HOME   News   Reviews   Adv Search   Features   My DVD   About   Apps   Stats     Search:
  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Full Frame
  • Dual Layer (RSDL 106:29)
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
    English, French, Spanish, German, Italian
  Extras
  • Animated menus
  • 5 Music video
  • Interviews
  • Discography
Def Leppard - Historia/In the Round in Your Face
Universal/Universal . R4 . COLOR . 176 mins . G . PAL

  Feature
Contract

At the height of their fame, Def Leppard was considered the biggest band in the world. This was primarily due to the massive worldwide success of the album Hysteria. The band have decided to unleash some of their older VHS releases onto DVD and have intentionally gone with a “value for money” attitude. The end result of this is two VHS releases plus extras squeezed onto a single DVD. Nice one!

Historia
The first section is the Historia video, which is basically a music video history of the band. Newsreel style screens appear before each video explaining how the clip came about. Considering the age of some of these videos, the quality is very good, although it's a shame about the clothes, what were we thinking in the eighties? Videos included range from their first ever clip, Hello America, right up to Love Bites from the Hysteria album. This feature has a total running time of 85:21 and is good value on its own.

Track listing:

Hello America
Let it Go
High 'n' Dry
Bringin' on the Heartbreak (With Pete Willis)
Photograph
Rock of Ages
Foolin'
Too Late For Love
Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)
Bringin' on the Heartbreak (with Phil Collins)
Me and My Wine
Women
Animal
Pour Some Sugar On Me (UK Version)
Hysteria
Armageddon It
Pour Some Sugar On Me (US Version)
Love Bites

In The Round In Your Face
Next on the menu is the full concert In the Round in Your Face. Def Leppard was one of the pioneers of the in the round concept and this concert demonstrates how cutting edge they were for the time. Recorded at the McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado in February 1988 the stage looks terrific. The guys look good also - well, apart from the hairstyles, with lead singer Joe Elliott sporting an impressive mullet. With a band such as Def Leppard who pride themselves on great production on their studio albums, the fear is whether they can reproduce that sound in a live environment. Fear not, for they sound great!

Track listing:

Stagefright
Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)
Women
Too Late For Love
Hysteria
Gods of War
Die Hard the Hunter
Bringin' on the Heartbreak
Foolin'
Armageddon It
Animal
Pour Some Sugar On Me
Rock of Ages
Photograph

This is a very fine concert and although a little aged, it is definitely one that can be watched again and again. With a total running time of 91:02 this is again great value for money and would have been a worthy release on its own.

  Video
  Audio
  Extras
Contract

Both features are presented in full frame and look surprisingly good for their age. The expectation with some of the older videos on Historia was that they would be very poor and riddled with problems, but they look really good, I would even suggest as good as the day they were first released. There is quite a bit of grain evident in the older clips and the occasional artefact, but these take nothing away from the quality, they do look a little aged but the clothes and hairstyles do that to them on their own. The second feature looks very good indeed. There are the usual problems associated with concerts such as grain and lack of detail in audience shots but, these are to be expected. Colours are vibrant and look reasonably natural with good depths of blacks. The layer change occurs during the live show at 21:08 and is between songs. Overall both features have had a very good transfer job done on them, making this a very good quality release.

Audio supplied for both features is Dolby Digital 2.0 and this sounds good on both. Things are clear at all times, with only a little variation in quality on the live show and a couple of slight problems with audio synch. A DD 5.1 track would have been much better for the live show to give that true concert feel, but the 2.0 does do a sufficient job. There is some separation used to good effect but rear speakers and subwoofer would have really boosted this show.

A couple of nice extras are provided, just in case the two main features aren’t value enough for you. Interviews is split into the sections DVD, Playing Live, Shooting Videos and Pushing Limits. The band is asked about these topics and provides some informative answers, running for around eleven minutes. Next are some Bonus Videos, this contains five full videos for Promises, Goodbye, Slang, Work It Out and All I Want Is Everything from the Slang and Euphoria albums. This extra runs for 19:47 and is a great bonus. Lastly is a Discography which lists all the bands albums along with a track listing for each.

Overall the best way to sum up this release is to say it is excellent value for money. To get two full videos and some decent extras makes it a must have for Def Leppard fans. The only down side to this release is the lack of a DD 5.1 track on the concert, but most should be satisfied with the 2.0 track as it does the job nicely.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=1864
  • Send to a friend.
  • Do YOU want to be a DVDnet reviewer? If so, click here

    Cast your vote here: You must enable cookies to vote.
  •   And I quote...
    "Two full features crammed onto one DVD with a few extras thrown in for good measure make this great value for money!"
    - Adrian Turvey
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Akai DV-P2000
    • TV:
          AKAI CT-29S55AT 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Akai AM-SS1500
    • Speakers:
          Akai
    • Centre Speaker:
          Akai
    • Surrounds:
          Akai
    • Subwoofer:
          Akai
      Recent Reviews:
    by Adrian Turvey

    The Rise & Rise of Australian Rugby - The Bledisloe Cup: Deluxe Edition
    "This is a quality package for fans of rugby, as well as fans of Australian sporting history."

    Youssou N'Dour - Live at Union Chapel
    "The talented African singer gives a fine performance in this show."

    The Wailers - Live
    "Keep the pizza delivery phone number handy for this one!"

    Matchbox Twenty - Show: A Night in the Life of
    "Great band, great spectacle, great sound, great show!"

    Manchester United - Beyond the Promised Land
    "Fans of Manchester United should enjoy this release, for others it may induce vomiting! "

      Related Links
      None listed

     

    Search for Title/Actor/Director:
    Google Web dvd.net.au
       Copyright DVDnet. All rights reserved. Site Design by RED 5   
    rss