Post by Ineedanewname on Aug 21, 2004 15:21:42 GMT
The Who: The Kids Are Alright (Special Edition)
Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (September 18, 2003)
The DVD Grades: Picture C/ Audio B (DD) B- (DTS)/ Bonus B+
The Kids Are Alright appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this single-sided, single-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. The aspect ratio created an unusual situation for Kids, as it offered both the original dimensions and didn’t. Huh? While Kids ran theatrically at about 1.85:1, much of the footage included was composed for 1.33:1. The film included lots of TV material and other film shot that way, which meant the results had to be cropped for Kids. Since this did indeed replicate the movie’s OAR, I won’t complain, but it did create an odd situation.
Who fans will find two flavors of The Kids Are Alright on the shelves. This two-DVD “Special Edition” presents the more in-depth package and comes packed with supplements. Only a couple of these appear on disc one, though. We open with an audio commentary from director Jeff Stein with rock historian Martin Lewis and DVD producer John Albarian. All three sit together for a running, screen-specific track. This remains almost entirely Stein’s baby. Lewis acts as facilitator and does a good job of questioning Stein; he helps elicit a lot of good details that likely wouldn’t otherwise have emerged. Albarian barely says two words throughout the piece, so don’t expect to get much from him.
That’s fine, for Stein provides a great examination of Kids. He covers why he did the film, the laborious process of locating materials, his long-time interest in the Who, interacting with the band, and many other related subjects. Stein’s continued passion for the Who comes through well and he still sounds like an unreformed and enthusiastic fan. He’s lively and entertaining, and he spices the conversation with more than a few terrific anecdotes about his time with the band plus other bits of Who history. Stein makes this a highly enjoyable and informative commentary that definitely merits a listen.
DVD One’s only other extra presents onscreen liner notes. Don’t get too excited about that prospect. I thought this would function like a trivia subtitle track, but it doesn’t. Instead, it simply provides a little information about the different clips such as location and date. All of this material also appears in the package’s booklet; the liner notes make the information more accessible but they don’t add a lot to the set.
One minor Easter egg shows up on the first disc. Highlight “The Who” on the main menu screen, and you’ll get to watch the program’s cool alteration of the FBI warning that appears when the disc starts.
On DVD Two, we find many more supplements. Miracle Cure: Restoring the Film For DVD presents a 40-minute and 36-second documentary that goes over all the work put into this new rendition of the movie. We get comments from DVD producer John Albarian, colorist Larry Yore, DRS artist Tim Gallegos, audio mixers Ted Hall and Jon Astley, editor Ed Rothkowitz, and director Stein. In addition to all the remarks, we see demonstrations of the work. The material gets somewhat dry at times and won’t interest everybody, but the show offers a pretty solid look at what it took to get Kids up to snuff.
Trick of the Light: Picture Showdown runs five minutes and two seconds as it uses a splitscreen – cut with “old” on the left and “restored” on the right – to demonstrate the improvements. Indeed, the restored image looks substantially superior, though it seems a bit like a cheat that this segment only contrasts footage shot specifically for Kids; I’d like to see if the restored archival footage appears as significantly improved.
An interesting and clever extra shows up via The Ox: An Isolated Track of John’s Bass Feed. This focuses both visual and audio solely on bass player Entwistle. Standard 2.0 and 5.1 tracks also appear for the versions of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Baba O’Riley” here, but the most fun option lets us hear just Entwistle’s contribution to those songs. Four to six different camera angles also appear, so even if you don’t care about the isolated bass, you can switch to the full song audio and check out the tunes from many vantage points. This is a great extra, though I must admit I wish they’d gone all the way and also provided isolated audio tracks for the rest of the band too.
An interactive feature called The Who’s London: Tour of Important Who Places In London shows up next. You can navigate to different spots on a graphic map or just hit “play all locations” and watch the eight minutes and 43 seconds of clips run as one full piece. If you do so, you’ll see the various places that were important in their career along with narration that explains the significance of the spots. This covers the birth of all four members through Moon’s death. It’s a dry but informative compilation.
We get the DVD’s only comments from an actual band member via Behind Blue Eyes: Q&A With Roger Daltrey. In the 25-minute and 35-second session, Daltrey chats with an interviewer about topics related to the film. We learn that Daltrey hadn’t seen the flick since he and Moon took in a screening a week prior to the latter’s death. Daltrey also reflects on various appearances like the Smothers Brothers show, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus, and other parts of the movie and the Who. It’s a nicely open and interesting program that offers some good insight into the band.
Don’t expect anything new in Anytime You Want Me: Multiple Camera Angles. This simply repeats the material we already found in “The Ox”. It even includes the same three audio tracks along with the four cameras of “Baba O’Riley” and the six angles of “Won’t Get Fooled Again”.
