Rating: 
Summary: Total rip off.
Review: This DVD has been released earlier in the U.K, and as a massive fan of the DLR/Van Halen era, I found this DVD very disappointing. Firstly there is not a single Van Halen audio track throughout the whole 70-minute DVD, (copyright problems?) The backing music in it's place is an insult to Van Halen. The audio recordings alleged to be Alex and Mark, sound like they have been recorded secretly, and there is no way of knowing whether they are the real people. The video clips of VH live total about 25 seconds through the whole 70 minutes. The commentators seemed to go on more about the antics of DLR and the backstage madness of the band on tour, which had no real interest to me personally. I was expecting an insight into the music and one of most gifted guitar players in the world but it never happened. Hopefully a better documentary will be released with the band's backing in the future. But as for this, don't waste your money. It's a hyped up load of rubbish.
Rating: 
Summary: Nearly a good film, but not quite
Review: If you've ever seen Dogtown and the Z Boys, then you'll have an idea of what this documentary film could have been. That was a great movie about something else bubbling up from underneath in a part of Los Angeles in the 70's, this is a nearly movie set in almost the same time and same place. So, what's the problem? It's not as if there isn't enough good material to work at there, is it...I mean, Van Halen - the '70's, the 80's...Missing as usual are the principals - the Van Halen's, Mike Anthony, and Diamond Dave (although all are seen or heard using snippets of old material, in the case of Anthony, usually saying bad things about Roth). My guess is that most of the band are probably quite content to spoil their legacy (compare the way lesser talents like Aerosmith revived and prolonged their career, and how else do you explain the implosion of this band?). One of the most disappointing things about the film is that it features NO original Van Halen music, and barely any official footage of the band. The interviews with old friends and road crew and the like are all great - these are all interesting people who were there when it all came to fruition, and who have nice first-hand tales to tell. But the problem is that when the narration goes on about how revolutionary Eddie's sound was, or how mammoth the Us Festival in 83 was - there is really nothing there to show as examples. This is a pity, and again, my guess is that whoever gives permission for Van Halen music and material to be used is quite content to let the memory of the band fall to pieces. It's a pity, because there is a great story here.
What we get in the film centers around the early days for the most part (the period from Van Halen II to 1984 is gone over in a zip). The material they do use, is used pretty well. It's good to see a lot of the old photos and other visual material - again used a bit like similar material in the Dogtown movie.What a pity that Van Halen are such an uncooperative bunch...if you compare them to any of their contemporaries from the era covered in this movie (early 70's to 1984), you never hear them. Van Halen stuff never appears anywhere, in anything other than the format in which it was it originally came out. What I'd say to Van Halen, if they care, is look at what Jimmy Page has done with Led Zeppelin - another defunct, but not forgotten band. Can Van Halen say the same? Buy this, and remember what was - and think about what could have been.
Rating:
Summary: E Dawg Is A Moron
Review: Van Halen is probably one of the best rock & roll bands to emerge from America. Since it seems the brothers Van Halen see fit NOT to release any AUTHORIZED early day footage for fan consumption, this seems like a wise purchase. It's just a shame that they couldn't license any of the original music. It could have been an easy buck for the LONG vacationing band. Did I mention that E Dawg was a moron?
Rating:
Summary: The Red Rocker wants Mas Tequila!
Review: This was probably the best period of the band. Sammy Hagar and the boys from Detroit sing such classics as "Ice Cream Man", "Mas Tequila" and "I Can't Drive 55". When they weren't coming up with some of the best original songs, they were probably the best cover band of the 80's behind that band that remade Signs, Tesla maybe? Anyways Van Halen will live forever in the hearts of maybe a few people. I know one thing, I cannot drive 55!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Okay, but does fall short
Review: I picked a copy of this used and whilst some of the info is new, this falls short from what might of been. I guess you could squeeze this to about 20 minutes. The info on Mammoth was good though. From reading some of these reviews perhaps the makers should have another go. Cause the idea is good.
