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  Directed by
    None Listed
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.85:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer (RSDL )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.0 Surround
  • English: DTS 5.0 Surround
  • English: Linear PCM Stereo
  Subtitles
  • None
  Extras
  • Animated menus
  • Behind the scenes footage

Kylie - Live in Sydney

Aviva/Warner Vision . R4 . COLOR . 107 mins . PG . PAL

  Feature
Contract

She is probably Australia’s biggest and best female pop singing export. Who would have thought a product of the Neighbours soap machine would end up topping the charts around the world?

It seems Kylie can do no wrong these days, and with her excellent, in this reviewer's eyes, Light Years album, a nod to the art of disco, she’s back and in a big way. With hits from the album such as On a Night Like This, Spinning Around and her duet with Robbie Williams in Kids, coupled with other great tracks such as Koocachoo, Your Disco Needs You, So Now Goodbye and Light Years, any fan can do no wrong with this, even those with even a slight interest in this petite performer from Melbourne.

This live performance was recorded on the last show of the Sydney leg of her recent tour, and it features a collection of her greatest, all the hits from her Light Years album mentioned above and the first performance of Can’t Get You out of My Head, which many believe will easily become one her most successful efforts yet. And what a performance it is! Like someone who knows she’s doing everything right, she handles the stage and the crowd with consummate ease, belting out the tunes with a mixture of pop, dance and cabaret versions of her earlier hits.

  Video
Contract

Presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and 16x9 enhanced, this concert looks as good as it’s going to get. For anyone who went to the show, this DVD is an excellent representation of the colour and lighting used to bring the stage to life.

One could be excused for thinking that the concert was captured on film, however certain faults lead to the belief that the image was recorded on hi-def video, with some colour bleed in cases of extreme purple or red lighting. Outside of this, and there’s not much of it, the image here is probably some of the best seen on a concert DVD. The black levels are spot on; shadow detail is excellent with shots of the crowd showing beautiful detail. Sharpness is set to maximum providing an exceptionally detailed image and colour reproduction and saturation is spot on. This is one very good looking DVD.

  Audio
Contract

There is a nice selection of audio options available here, with Dolby Digital 5.0, DTS 5.0 and Linear PCM Stereo all on offer. Obviously we’re going to look at the full surround channel versions, and both provide very similar soundtracks that really don’t make either one stand out. We gather it’s the material used here. Being a 5.0 soundtrack, one would think that there is no subwoofer action but there certainly is - however not to the extent that it would be artificially obvious. This is an excellent representation of the concert.

Surround channel activity is used to produce a more open soundfield for the music to play in and they come to the fore during breaks in the music when the audience let their own lungs loose. Vocals from all and sundry are as expected with a perfect balance against the music itself. The two channel mix is also an excellent facsimile of the event.

  Extras
Contract

Included on this DVD is 30 minutes of backstage footage. At first it is not obvious where this extra footage can be found, but once the concert gets under way, certain songs reveal a subtitled option in the top right inviting us to “Go Backstage>>”. Upon pressing the ‘enter’ key on your remote we are transported backstage for a short period to look at footage of various interviews with people working behind the scenes, clips of the supporting dancers dancing to the current song playing out on stage and more. This is an interesting way of providing interactivity for the extra footage afforded to the producers of the DVD. They can also be accessed directly from the ‘backstage’ screen linked from the main menu screen.

The main feature is wrapped together with some nicely animated menus, providing direct access to all songs on the feature, the ability to play the entire concert, set up the audio of choice or look at the promo video for Spinning Around that is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect, non-anamorphic format.

  Overall  
Contract

This DVD becoming available coincides with the release of her latest album Fever, and together the pair go hand in hand for any fan of Kylie. This concert, captured on excellent video and with a great selection of audio formats, is a must have. Coupled with a good selection of extras there is nothing more a fan will need until possibly a collection of her video clips is released. Here’s hoping.


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      And I quote...
    "This is an excellent representation of the concert."
    - Steve Koukoulas
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Playstation 2
    • TV:
          Hitachi CMT2979 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Onkyo TX-DS777 THX Select
    • Speakers:
          VAF Signature I-91
    • Centre Speaker:
          VAF Signature I-91
    • Surrounds:
          VAF Signature I-91
    • Subwoofer:
          VAF LFE-07
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard Optical
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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