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MRlambfries
Reviews
Iron Maiden: Death on the Road (2006)
Good show, terrible edit ruins it.
Wow, I read on Netflix that the "MTV" style editing was really annoying, but I thought it could't be worse then the "Whtenake: In the Still of the Night" DVD. Boy, was I was I wrong.
Concert disc:
Let me get this out of the way first. The concert itself would have been great. Though Bruce is not at his best as far as sustaining the notes (I have heard bootlegs of this same tour wear he sounds much better) the other players are spot on. The average angle change is about 3x a second. Think about that. It's so bad that there is a warning that the DVD may cause seizures for God's sake. The other problem with all the cuts, is the loss of drama that was intended with this show, particularly the song "Dance of Death".
SPOILER:
Bruce went through a lot of trouble coming up with and realizing the concept that goes along with the song. Elaborate costume changes, dramatic entrances and his dervish dance - all wasted. In fact, when Bruce re-enters the stage and sings, other than in the rear of one camera angle YOU DON'T EVEN SEE HIM. Had I not seen the bonus disc footage of this part from another show I wouldn't have even known it was him and thought he was singing from off-stage. He looks like set dressing in the background.
END SPOILER
If this is to be way of all future concert DVDs I will be forced to stop buying them (luckily I rented this first).
Bonus disc:
Now this is where they get points from me. Like the "History of Iron Maiden" and also the bonus disc that came with "A Matter of Life and Death" there are extensive interviews with the band and others about the making of "Dance of Death" and the touring for said album. These were well done and clips shown on this disc are much better. Some are even from the same show, just not having all the jump-cuts on the first disc - hence more enjoyable. There are even bonus interviews (longer versions) with fans and the "Killer Crew", photo galleries and promo videos for "Rainmaker" and "Wildest Dreams". If you could buy the bonus disc solo or if it came with some other purchase, it's worth getting. I gave it a 4 rating, because the reason you buy a concert DVD is for the concert, and that is what I would rate the first disc. The bonus disc is really about a 9, but the fact that you have to buy it in this set at the moment dramatically reduces it's rating. Maiden is and has been my favorite group for over 20 years, so this isn't a casual review from someone who doesn't appreciate them. And no it isn't the end of the world. I just hope their next concert DVD (Ullevi, Sweden 2005 please - that show was awesome) is much better.
Night Stalker (2005)
Producers should stop using names of shows just to jump start a crappy show.
If one was to believe this show was to be based on the original "Night Stalker" they would be very surprised. Apparently, the producers of this show have never seen the original, but instead heard all the hype about the X-files being highly influenced by "NS" and then decided to make a cheap knock off of that show. This show had no humor or wit at all. Although it was clear from the pilot that would be the case for the rest of the show, being a fan of horror and sci-fi I was hopeful the series would turn out to be something different - or at least a good way to kill an hour. That wasn't even the case. I watched the first 6 episodes and found the show to be an uninspired cash in on the name alone with no legs to stand on. I felt sorry for all the actors involved because I liked them and thought they deserved better. For people who either don't like this genre, or the overzealous fan who likes everything thrown at them; I say this show might be for you. If you like to expand your horizons in any genre avoid this one.