The Best of Riverdance
by John McColgan
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DVD details
Actor: Areleen Ni Bhaoill, Brendán de Gallaí, Eileen Martin, Jean Butler, Michael FlatleyDirector: John McColgan
Brand: KULTUR
Cinematographer: Michel Siebenmann
Producer: Jean-Luc Koenig
Producer: Joan Egan
Producer: Julian Erskine
Producer: Moya Doherty
Producer: Serge Minkoff
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Published), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 113 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-07
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Kultur Video
DVD Reviews of The Best of Riverdance
DVD Review: Yet ANOTHER *AWFUL* version of Riverdance
Summary: 1 Stars
For the life of me, I simply cannot understand why the producers of the "Riverdance - The Show" has not been re-released on DVD!!! I know it would sell! We still watch it on VHS, but the problem of course with VHS is the quality of the picture degrades over time. Truth be told some of the vocal numbers in the original, (I just skip over as they are somewhat boring to watch, which of course would be easier to do on DVD). But what I LOVE about the original version that this and other released version of the Irish Dance are horrible at is, the camera angles, the lighting, the fact that you get to see the original show in it's entirety and realize that the show was NOT all about Micheal Flatley! It was the whole cast. And constantly change camera angles & scenes on the original like they were filming an annoying MTV Music Video. In the Original VHS, you get to *FOCUS* on a wide view the dancers and to see it as if you were in the audience instead of constant multi-camera views/angles etc!!! And the lighting is very simple, which it should be, so as not to detract from THE DANCE or the DANCERS!!!! If you want to see the most terrible lighting in your life, check out Lord of the Dance. We saw this show when it was touring, and I have to say it's like light-VOMIT! M. Flatley had an AWFUL eye for that in my opinion. Much of the time, the lights are staring AT the AUDIENCE and/or the CAMERAS!!!! The lighting should ONLY LIGHT what YOU, the Audience, is there to WATCH!!! Also, with Riverdance - The Show, there is no *STUPID FOG* on stage or anything else to detract from what you are trying to watch (again, the DANCING).
Anyway, back to this DVD. It is yet another disappointment. Stupid cuts, poor lighting & fog, etc.
The only DVD on Riverdance that I can recommend at the time of this writing, is the Documentary on the original show that was released by original producers. It's called "Riverdance - A Journey" It features Moya Doherty (I love to hear her SPEAK!!!), and others telling the story of Riverdance, and was fun to watch the controversy with M. Flatley getting himself kicked off the show due to his over-inflated ego and refusing to re-sign his contract. Anway, this DVD used to be able to buy that DVD on their website, but I just checked and now even that version is only available on VHS??!!! I am sure you can get a DVD copy of this however as I own one, and it's probably on sale on Ebay.
Moya, PLEASE PLEASE release "Riverdance - The Show" on DVD. It was the finest taped version of the show in it's original innocence & beauty.
Description of The Best of Riverdance
Compilation of 18 performances starting with the Point Theatre in Dublin with Michael Flatley and Jean Butler, to Radio City Music Hall and ending in Geneva Switzerland. Cover disc and insert are in mint condition. Region 1 (USA & Canada)The DVD debut of Michael Flatley's performance in Riverdance (or at least part of it) is one of the highlights of The Best of Riverdance, a generous survey of the Irish hard-shoe sensation that has riveted live audiences and PBS viewers for a decade. Beginning with the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest performance that led to the full-length stage show, the program compiles a number of highlights from the show's history, taken mostly from three sources. There's the original 1995 televised show starring the flamboyant, record-setting tapper Flatley and his partner, Jean Butler. There's the 1997 New York City concert, with Colin Dunne opposite Butler. And finally there's the 2003 performance from Geneva headlined by Brendán de Gallaí and Joanne Doyle. Because elements of the show and numerous performers have changed over the years, each performance has its own character, and The Best of Riverdance even takes the unusual step of blending segments of various shows into a single number. For example, "Riverdance" switches back and forth among the three shows and the three sets of leads. "Lift the Wings" begins with two verses of the solo voice of Áine Uí Cheallaigh, then segues into segments from the ensemble-sung version from New York and Geneva. Because the solo rendition was one of the biggest losses of later generations of the show, it's nice to have at least part of it on DVD. Likewise, because Flatley's complete Riverdance performance is not yet available on DVD, fans will be glad to have at least a few numbers here. Other later-generation numbers included are "American Wake" and "Trading Taps," and the DVD menu screens very clear note which performer or combination of performers is performing.
Brand new in this nearly two-hour program are occasional introductions by Jean Butler, which help explain some of the ambiguous stage action. Bonus features are a new one-hour documentary about the history of the show, 16 minutes of high-speed backstage footage, and an eight-minute performance from the 2003 Special Olympics. Some viewers may find the introductions or the performance switches jarring to the flow, and The Best of Riverdance is surely not a substitute for the complete performances of the show, but it is a nice compilation, and offers some footage that you can't see anywhere else. --David Horiuchi
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