Tommy and Quadrophenia Live: The Who (2005) (V)

User Rating:

9.0/10   

Director:

Aubrey Powell (co-director)

Writer:

Pete Townshend (written by)

Release Date:

17 October 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Music

Cast

Roger Daltrey	...	Vocals
Pete Townshend	...	Guitar, Vocals
John Entwistle	...	Bass
Zak Starkey	...	Himself - Drums
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Bolton	...	Guitar
Phil Collins	...	Uncle Ernie
Billy Idol	...	The Ace Face / Cousin Kevin
Elton John	...	The Pinball Wizard
Patti LaBelle	...	The Acid Queen
Alex Langdon	...	Jimmy / Narrator
Simon Phillips	...	Drums
P.J. Proby	...	The Godfather
Simon Townshend	...	Guitar, The Bus Driver
Stevie Winwood	...	The Hawker

Runtime:

174 min (DVD edition)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 (DVD)

Filming Locations:

USA

Company:

MX Entertainment

Trivia:

The Who don't play every song from the "Tommy" Album. The songs "Underture" and "Welcome" are missing.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Movie Music Mania (2005) (TV)

Who Fooled Us Now?

Quadrophenia Live: 1996-97 World Tour DVD.

Directed by Aubrey Powell and Roger Daltrey.

Being a Who fan for over twenty years now, and for the next twenty too, with many Who memorabilia in my collection, such as books, vinyl, videos, DVD's and seeing them live more than once too, I was expecting great things from this package, please read on..

I saw the London Hyde Park Quadrophenia gig, travelling down on my motorbike and parking behind the Mayfair Hotel. It really was a great show, but this is something of a completely different show altogether. Having just watched the new DVD Concert of Quadrophenia, released around late 2005, here in England. I am afraid to say that this is the worse recording of a show that I have seen for a very long time.

The direction here is terrible, for example, through out the entire show there is only one, and I mean one, angle on the drummer, you see only head and hands. The rest of the group are ninety-eight percent seen from their chest only. You only see Rogers's knees once and Pete's whole body at least twice. Headshots are the order of the day here, what a waste. I do not get this; the band as a whole on stage is only shown about two or three times! Is this a new way of direction? To watch this is very frustrating, you would like to see the whole figure of the Artist, but we are not given the opportunity. When the camera is shooting the actual guitar, for example, there are no heads or legs? It is one or the other. The whole direction seems amateurish to say the least.

P.J.Proby looks something like Oliver Reeds Werewolf grandfather from the sixties horror movie The Curse of the Werewolf. With Billy Idol, I feel that if he put on a Leather Jacket, Parka, or a pink dress, he would still be Billy Idol with the same old trademark sneer.

The encore fairs up pretty well, with tracks that are more acoustic intermingled with electric rock. Still the one and the same angle shot of the drummer.

This no doubt is a great concert, but to see the "whole" event, then I guess you would have to have been there, shame really. As another part of anyone's Who collection then okay, but there are better (DVD) concerts of The Who than this. The Who have always delivered, but today they delivered to the wrong address.

By the way, in the booklet that comes with this package the disclaimer states "The Quadrophenia show was only filmed for the bands archive, while the Tommy show was filmed with the intention of being released". I am sorry, but that is not good enough, I don't feel that I should pay £24.99 for an inferior show, surely there could and should have been much better productions along the Quadrophenia Tour? This not a show of Quadrophenia, but a show of single-minded money grabbing incompetence.