FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: David Bowie - Best Of Bowie [DVD] [2002]

David Bowie - Best Of Bowie [DVD] [2002]
enlarge	Artist: David Bowie Studio: EMI Category: DVD List Price: ~~£8.99~~ Buy New: £2.89 as of 22/11/2009 08:27 GMT details You Save: £6.10 (68%) New (23) Used (7) from £2.89 Seller: rockaway-records Rating: 16 reviews Sales Rank: 7514 Format: Best of, PAL Languages: English (Original Language), German (Unknown) Rating: Exempt Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Number Of Discs: 2 Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 UPC: 094638971191 EAN: 0094638971191 ASIN: B000N4S8VQ Theatrical Release Date: November 5, 2002 Release Date: March 5, 2007 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review Probably the most comprehensive anthology of any musical artist to date, the 47-track IBest of Bowie/I traces the guises of David Bowie over the last four decades. From the androgynous, glam rock rebel of the 1970s, to his more recent incarnation as the self-labelled, postmodern pop ironist of the 90s. The collection provides an added insight into wider developments in fashion, music and the pop video. Most of the early material is taken from television music programmes such as IThe Old Grey Whistle Test/I ("Oh! You Pretty Things", "Queen Bitch", and "Five Years"), however, as the demands of television and music promotion progress, Bowie ventures into more sophisticated stand-alone videos culminating in 1983's "Let's Dance". As with any biographical visual record of the past, there's plenty of material, which will embarrass Bowie. Throughout his cheesy performance of "Rebel, Rebel" for Dutch programme ITop Pop/I, Bowie sports what looks like a ginger tomcat on his head. There's also the George Michael-style bleach blonde quiff for 1987's "Time Will Crawl". Despite the mountains of material on both discs, there are a number of unexplainable absences such as "Changes", "Under Pressure" and "Sound and Vision". Watch out for the IBest of Bowie/I part two.p BOn The DVD:/B IBest of Bowie/I's animated menus, and the opening menu sequence of both discs are excellent. Although there are no listed bonus features, the discs are swarming with extra "Easter egg" features such as alternative videos and vintage interviews (these can be accessed via the track-listing menu, by pressing the RIGHT followed by the SELECT key on selected tracks). Background information about each video is displayed before the start of every promo, which is reproduced in the accompanying glossy booklet. The sound and picture quality is variable for early videos but improves (admittedly erratically) for later videos. --IJohn Galilee/I

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 16 1 2 3 4 Next » At Long Long Last !!! November 12, 2002 40 out of 41 found this review helpful I'm not going to bore you with the endless clichés (ch..ch..changes et al). pI am simply going to say - BUY THIS DVD - fan or not.pAt last, one of music's most innovative stars performances have been condensed onto a 4 hour plus double DVD set, and the creators have bothered to scour BBC archives to fill some of the essential missing earlier spaces that Bowie's previous "Greatest Hits Video" (video only) ignored.pI am referring to Bowie's earliest TV appearances on UK TV to promote Hunky Dory and the soon-to-be -released classic, Ziggy Stardust. pHere, Bowie is presented in his Ziggy-persona infancy, tight jump suit haircut spiky but not yet the flame red that was to be his earliest trademark, he comes across as young, fresh, hungry, incredibly polished and is a clear pre-cursor for the legend that Ziggy would eventually evolve into 6 months later. pThe first three Old Grey Whistle Test performances are a wonderful insight into how the former awkward, unsure-of-himself youngster, was quickly able to weave himself visually into his wonderful songs and adapt a cult-like image in front of cameras and crowds. The musical performance is simply breathtaking.pThe next video, Starman - his classic Top of the Pops debut, underlines what a few months of motivation and self-belief can do. This performance literally changed thousands of people's lives in the UK and while watching, you'll understand why. A tall, attractive male (or is he a female ??) in a glowing jumpsuit, flirting with the crowd and camping it up with his supremo guitarist Ronno, gave countless people in the UK a reason to feel that they were not the only people who were "different". Not only did the man look great, he had fantastic songs and suddenly it was OK to be unusual - the BBC had endorsed this by including Starman on TOTP.pThis performance more than likely launched Bowie into the mainstream and rapidly took the man away from his loyal underground following, and made him available to the public. His image was quickly copied by many (fans and others groups alike, although he wasn't the first man to wear make up.) Oh, the power of TV and a benchmark about the importance of being seen as well as heard.pThe next three videos ( Mick Rock directed) are RCA promos to cover the public demand and momentum whilst Bowie was touring and have been widely available, but again are a visual feast, allowing us to witness how Ziggy's metamorphosis takes shape over a period of a few months. Bowie now bristles with confidence, pouting, standing