Rating: 
Summary: Comprehensive
Review: I like this DVD because it goes from beginner to advanced and doesn't require additional purchases. I find the explanation of when you should move on to the next level to be lacking clarity. The main downside of this DVD is that compared to other fitness titles it's just really boring. I don't find that any of the people teaching or being interviewed are very motivating speakers.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid..Excellent..Pilates resource
Review: After about 3 months doing GAIAM's basic Pilates Mat exercises I was looking for the next step. While browsing Amazon I ran across this DVD and it's invariably excellent reviews. I found the exercise to be great and I definitely perceived I was getting the real Pilates foundation. I think it is more than worth the purchase price. It's not as slick as the other pseudo-Pilates DVD's but it shows the exercises precisely without the unnecessary frills of well coiffured professional talking heads. In this DVD you are getting the real thing through real instructors.I am doing the intermediate exercises in relatively good form but I've looked at the Advanced and Super-Advanced exercises and their performance and the prospect of the next step is daunting, but when I do make that step I will use this DVD as my initial guide.
Rating:
Summary: Here's to preservation.
Review: There are not enough words to adequately describe the gift of this DVD. Here is the matwork of the Pilates method, presented beautifully and clearly, demonstrated with grace and enthusiasm. I would not necessarily recommend this DVD to a total newcomer to Pilates for the purpose of learning the work, simply because it is not broken down for instruction. However, for someone who has had a session or two, or taken some classes, it's great. It would be particularly useful to watch the modified basic and basic workouts a few times before trying them. My only caveat to buyers is that there is no instruction, only fabulous coaching from Bob Liekens.
This is NOT, however a criticism of the DVD. It is just a note. There is no better DVD/video in which to see the exercises demonstrated. This is the gem of the bunch.
Rating:
Summary: BEAUTIFUL
Review: This is the most serious, authentic pilates instructional dvd I have seen so far. The workouts are beautiful to do and to observe. The instructors are all purists of the original Joseph H. Pilates method, and their focus and strength are very inpirational. This dvd covers all levels, from basic to super advanced, so this is all you need for any and all stages of your study. If you want to start out right with the correct and true pilates method, this is a great choice.
Rating:
Summary: Important Contribution to the Pilates Profession
Review: This DVD contains the most complete set of workouts of the Pilates method of any DVD on the market. The range goes from pre-basic, to basic, then on to intermediate, advanced, and many super advanced exercises. This video demonstrates classical Pilates in its best form, and the master instructor guides you with very important verbal instruction. This DVD seems to be a documentary of the way Pilates should ultimately be practiced, as well as an instructional video. These people are sincere: the workouts demand intelligence and fortitude. The producers do not try to entice you with bathing suit babes who talk about weight loss, or with eye-candy graphics. This DVD is for people who want the traditional Pilates method, the classical workouts, and the best physical benefits you can get from any Pilates video on the market.
Rating:
Summary: Substance Over Flash
Review: I bought this DVD because of the reviews on Amazon. Part of me hesitated because a couple of people said the lighting or sound could have been better. But most people seemed to really appreciate this product. Since I am a Pilates enthusiast, I have purchased many Pilates DVDs. This DVD has the most substance of any other Pilates video. Yes, the production could be slicker, but I want to see the best demonstration of the Pilates method that is available. None of the high financed DVDs that I've purchased have the dedication and soul this one does. And no other Pilates video presents the complete range of workouts the way this one does. Another reason I hesitated to buy this DVD was because it does not feature a fitness star. I guess designer names give us some kind of security and status. Classical Pilates is unknown, and they don't have a celebrity to give their work media power. Yet I've learned one very important distinction: celebrities who produce eye-candy Pilates videos are NOT Pilates professionals. Fitness celebrities probably take some Pilates lessons in order to make their video, yet these people do not study the method to become instructors. When a fitness celebrity makes a Pilates DVD, their concern is ROI, not dedication to the Pilates method. After doing some research on the participants of this DVD, I found out the Classical Pilates group is comprised of real professionals in the Pilates profession. Alycea Ungaro, for example is the author of the best selling "Pilates Body in Motion," and she runs the most successful Pilates studio in NYC. Her books are simply the best on the market. Bob Liekens is one of today's most respected instructors in the professional Pilates world. He is an internationally recognized authority on the subject, and is well-known for being extraordinarily gifted. The models who demonstrate the method are fiercely accomplished: they are experts in the Pilates method. When they show the exercises, you are watching professionals who know how to demonstrate and teach the Pilates method. If Classical Pilates does not please every technofile, so be it. I prefer substance over flash any day.
