Home :: DVD :: Music Video & Concerts :: General  

Biography
Blues
Classic Rock
Concerts
Country
Documentary
DVD Singles
General

Hard Rock & Metal
Jazz
New Age
Other Music
Pop
Rap & Hip-Hop
Rock & Roll
Series
World Music
Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii (Deluxe Edition DVD)

Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii (Deluxe Edition DVD)

List Price: $29.98
Your Price: $22.49
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Just the King...! ! !
Review: This Box Set is a MUST for every Elvis fan at first,2nd and 3rd degree.The sound,the picture quality; everything is perfect;yes there're some mistakes hidden but it's worth everything.Really; do me a favour and see this great event of all time of legendary and timeless Elv1s Presley...!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Finally the definitive Aloha from Hawaii
Review: 2004 will go down into history as one of the years that Elvis fans were spoilt by a stream of remarkable releases. One of the highlights (along with the '68 Comeback DVDs) is definitely the "Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii" Deluxe Edition double DVD-set which assembles about everything connected to Elvis' historical television special in January 1973, at the time beamed throughout the world by satellite.

In fact, this new set brings 3 full length concerts: the rehearsal concert filmed on January 12, the actual concert from two days later, and that same concert as it was edited for the US television broadcast in April 1973. All are finally presented in their complete form and unlike previous home video issues none of the songs are missing.

Soundwise the set is a marvel. The remix is absolutely thrilling, with enhanced clarity and detail, and there is choice between Dolby stereo and Dolby 5.1 - why no DTS? Even though it surpasses all previous video efforts, the image quality is slightly less satisfying, especially in the rehearsal concert where the horizontal bands gliding over the screen bottom to top, are at times still quite visible. The completely re-edited January 14th concert fares a whole lot better, though, with superior lighting and more vibrant color. In matters of picture sharpness we have never seen better either.

As a bonus we get 17 minutes of the raw, uncut "Elvis arrives" sequence, part of which opened the TV broadcast, as well as the five post-concert insert songs, often in different takes. I wonder though if we needed to have disc 1 started with the "Elvis arrives" sequence, as this is material for die hard fans only. (There is an error in my disc as the image jumps after a few minutes to the beginning of the concert).

All in all, a fantastic set, nicely packaged in a three-fold digi-pack and including an informative booklet, which no Elvis aficionado can (or should) live without. Bound to give more than a few hours of listening and watching pleasure. Thanks BMG!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Often overlooked warning sign
Review: As these performances make clear, Elvis was already in free fall from the Vegas glory years of "That's the Way it Is." He is physically subdued, and seems most engaged with the show when singing heartbreak songs such as "You Gave Me a Mountain," "It's Over," "What Now My Love?" and "I'll Remember You." Having driven his wife away with his bizarre lifestyle (including on going series of affairs), the King wails at the injustice of it all. As much as I like Elvis (and enjoy this performance), this special was a warning sign that his self-destructive nature was getting the best of him.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: For Elvis diehards, fascinating scraps and a so-so concert
Review: BMG continues to sweep out the Elvis vaults for any unused tidbits from The King's glorious career, some of the packagings more exploitive and demeaning than others. This DVD collection is one of the better efforts, though it's definitely for diehards and Elvis completeists only. The 1973 Aloha concert is certainly well-known, having been rebroadcast many times and long available on home video (along with the rehearsal show two days earlier). Here the two shows have been recut and remastered, discarding the outdated 1970s edits and block montages. This is the jumpsuited, gilded, self-parodying Elvis most imitated by the legion of Elvis impersonators. It's an Elvis a long way from The World's First Atomic-Powered Singer of the 1950s who was so coarse and unwieldy that he couldn't be kept in the TV frame. Here Elvis seems to be auditioning for The Lawrence Welk Show. He's more Liberace, Perry Como and Don Ho than The King Of Rock N Roll. It's Elvis the Commericial Artist, running through his standard Vegas lounge act without too much enthusiasm, the drug abuse beginning to take its toll.
Most fascinating in the DVD collection, I believe, is Chapter 1 of the first DVD, titled "Elvis Arrives and Greets Fans." It's over seventeen minutes of raw footage sloppily shot, without reflectors, by a single camera in the harsh midday Hawaiian sun. Bits of this footage would eventually be cobbled together for broadcast with travelogue shots of the islands and a soundtracked Elvis singing "Paradise, Hawaiian Style." The broadcast version creates an excitement--the screams were definitely overdubbed--totally absent from the clumsy raw footage.
A rather small, almost entirely Caucasian crowd was apparently goaded away from their beach blankets to witness The King's arrival by helicopter. It's a pop-music version of Der Fuhrer descending through the clouds to 1934 Nuremburg in "Triumph Of The Will." Only this was hardly a wild, out-of-control crowd panting to meet its demigod. This would be a far cry from The Beatles in New York or even Elvis' own frenzied past receptions. This was a stone-faced, bemused, disinterested bunch of people who seemed embarrassed to be standing there. The director has to exhort the crowd "You can do better than that" to get any kind of response. The camera pans about desperately seeking any usable footage. A few tourists liven up a bit when the camera dollies right in their faces; in fact, some these shots were falsely inserted AFTER Elvis arrives in the broadcast segment.
The helicopter finally sets down and the cabin door opens. Elvis gets out and gives a gyrating hula girl greeting him a cruel, mocking glance and briskly walks away. (This was edited out of the broadcast.) Elvis begins working the crowd, sticking out his hand, searching for the few excited middle-aged women who drape leis around his neck. In fact, the crowd looks about as excited as if the vice-chair of the Honolulu Beautification Committee had arrived to lecture on trash disposal. There's a lot of confusion with the video crew as well, who bark about commands and trip over wires.
While this hastily assembled photo op seems more a debacle than anything else, it does highlight something very fascinating. Elvis was a star, and became a legend, not only because of his glorious, one-of-a-kind voice. Elvis stuck out in a crowd, really stuck out, even outside of carefully controlled studio conditions. Director John Waters once remarked that a true star was a person you'd never run into in everyday life. Thus Elvis. Better-looking, more graceful, more original, more identifiable than the rest of the crowd on the beach combined. A man apart. Don't you wish he were still around??

