pero no se ve la potencia de interpretación, puesto que ni gota de sudor aparece en las caras de los músicos ni de la misma Sarah. Es por todo esto que le doy 4 estrellas. Debieron haber sacado un "Verdadero concierto" como el de VH-1. Sin embargo, lo recomiendo ampliamente.
Rating: Summary: mixed bag Review: I enjoyed the lighting, editing and the general visual presentation. Enjoyed the performance by the band, although it would have been interesting to hear them shake things up a bit more instead of trying for such a rote repeat of the studio tone. Some songs ventured out a bit, but generally stuck close to the original. What was really disappointing was the sound. I ended up listening in stereo, since the 5.1 mix was so poor. Sounded like they put one mic in the middle of the hall,then stuck even more reverb in the surround channels. Truly bad.
Rating: Summary: Music Videos *not* concert footage. Review: I love Sarah's music, but I am disappointed with this video. I went to a concert on her Surfacing tour, so it is painful to watch these canned music videos. It is a very poor representation of her Surfacing tour. I would have much rather have had a few static shots from the angle of the audience instead of the constant switching between closeups. The viewer gets no feeling of how great it was to be at a Sarah concert. I am glad I copied VH-1 Storytellers, it is more realistic and I will watch it many more times, unlike these music videos. +5 for the music -2 for the video.
Rating: Summary: a decent debut Review: This video is pretty decent. Without question McLachlan's voice is stunning and the band comes together extremely well. The 9 bonus tracks showcase the singer's range marvelously. There are many marvelous shots of Sarah and her band. My only complaint was in the photography/direction. Nowhere in this video is there a fade-in, or overlapping of two shots. That kind of transition helps viewers to stay with the song. Every thing is cold take. Take closeup of Sarah, take drums, take guitar. Also, there aren't many shots where the camera moves with the performers (zooming in/out, panning left/right). This kind of direction disturbs the continuity of the performance. You're getting into the song, but then there's all these clicks to different shots. It's somewhat like trying to watch television while someone else keeps flipping the channels. Also, lighting changes make the overall presentation awkward. In most places the band looks soft, slightly dreamy. Then later there are points where they look ...raw, grainy or very much overlit. Then Sarah does "Angel" on piano and it's the best look of the whole video. Blueish-white light but still crisp. Compare it to her "VH-1 Storytellers" performance. You'll see what I mean.
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