Rating: 
Summary: Low Quality recording
Review: I had to turn my TV up all the way in order to hear this DVD at regular volume, it felt sterile, and was not very informative about the Pilates technique. Over all I felt like I was watching some person's basement recording of Pilates. It may be a good workout, but I'll never know.
Rating:
Summary: Joseph Pilates' Clear Vision
Review: I am currently an apprentice in training to become a certified Pilates instructor. I agree with some reviewers who think this DVD is fast. But too fast? Hardly. Joseph Pilates had a clear vision of how the body should move, and this DVD documents his clear vision with the proper exercises, tempos, and transitions. This DVD moreover has a pre-basic sequence that is slow and steady in order to safely prepare viewers for getting a good workout in the basic, intermediate, and advanced levels. As an apprentice, I wonder why so many other videos change Joseph Pilates' method. Specifically, why do so many videos slow the exercises down to a point where people lose the necessary mental concentration and physical energy required to achieve a good workout? I of course agree that providing basic instruction is important. Yet when videos change Joseph Pilates' method through overmodification of exercises, creation of new exercises, and alteration of rhythms, I feel strongly that these videos misrepresent the method. Other Pilates videos have something to offer, yet they neglect to demonstrate the energy, rhythm, and exciting dynamics that Classical Pilates faithfully depicts. Some reviewers have said, too, that the master instructor on this DVD does not count repititions of exercises. First, the number of repititions for each exercise are on screen. Second, we know from history books, newspaper articles, old film footage of Joseph Pilates teaching students, and speaking to people who actually studied with Joseph Pilates, it is clear that he did not count every repitition. He focused upon the articulation of movement, the individual's strengths and weaknesses, and the overall flow of his student's workout. If you want to see Joseph Pilates' clear vision of his complete mat workout series, and if you want to really learn his original method, get this DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Authoritative, but not so practical
Review: This DVD shows what are probably the best examples of Pilates done right. The soloists are amazingly skilled, and they execute the exercises with amazing style and grace. Watching them is like watching champion figure skating. As they exercise, a Pilates expert comments on what they are doing. The problem is, they do it so fast! This is, of course, the right way to DO pilates once you've learned it, but perhaps not the best way to teach it. The commentator doesn't have enough time to explain how do do what is being done. If you are great at observing bodily action and emulating it, this DVD is for you. But if you want someone to talk you through your workout, this DVD fails. It is impecable REFERENCE material, but it is no tutorial, and it fails as a coach because the commentator doesn't do any counting for you to assist you with the timing if you aren't staring at the TV set. Starting Pilates? Get Pilates Workout For Dummies. It's great!
Rating:
Summary: A class at home--addicting! Just what I was looking for!
Review: I had taken pilates mat classes at the gym but no longer had the time to get there...bought books to keep me going but it got really hard to roll like a ball and then turn a page...and then bought a couple of Pilate tapes to make my own at home class but found it absolutely infuriating to have to stop listen to the same beginning instructions over and over. I just wanted my own class in a box--AND THIS IS IT! I bought it soley on the reviews on Amazon.com and bought it right away and it certainly did not disappoint.
Though I do suggest a beginner buy a good Pilates book to read about each exercise carefully to ensure they are doing it correctly the first couple of times. Then follow along with the dvd. The 5 levels are excellent! I cannot imagine I could ever get to the 5th level, but hey, it is great knowing it is there and that this dvd is not maxed out anytime soon.
Tae bo and all the others were long forgotten in just a couple of weeks. I have had this for two months and do it first thing every morning without fail.
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