Rating:
Summary: The Red Rocker Wants Mas Tequila
Review: This catches Van Halen in its so called glory days. Sammy Hagar really knew how to rock. Features include the making of the three most important songs in rock history: (1) Ice Cream Man (2) I Can't Drive 55 [Who can??? LOL] and (3) Mas Tequila. When Van Halen wasn't busy being America's worst cover band, they sure knew how to rock... and roll. LOL LOL LOL LOL!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Worth Passing Up By Any Fan
Review: I have read the reviews and I believed the reviews that said it was worth a look. I have to be honest, long time VH fan, bigger Roth fan. This DVD is not worth the plastic it is printed on. I do not even recommend you borrow this from a friend as it might leave a bad taste in your mind as to what the band was and is all about. Sorry to those who don't agree with this opinion but I just don't know what DVD you were watching when you found something good to review.
Rating:
Summary: Focus on the very early years; satisfactory documentary
Review: This is a documentary about one of the greatest rock bands ever, Van Halen, beginning with each member's early musical years and ending with the departure of David Lee Roth in 1985. It's a cool story, augmented by lots of interesting photos and some rare film footage. The finished product is unfortunately plagued by portions of bad sound and amateurish filming (alas, not as polished as VH-1's "Behind the Music") but with a run time of 70 minutes, there's a lot that's worth watching.
The best part about the presentation of the Van Halen story is the diversity of people who were interviewed for this documentary: childhood friends, fellow band members, other musicians, roadies, bodyguards, and record producers. Some of their stories are outrageous (hey, it's rock 'n' roll after all!) and are thus a blast to contemplate. Since the focus is strictly on the early years of the group, there was much I didn't know concerning who played in the original band, who did the early vocals (Eddie), how the guys met, and how Van Halen's stage act progressed and was influenced by David Lee (who adopted much of his stage persona from Black Oak Arkansas' "Jim Dandy" Mangrum, who appears on this disc!).
Somewhat disappointing, you hear very little of the band's popular tunes (a snippet of "Eruption" does pop up at one point). I'm guessing that this is because there may have been a copyright issue. Another negative is that a significant portion of the commentary provided by Alex and Michael is via phone interview, and the sound leaves a bit to be desired. Also, there's one part where Gene Simmons' voice is practically unintelligible due to poor sound quality. Unfortunate perhaps, but it adds to the "underground" feel of the video.
If you're a fan of Van Halen specifically (count me in), or great rock bands in general, see how this story compares to the others you know. I'm hoping that there will more discs in this series to cover the rest of the band's history.
Rating:
Summary: Tedious
Review: Like the previous review this DVD with all it's hype isn't as great as what I expected.
Rating:
Summary: Far too much missing.
Review: Van Halen interviews are rare nowadays. I guess the band no longer needs publicity to market themselves anymore. This Early Years DVD lacks too much in my opinion. The backing music for starters, should be VH. You can't to a documentary about a band and use somebody else's music. The interviews with the outsiders on the road with the band were interesting, but I don't believe the wild antics of the band are of that much interest to the fans anymore. Hell raisers like Ozzy and such like will always have better stories than these guys. The slide show of pictures, were of no real interest to me personally. The diet of the band was of no interest. The video clips were always being cut. A lot of these full clips can be found on Kazaa. Overall I think the makers of this DVD should have used more of the old TV interviews with the band from the early Eighties. Roth used to always be on TV. The Whiskey stuff was interesting. The museum was a little limp, but memorbilia is hard to come by these days. The Atomic Punks interview was nothing special. I just don't understand why this band doesn't attempt to write some of their own material! Overall, too much missing. Add the music, add some proper interviews. Add some full clips of concert footage. Add some other better known musicians to give their opinions, i.e. some of the better known guitarists out there to date. Go into Eddie's playing with a bit more depth. I could go on and on.
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