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii (Deluxe Edition DVD)
Review: Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii (Deluxe Edition DVD) DVD ~ Marty Pasetta is Elvis at his Zenith. After this it went downhill, but seeing this concert one realizes what an amazing artist he really was. His is the king, the best of them all. 5/5.


Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Presley at his best
Review: I got the chance to preview this dvd at Graceland Pravillion during Elvis's birthday week celebration in Memphis 2004. To see this on the big screen was phenonmenal!!!!!!! You see everything!! Every move, every snarl, every breath every shake of the king himself at his utmost best since the 1968 NBC Comeback special. I feel in all of his outstanding career this is Elvis's best performance!!! He was fit, trim and gorgeous in white!!! When he sings You Gave Me A Mountain you can feel the vibes jump through whateve screen you are watching him through. His prescence is like none other performer in the world!!!! This dvd celebration is a must for any true Elvis Presley fan or collector of and a great price through Amazon.com . This is much much more in Memphis!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Incredible! Elvis at his very best!!!
Review: I love this concert! I watch it once a week, it's wonderful! here's the list of tracks, that way you'll know what you're paying for.

1. See See Rider
2. Burning Love
3. Something (he did this better than the beatles!!!)
4. You Gave Me A Mountain
5. Steamroller Blues
6. My Way (I love the way he did this)
7. Love me
8. It's Over
9. Blue Suede Shoes
10. Hound Dog
11. What Now My Love
12. Fever (the way he preforms this song is so great! it's the one part in the video that I can't wait to see!)
13. Welcome To My World (he sung it beautifully)
14. Suspicious Minds
15. I'll Remember You
16. Long Tall Sally/Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
17. An American Trilogy (whenever he sings this song, he gives me chills!)
18. A Big Hunk O' Love
19. Can't Help Falling In Love

If you're someone who wants to see this, but not sure weather you should buy it or not, get it!! it's great! as far as I know, you won't be sorry! I wasn't!

Take care,

A 14 year old die-hard Elvis fan from VA

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Outstanding - he's back and clearer than ever.
Review: I'll be brief and to the point.
This dvd remastering is fantastic. You can see the pores in his skin, the follicles of his hair. The sound is beautiful. We have all already seen the concert, but not like this. Thank you, thank you, thank you goes out to all the people who painstakingly beautified this dvd to its peak visual and aural symphony.
Well done and enjoy it!


Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No wonder we have an American Idol show
Review: It doesn't get any better than this. His voice and stage presence are AMAZING. This is an extemely polished show, not like the normal tour shows. It has even less action than some of his 73-74 shows. But I believe this was the way Elvis thought it should done since it was viewed by 1-1.5 BILLION people. Huge variety of songs, the selections prove that there isn't ANYTHING he can't sing better than ANYBODY at ANYTIME. What a lot of people don't notice is.......Elvis will literally be seen in every civilized country on the earth and he wears a red, white and blue eagle on his 'outfit/suit'. His song choice is like a tribute to not only himself, but other popular artists like the Beatles, Hank Williams, Chuck Berry, Frank Sinatra, etc... And of course, near the end of the show, he performs American Trilogy. It doesn't get more American that that. After 'Trilogy', and before he ends the show with 'Can't help falling in Love', he does one more Elvis oldie to leave you wanting more. In this case, it was 'Big Hunk of Love'. What a great show, different than all the rest and should be viewed realizing that. Was it the best show Elvis ever did? No way! Is it the only show we can see from start to finish on DVD? Yes, and twice, the rehersal and the production show. Are both of them awesome shows? Anything Elvis did at this time and prior to this time were awesome! He could sing 'Mary had a little Lamb' and it would be awesome.

What's the best reason to buy this DVD? The close ups, song selections, and that voice. I guarantee you will hear familar songs like no one will EVER sing them again. You'll be asking yourself 'How is it possible for him to have that much talent?' His voice is that good and powerful. And if you know anything about Elvis, you'll see that he had something on his mind. I'll guess it was Priscilla, they were officially divorced within the year. Also, this show wil prove to be one of the last times you ever see Elvis as a lean machine.

Watch this show then turn to MTV or turn the radio on and try and tell yourself Elvis wasn't especially talented. If you can say that, you are musically deaf. Why else do they keep selling the same Elvis items with different wrappers over and over and over again? But this one is special and a must have!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: hot concert
Review: seemthis was originally issued AS A mono vhs tape, and maybe a laser disc in stereo, if the sound track was released onto dvd with the original quad mix's, this would get a 10 star rating.


<< 1 2 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates