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Rating: 
Summary: Bob deserves better treatment... are you listening Sony?
Review: This Brazilian import is a retitled but direct copy of the out-of-print Bob Dylan video "Hard To Handle," a document of his 1986 Australian tour backed by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Unfortunately there is very little Bob on official DVD, so the less than stellar video and audio on this release is very disappointing. Hopefully a better version will be released by Sony/Columbia. In the meantime if you have the VHS version it's better than this. If you don't have the VHS, than you should get this at least for the performance.
Rating:
Summary: Bob deserves better treatment... are you listening Sony?
Review: This Brazilian import is a retitled but direct copy of the out-of-print Bob Dylan video "Hard To Handle," a document of his 1986 Australian tour backed by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Unfortunately there is very little Bob on official DVD, so the less than stellar video and audio on this release is very disappointing. Hopefully a better version will be released by Sony/Columbia. In the meantime if you have the VHS version it's better than this. If you don't have the VHS, than you should get this at least for the performance.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Concert DVD for Dylan Fans
Review: This concert was taken from the 86 Hard to Handle Tour in which Bob was touring with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. It was filmed in Austrailia for what I believe was originally aired as an HBO concert special.
Be warned this is eighties Bob, a thing which some are quick to disregard, I for one enjoy all periods of the cannon and this is a good snaphot of this time period.
The setlist is as follows: In the Garden, Just Like A Woman, Like A Rolling Stone, It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding), Girl From The North Country, Lenny Bruce, When The Night Comes Falling, Ballad of A Thin Man, I'll Remember You, Knockin' On Heaven's Door.
This DVD is an import. No special features. The main menu is in Spanish, but there are no subtitles or overdubs in the feature.
The Heartbreakers are featured in the performance as the backing band. Tom helps out on harmony vocal on a couple of songs.
During this tour Bob had background singers with him. I usually hate this but they do provide something special during "When The Night Comes Falling".
If you are a true Dylan fan this should be in your collection. I would suggest picking it up soon. Being an import it has strong potential to go out of print.
Rating: 
Summary: A Blast From The Past
Review: This DVD is made up of performances from Dylan's tour of Australia in 1986. Songs in order of appearance are: In The Garden; Just Like A Woman; Like A Rolling Stone; It's Allright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding); Girl From The North Country; Lenny Bruce; When The Night Comes Falling; Ballad Of A Thin Man; I'll Remember You; Knockin' On Heaven's Door.One thing which took me by surprise when I received my copy, was that the notes on the packaging, plus the legal notice and menus on the DVD, are in Portuguese. The DVD is made for Region 1 and it does play very well on my U.S. standard equipment. It is 60 minutes long. Audio is Dolby Digital - 2.0 Stereo - 5.1 Dolby Surround. The front cover is in English, and it does say BOB DYLAN: HEARTBREAKERS LIVE IN AUSTRALIA. When the DVD does begin playing, the title HARD TO HANDLE appears at the beginning...for some reason.... Tom Petty does appear in several of the numbers, playing guitar in most and singing harmony in some. The song titles in the menu, and the closing credits, are all in English. There was no insert inside the case. Since it probably would have been in Portuguese, anyway, I guess it doesn't matter. As for the DVD itself, I really enjoyed the performances. They fall in Dylan's Christian phase, which I found interesting. I am a newly-minted Dylan fan, so this material is fresh to me--in fact, I was unfamiliar with a number of the songs before I saw them performed by way of this DVD. I thought the camera work was well done, the sound excellent, and the choice of material outstanding. If I had seen this DVD before buying it, I would have been even more eager to get my own copy. As previously mentioned, although I am a contemporary of Dylan's, I had not really followed his career, until a year ago, when I was loaned a copy of "Love and Theft". I was captivated by the CD, and only now have begun to discover what else is available on the market. Therefore, I look forward to comments/reviews from other Dylan fans of long-standing who have more material for comparison.
Rating:
Summary: A Blast From The Past
Review: This DVD is made up of performances from Dylan's tour of Australia in 1986. Songs in order of appearance are: In The Garden; Just Like A Woman; Like A Rolling Stone; It's Allright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding); Girl From The North Country; Lenny Bruce; When The Night Comes Falling; Ballad Of A Thin Man; I'll Remember You; Knockin' On Heaven's Door. One thing which took me by surprise when I received my copy, was that the notes on the packaging, plus the legal notice and menus on the DVD, are in Portuguese. The DVD is made for Region 1 and it does play very well on my U.S. standard equipment. It is 60 minutes long. Audio is Dolby Digital - 2.0 Stereo - 5.1 Dolby Surround. The front cover is in English, and it does say BOB DYLAN: HEARTBREAKERS LIVE IN AUSTRALIA. When the DVD does begin playing, the title HARD TO HANDLE appears at the beginning...for some reason.... Tom Petty does appear in several of the numbers, playing guitar in most and singing harmony in some. The song titles in the menu, and the closing credits, are all in English. There was no insert inside the case. Since it probably would have been in Portuguese, anyway, I guess it doesn't matter. As for the DVD itself, I really enjoyed the performances. They fall in Dylan's Christian phase, which I found interesting. I am a newly-minted Dylan fan, so this material is fresh to me--in fact, I was unfamiliar with a number of the songs before I saw them performed by way of this DVD. I thought the camera work was well done, the sound excellent, and the choice of material outstanding. If I had seen this DVD before buying it, I would have been even more eager to get my own copy. As previously mentioned, although I am a contemporary of Dylan's, I had not really followed his career, until a year ago, when I was loaned a copy of "Love and Theft". I was captivated by the CD, and only now have begun to discover what else is available on the market. Therefore, I look forward to comments/reviews from other Dylan fans of long-standing who have more material for comparison.
Rating:
Summary: This is "Hard To Handle" on DVD
Review: This is an exact duplicate of the "Hard To Handle" Laserdisc. It isn't the same great audio/visual quality but it is the same performance. It is a stunning show - Bob is great. It appears that he may have "taken" a little something because as the show moves along, he seems a bit "messed up". He begins to stare off into the crowd with a blank expression. It is cool. In the Garden is supurb. The cover photo is from the 1970's. Kinda weird. All in all it is fantastic.
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