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Cirque du Soleil - Quidam

Cirque du Soleil - Quidam

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $22.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: not as good as it is live, but still amazing
Review: I had seen Quidam live 2 years ago, and was blown away. It was so haunting and gorgeus. I wanted to see it all over again. when i got the tape i was a bit dissapointed. Many acts were cut short, or completly out of the show. But i finally got to see the handbalancing act. I was amazed at how impressive and creative the costumes and makeup were up close (i was in the middle and could barely see). Unfortunately though you cut out many of the funny clown acts. there should of been double VHS or something of this show. Its three hours worth sitting through. And the music is so beautiful and fun. Even though this falls short of the live show, its not a dissapointing purchase.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Something to knock your socks off.
Review: I have seen 2 Cirque du Soleil shows live, and video does not do Cirque du Soleil justice. There is so much to see in the real show that you feel much more part of the show as the action is going on around you. There is so much to see in the live show that you walk out of the show barely remembering half of what you saw, but knowing that it was all spectacular and unbelievable. Because of the nature of the show, seeing it on DVD is a far cry from watching it live, but it is still worth the price of the DVD. Even watching the DVD will cause your jaw to drop to the floor. Well worth the money and you can watch it over and over to remember how spectacular it all is. The DVD does seem to leave out parts of the show, but I think it is mainly the clowns, and they do some things that would spoil the live show for you if you saw it on video first.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Transcendant Theater
Review: This video was my introduction to the Cirque Du Soleil, and what an introduction it was! I don't have enough adjectives to describe the experience of watching the performances on this tape - amazing and inspirational are two that come to mind. Unlike many on these pages, I did not find the editing or camera work too distracting. I did have a sense, however, that I was seeing only a portion of the show, but this was due to the limitations of television. It seems that a Cirque Du Soleil performance demands to be witnnessed live. I am eagerly awaiting my chance to do so with their new touring show, "Drallion". If you think you might grow tired of watching one spectacular display of acrobatics, performance art and theater after another, then don't bother with"Quidam".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Soleil Shines!
Review: Having watched two previous productions on video(Nouvelle experience, Saltimbanco), I can honestly say that Quidam has to be the most visually and artistically stunning of the three.

Unlike the first two, annoying camera angles and effects are kept to a bare minimum, except for the German Wheel act. Also, the quality of the tape itself (image and sound) is superior and comes in nice clamshell packaging.

I will not bother decribing the acts when much will be lost in the translation anyway and the wonder and magic can only really be appreiciated visually in a show or on video. However, I will say this. These current group of performers touring Europe having got to be the finest I have seen. There is really no substitute for perfection and this is the one of the more impressive aspects of this show. While other shows have employed the use of safety devices ( don't get me wrong, I'm all for safety), this troup has the confidence and competence to execute their amazing stunts mostly without the use of any saftey apparatus. Maybe the degree of difficulty might be a factor, but being propelled upwards in the air and ending up in a handstand position on top of a 3 man human pyramid is just incredible.

More impressive is the way all the acts are choreographed to the haunting and mesmerizing music composed by Benoit Jutras. From the majestic opening, to the cheeky skipping rope act and the acrobates in Banquine, the acts are performed to the music beat for beat. I very often wonder whether the acts are choreographed to the music, or the music is composed to fit in with the acts. Or maybe a combination of the two perhaps? Anyway, no matter how it was done, it's just pure magic.

I really haven't got a bone to pick about Quidam even after having watched it about twenty times. I guess this is one advantage of owning the video, you can watch it over and over and over again...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Cirque du Soleil: Quidam
Review: Cirque du Soleil continues to expand the limits of artistic expression! Every performer featured in "Quidam" is interconnected with each portion of the program. The fluidity, grace, beauty, and strength each of the participants project is a sight to behold! One word describes "Quidam": wonderment. If you're ever in Las Vegas, Nevada, be sure to check out "Mystere" (I've seen the show seven times) and "O" (the "water show"). You'll take a journey into peace, laughter, love and harmony. I can't wait for "The Journey of Man" and the other travelling shows to come out on DVD!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Absolutely Awesome!
Review: Once again, Cirque Du Soleil transcends, astounds, enraptures. The performances are intriguing and magnificent, unique and unbelievable, and all are saturated with a surreal quality that keeps your eyes locked onto the screen. I have one complaint. The camera frustrates me TERRIBLY during many of the performances with swinging lenses that nauseate, close-ups that are so close you might as well have your eyes closed for all you can see, and shots of an audience member during the best three seconds of an act! The effect of the German Wheel is completely ruined by a camera that rolls and spins and whips around. In the future I hope the shows are filmed with a steady, level view so that the acts can be seen clearly and in their entirety as they should be!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Quidam"
Review: "Quidam" is a awe inspiring journey through the eyes of a young girl. I loved every minute of it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Surreal!
Review: Cirque du Soleil is by far the most unique and beautifully twisted, surreal experience available. Quidam is another example of why no one compares to them. The production is masterful, the sound wonderful, and camera work superb. I just wish that there was more behind the scenes info and footage.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fellini meets The Nutcracker at the circus
Review: For anyone who hasn't seen Cirque du Soleil live, this is a good beginning, and it will only get better in person. The one advantage of the DVD (or video) is the ability to see closeup shots of the performers and catch moments you might otherwise have missed on the stage, where many touching moments can happen apart from the main action. From the thrilling athleticism of the performers, the choreography (the dreamlike ensemble rope jumping vignette), and the makeup, to the creative costuming (which in the Banquine evokes a post-apocalyptic Les Miserables), it's all present in just enough quantities to capture most of the essence of Cirque du Soleil at its best. John Gilkey's well known juggling/mambo dance with three balls and a hat rack is a sly highlight, as well as his deceptively simple stunt with a rolling hoop.

The editing is not always the best (I found the German Wheel performance lost all its rhythm and flow), and if you want to enjoy the music, I'd recommend buying the soundtrack on CD instead. But if you want to see a work of art that is more than a circus performance, start here.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What a treat!
Review: What a treat to find this video of the only Cirque Show I have seen in person! Recorded in Amsterdam, all of my favorite acts were there (and this time, with a closeup, even better than being there). My only complaint was certain performances got an artsy treatment (like the act with the wheel) but other than that, a fabulous video.


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