The Michael Flatley Collection (Lord of the Dance/Feet of Flames/Michael Flatley Gold)

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful collection is marred by audio problems
Review: Had the sound been better, I would have given this DVD five stars. The music, dancing, and extended interview with Michael Flatley are all first-rate.

Unfortunately, volume level and audio mixing are all over the map. This is particularly true of Feet of Flames, where the music is almost inaudible at times -- even with my speakers at full volume. The mixing of music, tap elements, and ambient sounds fluctuates wildly. This always happens in the same places.

My player isn't the problem. When run on different players, the DVD still manifests the same inconstant audio.

Hoping that the particular DVD I bought had just been damaged in some way, I returned it as defective. After waiting close to a month for a replacement, I discovered that the new DVD performs exactly the same way the first one did.

Feet of Flames and Lord of the Dance are such fabulous shows, it's a shame that more care wasn't taken with the DVD. However, if you're a fan of Flatley & Company, can tolerate audio flutuations, and don't mind keeping your hand on the volume controls and intermittently having to put your ear against the speakers in order to hear something, this is the DVD for you. I do suggest that once you've turned the volume up you remain ready to turn it down quickly, because when the sound comes back it's loud enough to blow a person across the room.

Rating:
Summary: An Awesome Series of Productions by an Inspirational Artist.
Review: I ordered "Lord of the Dance" first, then "Feet of Flames" and finally "Gold." They are phenomenal. If you have enjoyed any of Flatley's work, I recommend buying the Collection. Be sure to watch them in this order so you can appreciate the production innovations. I notice that some reviewers had audio and other problems. If there were any, I did not notice them for I thoroughly enjoyed the spectacular performances. I have played each DVD several times over and have even ordered some for gifts. "Gold" features an interview with the artist that is awesome and inspiring.

Rating:
Summary: A good deal, but MUST be viewed on a better-quality player!
Review: If you have a cheaper DVD player, you'll probably find that the picture quality of most of Lord of the Dance (entire show included on DVD) is absolutely dismal, ditto for quite a bit of Feet of Flames (entire show included on DVD) and for Gold (interview interspersed with dance numbers in chronological order, including a fair amount of footage that isn't otherwise available). Playing this on a cheaper DVD player, the scenes in which the stage was not flooded with bright lights from the front were extremely dark and blurry, totally unacceptable!! But on a better player, the picture is fine. I truly enjoyed Lord of the Dance when I saw it on tour and am glad to have the DVD to replace my VHS and to have the other footage. On the right machine, a very enjoyable DVD!