A quiz shows up next via Pure & Easy: A Warm Up For the Casual Fan. This presents 21 multiple-choice questions about the band. Despite the section’s title, not all of them were easy. Some seem reasonably basic, but a lot were much tougher; I know a fair amount about the Who but I was stumped on occasion. Happily, it’s a forgiving test, so you’re not really punished for mistakes and you can try again. Double happily, you actually get a prize for successful completion: “a rare audio recording of Ringo Starr promoting The Kids Are Alright”. Triple happily, the screen reveals a special code that will let you access this feature in the future without mucking through the game. Great!
Thank God for the forgiving nature of the quizzes, for another, even tougher one comes next. It’s Hard: 21 Correct Answers Wins the Prize. As with “Pure & Easy”, this test rewards you if you finish. Here we get a 5.1 remix of the studio version of “Who Are You”.
The last element on DVD Two, See My Way: Q&A With Jeff Stein runs 29 minutes and 21 seconds. The director gives us additional insights into his work on the film. He recaps his interest in the Who and then gets into the details of the production as well as some reactions to the final product. A few remarks already appeared during the commentary, but much of the piece presents undiscussed material. Stein remains frank and entertaining in this useful program.
Finally, the package includes a solid booklet. The 32-page text opens with an essay from Who fan Brian Cady that discusses the genesis of the film. An essay from Jeff Stein comes next, as he gives us notes about the construction of the flick. The rest of the booklet details each chapter and adds good information about the origins of the various material. This is an excellent booklet that definitely enhances the set.
If I had to complain about anything related to the Kids DVD, it’d stem from the absence of any deleted scenes. As we learn repeatedly, Stein originally shot the Who at an unsuccessful concert but reconvened them for performances at Shepperton Studios that ended up in the final flick. We get nothing from the Kilburn show, and the only glimpse of the apparently lackluster initial version of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” at Shepperton pops up briefly during Stein’s Q&A. I’d have loved to see these allegedly less-than-stellar performances, so it comes as a disappointment we find so little evidence of them here.
However, these gripes fall into the category of nit picking, as The Kids Are Alright does much more right than wrong. The movie remains the definitive packaging of the glory that was the Who. It presents the band in a surprisingly coherent manner that packs a real punch. The DVD offers erratic picture and sound that nonetheless seem about as good as one could expect, and the set includes a very nice roster of supplements. The Kids Are Alright clearly belongs in the collection of every rock fan.
Viewer Film Ratings: 4 Stars
dvdmg.com/thewhothekidsarealrightse.shtml
Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (September 18, 2003)
The DVD Grades: Picture C/ Audio B (DD) B- (DTS)/ Bonus B+
The Kids Are Alright appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this single-sided, single-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. The aspect ratio created an unusual situation for Kids, as it offered both the original dimensions and didn’t. Huh? While Kids ran theatrically at about 1.85:1, much of the footage included was composed for 1.33:1. The film included lots of TV material and other film shot that way, which meant the results had to be cropped for Kids. Since this did indeed replicate the movie’s OAR, I won’t complain, but it did create an odd situation.
Who fans will find two flavors of The Kids Are Alright on the shelves. This two-DVD “Special Edition” presents the more in-depth package and comes packed with supplements. Only a couple of these appear on disc one, though. We open with an audio commentary from director Jeff Stein with rock historian Martin Lewis and DVD producer John Albarian. All three sit together for a running, screen-specific track. This remains almost entirely Stein’s baby. Lewis acts as facilitator and does a good job of questioning Stein; he helps elicit a lot of good details that likely wouldn’t otherwise have emerged. Albarian barely says two words throughout the piece, so don’t expect to get much from him.
That’s fine, for Stein provides a great examination of Kids. He covers why he did the film, the laborious process of locating materials, his long-time interest in the Who, interacting with the band, and many other related subjects. Stein’s continued passion for the Who comes through well and he still sounds like an unreformed and enthusiastic fan. He’s lively and entertaining, and he spices the conversation with more than a few terrific anecdotes about his time with the band plus other bits of Who history. Stein makes this a highly enjoyable and informative commentary that definitely merits a listen.
DVD One’s only other extra presents onscreen liner notes. Don’t get too excited about that prospect. I thought this would function like a trivia subtitle track, but it doesn’t. Instead, it simply provides a little information about the different clips such as location and date. All of this material also appears in the package’s booklet; the liner notes make the information more accessible but they don’t add a lot to the set.
One minor Easter egg shows up on the first disc. Highlight “The Who” on the main menu screen, and you’ll get to watch the program’s cool alteration of the FBI warning that appears when the disc starts.