and gyrating like a weird Elvis - making love to the camera.pAnother bonus, the Russell Harty performance of "Drive In" shows Bowie at a newfound peak, right in the middle of his new fame and adoration, and is probably worth the cost of the DVD alone.pThe next bonus is the Young American performance from the Dick Cavett show. Showing Bowie in his first new image for 3 years, the clear signs of [...] abuse are as transparent as a sheet of glass and help transform this American TV appearance into a skeletal and once seen, never forgotten performance.pBowie, RCA (his label) and his management Mainman fell out for about four years and this is reflected in the lack of investment for videos to promote Station to Station, Low and Heroes - hence 2 performances represent nearly 4 years of work, but Bowie clicks into the MTV video age from hereon ( another 32 videos)and the majority of his other singles are represented here from 1979 to 2000. pIn all, a must buy product for three essential reasons:pThis man has influenced so many artists, this dvd allows you to benchmark who and how.pNo music artist has ever been so able to adapt, adopt and improve his or her visual image over a 40-year career span and remain so cool.pThe man is a legend and has presented excellent value for money if you are a fan or not. BoWILDERING SOUND VISION December 20, 2002 Mr Paul Savory (Wrexham, UK) 42 out of 44 found this review helpful What a bargain. 47 tracks and a playing time of 4hr 12mins.pSo here it is at last, the greatest collection of Bowie promos and clips to date. It is a chronological journey from 1969's 'Space Oddity' (although the promo was not made till 1972 and that's why it appears as track 7. I dare say that a lot of us will own the "Video Collection" but this DVD wipes the floor with it. pBefore I start I should just say that Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is generally regarded as the first video. That was made in 1976. Up till that point promo clips had been the norm. Bowie's first real venture into video did not come until 1979's 'Lodger' album, (Tracks 15 / 16 17).pOh! You Pretty Things / Queen Bitch Five Years are performed on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Starman is from Top Of The Pops. TOGWT, for those who don#8217;t know was a classic BBC2 rock/pop show. (By the way, 30 years of TOGWT DVD is an excellent buy to). John, I'm Only Dancing / Jean Genie and Space Oddity are promo clips of a fairly basic nature. A performance of Drive-in-Saturday is taken from Russell Harty's Plus Pop. Life on Mars is a very basic promo and due to the way it was filmed it is difficult to watch. Ziggy Stardust comes straight from the concert of 1972. Most of these forementioned clips also feature The Spiders From Mars and it is a pleasure to watch the late Mick Ronson in action. (His last TV appearance was Freddie Mercury's Tribute Concert playing with Bowie). Rebel, Rebel is from a Dutch TV TopPop mime but features Bowie in one of his legendary costumes and sporting just one eye. Young Americans is a live performance on American TV. The sound quality is awful so alter your amp if you can. We now jump to 1977 for Be My Wife. A great song but did the video have to be minimalist to. The same goes for Heroes (single version).p So this is where the "proper" videos start. Boys Keep Swinging / D.J. Look Back In Anger from 1979. My fave video, Ashes To Ashes with Fashion from the brilliant Scary Monsters#8230; album. Then we jump back to 1976 for Wild Is The Wind from Stationtostation. The song was released as a single to promote Changestwobowie in 1982. Now many years ago Bowie was a mime artist and throughout his videos he uses props, and images which at first look weird. For example, the white gloves on Let's Dance. My interpretation (which is probably wrong) suggests it is Britain keeping her hands clean of the plight of the native Australians in one of our largest members of the Commonwealth. And the red shoes are just 80's capitalism. China Girl was made at the same time as Let's Dance and at the time (1983) were the most expensive videos ever made. Modern Love and Cat People are filmed on The Serious Moonlight tour. It's the short version of Blue Jean. Loving The Alien is about the fights between religions. Dancing In The Streets is a cover recorded and filmed very quickly for Live Aid (1985). Take it for what it is: a bit of fun.pDISC 2: Absolute Beginners was released to promote the film. This 12" version beats the film which is more of an art movie than a film. Underground As The World Falls Down are both from the hugely entertaining Labyrinth movie. Day-in, Day-out is one of Bowie's most controversial and could only be screened after 9pm on release. He even had to learn to skate for it. Time Will Crawl and Never Let Me Down are both dance style videos but totally different. Again, Bowie's mime training comes in. Fame '90 should be watched about 15 times (watch smaller screens on the edge). Jump They Say deals with Bowie's brother's suicide and from here to the end of the disc it is uncomfortable listening, but thoroughly enjoyable. Black Tie, White Noise deals with racism and Miricle Goodnight is a love song for Iman (his wife) but the video deals with sex. I kicked myself when I finally saw Buddha Of Suburbia video as I missed the tv series, it looked