Rush in Rio (2003) (V)

Director:

Daniel E. Catullo

Release Date:

21 October 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Music | Documentary

Plot:

First concert DVD ever from legendary rock trio Rush. Double-DVD set, containing 28 Rush songs. Bonus features include a tour documentary...

Plot Keywords:

Concert | Rock Concert | Rock Music

Cast

Geddy Lee	...	Himself (Vocals, Bass, Keyboards) (as Rush)
Alex Lifeson	...	Himself (Guitars, Vocals) (as Rush)
Neil Peart	...	Himself (Drums) (as Rush)

Runtime:

Brazil:171 min

Country:

Brazil | USA | Canada

Language:

English | Portuguese

Color:

Color | Black and White

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Company:

Anthem Pictures

Trivia:

Rain threatened this show, as did the other two shows in Brazil (Porto Alegre and São Paulo), but it only hit during São Paulo.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the performance of "The Trees", guitarist Alex Lifeson flubbed the first few notes of the guitar solo. However, this can only be heard on the Dolby Digital Stereo 2-channel audio track (Audio 1). For the Dolby 5.1 Surround track (Audio 2), the mistake is gone and the solo is flawless.

Movie Connections:

Features The Boys in Brazil (2003) (V)

I love it, I hate it

A long overdue concert release, Rush-in-Rio DVD is both compelling and disappointing. This slick two-disc set shows Rush at their finest. After 30 years of honing their unique sound, it's great to have this record of one of the most talented rock bands ever.

The concert features over two dozen songs, a documentary, and three songs that feature multi-angle viewing. Packaged in a bi-fold holder with sleeve and a small insert, it's priced very well for the amount of material it contains.

I'm a Rush fan of the late seventies to early eighties period, and this DVD comes through big, with half of the show highlighting songs from that era. I won't list the songs, in case you want to be surprised. If you attended the Vapor Trails tour, then you'll know what they'll be playing.

Playing in Rio to their biggest crowd ever, Rush is a huge crowd pleaser here. In fact, that was one of the first things I noticed that was peculiar about this show. Throughout most of this two hour concert, you hear and see the crowd, actively chanting and dancing wildly to the music. At first, it's heartening to see the fans give Rush a well deserved response. But after several songs, I was ready to hear and see more of the band and less of the crowd. This is in no way a slam of the crowd of Rio. More power to them! It's a critique of the final editing of the DVD.

Which brings me to my second and main reason "I hate it". The video editing is terrible in my opinion. Save for the multi-angle view bonus cuts, the entire show is a frenzy of visual chaos. It's like the director wanted to see how spastic he could make it. I count changing camera angles, on average, between every one and four seconds, constantly! After about three or four songs, my head and eyes were ready for a break. Which is too bad, because I would have liked to have sat through the whole show, like I was able to at the concert last year. Maybe this fast-cut editing is the latest craze for concert DVD's, but I really think it's an annoyance and detraction from the overall experience. As stated before, I wouldn't mind it for a song or two, but the whole visual aspect of this disc is hurried, or RUSHed. It's really ironic, because all the previous concert clips I've seen of Rush, mainly from Moving Pictures, are strictly straight-filmed, with little switching back and forth. It's almost boring, visually speaking. This DVD has taken it to the other extreme. I know a lot of dyed-in-the-wool Rush fans will vehemently disagree with my statements, but that's just my impression of it.

The bottom line: If you're a Rush fan, you'll buy this DVD regardless of my review, or any other. I still would have bought it after I had read my review. Just don't get expect a "normal" concert. Who knows, the things mentioned above might not bother you.