On DVD Two, we find many more supplements. Miracle Cure: Restoring the Film For DVD presents a 40-minute and 36-second documentary that goes over all the work put into this new rendition of the movie. We get comments from DVD producer John Albarian, colorist Larry Yore, DRS artist Tim Gallegos, audio mixers Ted Hall and Jon Astley, editor Ed Rothkowitz, and director Stein. In addition to all the remarks, we see demonstrations of the work. The material gets somewhat dry at times and won’t interest everybody, but the show offers a pretty solid look at what it took to get Kids up to snuff.
Trick of the Light: Picture Showdown runs five minutes and two seconds as it uses a splitscreen – cut with “old” on the left and “restored” on the right – to demonstrate the improvements. Indeed, the restored image looks substantially superior, though it seems a bit like a cheat that this segment only contrasts footage shot specifically for Kids; I’d like to see if the restored archival footage appears as significantly improved.
An interesting and clever extra shows up via The Ox: An Isolated Track of John’s Bass Feed. This focuses both visual and audio solely on bass player Entwistle. Standard 2.0 and 5.1 tracks also appear for the versions of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Baba O’Riley” here, but the most fun option lets us hear just Entwistle’s contribution to those songs. Four to six different camera angles also appear, so even if you don’t care about the isolated bass, you can switch to the full song audio and check out the tunes from many vantage points. This is a great extra, though I must admit I wish they’d gone all the way and also provided isolated audio tracks for the rest of the band too.
An interactive feature called The Who’s London: Tour of Important Who Places In London shows up next. You can navigate to different spots on a graphic map or just hit “play all locations” and watch the eight minutes and 43 seconds of clips run as one full piece. If you do so, you’ll see the various places that were important in their career along with narration that explains the significance of the spots. This covers the birth of all four members through Moon’s death. It’s a dry but informative compilation.
We get the DVD’s only comments from an actual band member via Behind Blue Eyes: Q&A With Roger Daltrey. In the 25-minute and 35-second session, Daltrey chats with an interviewer about topics related to the film. We learn that Daltrey hadn’t seen the flick since he and Moon took in a screening a week prior to the latter’s death. Daltrey also reflects on various appearances like the Smothers Brothers show, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus, and other parts of the movie and the Who. It’s a nicely open and interesting program that offers some good insight into the band.
Don’t expect anything new in Anytime You Want Me: Multiple Camera Angles. This simply repeats the material we already found in “The Ox”. It even includes the same three audio tracks along with the four cameras of “Baba O’Riley” and the six angles of “Won’t Get Fooled Again”.
A quiz shows up next via Pure & Easy: A Warm Up For the Casual Fan. This presents 21 multiple-choice questions about the band. Despite the section’s title, not all of them were easy. Some seem reasonably basic, but a lot were much tougher; I know a fair amount about the Who but I was stumped on occasion. Happily, it’s a forgiving test, so you’re not really punished for mistakes and you can try again. Double happily, you actually get a prize for successful completion: “a rare audio recording of Ringo Starr promoting The Kids Are Alright”. Triple happily, the screen reveals a special code that will let you access this feature in the future without mucking through the game. Great!
Thank God for the forgiving nature of the quizzes, for another, even tougher one comes next. It’s Hard: 21 Correct Answers Wins the Prize. As with “Pure & Easy”, this test rewards you if you finish. Here we get a 5.1 remix of the studio version of “Who Are You”.
The last element on DVD Two, See My Way: Q&A With Jeff Stein runs 29 minutes and 21 seconds. The director gives us additional insights into his work on the film. He recaps his interest in the Who and then gets into the details of the production as well as some reactions to the final product. A few remarks already appeared during the commentary, but much of the piece presents undiscussed material. Stein remains frank and entertaining in this useful program.
Finally, the package includes a solid booklet. The 32-page text opens with an essay from Who fan Brian Cady that discusses the genesis of the film. An essay from Jeff Stein comes next, as he gives us notes about the construction of the flick. The rest of the booklet details each chapter and adds good information about the origins of the various material. This is an excellent booklet that definitely enhances the set.
If I had to complain about anything related to the Kids DVD, it’d stem from the absence of any deleted scenes. As we learn repeatedly, Stein originally shot the Who at an unsuccessful concert but reconvened them for performances at Shepperton Studios that ended up in the final flick. We get nothing from the Kilburn show, and the only glimpse of the apparently lackluster initial version of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” at Shepperton pops up briefly during Stein’s Q&A. I’d have loved to see these allegedly less-than-stellar performances, so it comes as a disappointment we find so little evidence of them here.
However, these gripes fall into the category of nit picking, as The Kids Are Alright does much more right than wrong. The movie remains the definitive packaging of the glory that was the Who. It presents the band in a surprisingly coherent manner that packs a real punch. The DVD offers erratic picture and sound that nonetheless seem about as good as one could expect, and the set includes a very nice roster of supplements. The Kids Are Alright clearly belongs in the collection of every rock fan.
Viewer Film Ratings: 4 Stars
dvdmg.com/thewhothekidsarealrightse.shtml