very interesting. (Nice samples to). The next 3 come from 1.Outside. There is not the room here to go in-depth with that album. It's Eno and Bowie together again but with something new. If you know the story fair enough but it's about murder as art. The videos are not graphic but could be disturbing. These songs are Heart's Filthy Lesson, Strangers When We Meet and Hallo Spaceboy (Pet Shop Boys softer remix). I will just list the remaining tracks Little Wonder, Dead Man Walking, 7 Years In Tibet, I'm Afraid Of Americans, Thursday's Child and Survive. All of these for me are very "arty". That takes us up to 2000. All that is left are the credits. These are nicely presented and you can flick thru them at your leisure but can be viewed in the booklet. The packaging is colourful but basic. A synopsis of each song would have been useful so you'll just have to go searching the net for info.pThanks for reading.pPS reading the credits there could be another DVD video collection released Easter 2003. my favorite Martian September 4, 2004 Alejandra Vernon (Long Beach, California) 6 out of 6 found this review helpful As an overview of nearly 2 decades of David Bowie's work, mostly in the form of videos, this is a remarkable 2 Disc set that shows the changes from the 25 year old with the cobalt blue guitar and rather shabby looking teeth in 1972, to the sophisticated superstar of the late '90s.brThough the first few videos are rather simple in their presentation, he quickly learned the theatrical, unique style he is famous for, with his space alien themes, outlandish costumes, and his marvelous red hair.p"Boys Keep Swinging" from '79 is the first number with some uniquely Bowiesque dance moves, and there is one song with Mick Jagger from '85, "Dancing in the Streets". brMy favorite piece, which is pure musical artistry, is "Wild is the Wind", with Bowie in everyday clothes and no fancy makeup. I was entranced by this track, and wish there had been more like it.pWith his androgynous charm, skill as a performer, and musical/vocal/songwriting talent, Bowie is deservedly one of the longest lasting and most fascinating of all pop/rock icons. This set is a must for Bowie fans, anyone who would like to know more about this superstar who continues to be an influence in the music industry, and to view the pure magic of "Wild is the Wind".brTotal playing time is 4 hours and 12 minutes.pDisc # 1:br"Oh ! You Pretty Things" (1972) / "Queen Bitch" (1972) / "Five Years" (1972) / "Starman" (1972) / "John, I'm Only Dancing" (1972) / "The Jean Genie" (1972) / "Space Oddity" (1972) / "Drive-in Saturday" (1973) / "Life on Mars ?" (1973) / "Ziggy Stardust" (1973) / "Rebel Rebel" (1974) / "Young American" (1974) / "Be My Wife" (1977) / "Heroes" (1977) / "Boys Keep Swinging" (1979) / "D.J." (1979) / br"Look Back in Anger" (1979) / "Ashes to Ashes" (1980) / "Fashion" (1980) / "Wild is the Wind" (1981) / "Let's Dance" (1983) / "China Girl" (1983) / "Modern Love" (1983) / "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" (1983) / "Blue Jean" (1984) / "Loving the Alien" (1985) / "Dancing in the Streets (with Mick Jagger) (1985) .brDisc # 2:br"Absolute Beginners" (1986) / "Underground" (1986) / "As the World goes Down" (1986) / "Day-In Day-Out" (1987) / "Time Will Crawl" (1987) / "Never Let Me Down" (1987) / "Fame" (1990) / "Jump They Say" (1993) / "Black Tie White Noise" (1993) / "Miracle Goodnight" (1993) / "Buddha of Suburbia" (1994) / "The Heart's Filthy lesson" (1995) / "Strangers When We Meet" (1995) / "Hallo Spaceboy" (1996) / "Little Wonder" (1997) / "Dead Man Walking" (1997) / "Seven Years in Tibet" (1997) / "I'm Afraid of Americans" (1997) / "Thursday's Child" (1999) / "Survive" (1999). A must for any Bowie fan November 19, 2002 8 out of 9 found this review helpful The set contains a number of Bowie videos covering almost the entire span of his career. It represents a great asset for both those who already have all of his albums and also those who need an introduction to his work. Actually, it is the younger generations who might find DVD's particularly interesting since videos show many of the acts and personalities that Bowie was famous for with an insight that cannot be grasped easily from books or records. The compilation leads us from early TV takes, like e.g. 1972 Starman from Top of the Pops to the videos from his latest album, without omitting much. In particular, I was very pleased that someone finally thought to include the entire Blue Jean video, Jazzin' for Blue Jean, which I was looking for for a long time.brAlthough I like the discs, they are not flawless. For some reason, the authors decided not to allow programming of track reproduction or individual track repeats, and they "hid" Jazzin' for Blue Jean out of standard menus (not that it was hard to find, but I knew in advance that it was there). brThis is a high quality edition compared to all previous Bowie DVD's and other published video collections, a great "finally".brHighly recommended. THE King March 31, 2007 Richard Taylor (Essex) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful Brilliant. br /David Bowie is a living legend and the greatest rock star of all-time. br /This collection is pure gold and everyone home should own it... Showing reviews 1-5 of 16 1 2 3 4 Next »

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