Urgh! A Music War
by Derek Burbidge
List Price:
Our Price: $16.93
You Save: $10.06 (37%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $15.27 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Andy Summers, Stewart Copeland, Sting, Toyah WillcoxDirector: Derek Burbidge
Brand: Warner
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 116 minutes
Published: 2009
DVD Release Date: 2009-11-11
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lorimar
DVD Reviews of Urgh! A Music War
DVD Review: best "various artists" rock music film ever and a fine DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
This official DVD (NTSC, 16:9 anamorphic, Dolby 2.0 stereo, single layer DVD-R) release of URGH is almost everything I could have hoped for.
I've been a huge fan since I saw Urgh in its limited cinema season in Brisbane circa 1981. I immediately bonded with artists like The Cramps, Klaus Nomi, Skafish, Fleshtones, X, Au Pairs, Alley Cats, GoGo's, Joan Jett and Pere Ubu - bands I may not have known otherwise. I was already a devotee of Devo, Wall Of Voodoo, Dead Kennedys, XTC and Gang Of Four. I also came to appreciate just how damned good the Police were (the ultimate rock 3 piece). I bought the LaserDisc and was happy enough with that for the next 20 years - even though it had lots of video noise, was only mono and did not include Wall Of Voodoo (one of the film's highlights). I also bought the 2 disc vinyl LP, so I knew the soundtrack ought to have been in glorious stereo.
Comments on the 2 "unofficial" DVD versions of Urgh:
Until this Warner Archive release, there was the distinct expectation that the best anyone could have expected to own was an unofficial DVD-R copy of a transfer made from damaged videotape (which was itself transferred from less than perfect film). I bought two different "unofficial" DVD versions - the dodgy "Urgh..." version was absolutely terrible in both video and audio quality - with lots of errors, including a full 11 seconds missing from the start of the Fleshtones. The "Anti..." version was from a much better source tape, with just a few video glitches, but it was still quite blurry and with about 14 noticeable and annoying audio glitches (including a full second missing near the start of the Dead Kennedys). Both versions have the audio annoyingly out of synchronisation throughout, by about a tenth of a second ahead of the video - with Pere Ubu and Devo both a glaringly obvious third of a second ahead of the video. "Anti..." had done his best to enhance the look of the video and had applied loudness and compression to the audio (which is OK at low listening levels, but grates at high volume). Both these versions were 4:3 fullscreen and in stereo.
Comment specific to this Warner Archive DVD version:
The video and audio quality are both fantastic. It is truly astonishing to note the amount of extra detail discernable as compared to all previous versions - and it makes a very real difference to the enjoyment of the music. Most of the time we're viewing virtually from the mosh pit - and at such close range nothing on stage should be blurry. You can clearly read the rude message that Stewart Copeland has scrawled on the heads of his toms.
Synchronisation is absolutely perfect throughout and examination of the 24fps progressive scan video proves that the transfer has been made from pristine or very carefully restored film. The original film frame has been cropped to 16:9 anamorphic, offering more detail left and right of what was visible in the 4:3 fullscreen versions, and the whole film works perfectly in widescreen (as you'll witness on a big widescreen TV).
The only technical errors are a split second of distracting introductory vocal which remains at the start of the Jools Holland song (it should just start with a piano note), and that the last couple of seconds of audio is repeated for both Devo and Gang Of Four (where I suspect there was a change of film reel). Warner have chosen to leave out the British band "Splodgeness Abounds" with their punk restyling of "Two Little Boys" (a soppy sixties hit by Australian Rolf Harris) - they must have thought that bit of English humour would be wasted on Americans. There are so many people in Splodgeness that they take up a big slice of the onscreen credits and they should have remained included, especially because they fitted perfectly forming a bridge between Skafish and UB40.
The audio is very dynamic and sounds increasingly better and more powerful the louder you crank it - and this movie is meant to be enjoyed very loud.
The Warner Archives DVD is a single layer Dolby 2.0 stereo disc, which isn't in itself a problem - because I can't imagine it looking or sounding much better as a dual layer PCM stereo disc. However a quibbling point is that it doesn't have a "scene selection menu" or even chapter marks for each song - just one every ten minutes. It would have been good manners to include a track list on the DVD cover or as an insert, so that people who are not already Urgh fans might know which bands and songs to expect, and in what order. However it's the sort of film that I've always been inclined to watch from start to finish anyway.
Warner are probably just playing it overly safe regarding DVD-R compatibility with the warning on the lower back of the packaging. It plays perfectly in my PC, my DVD recorder and other players.
The fact that this version has been able to exist - with such good quality video and audio - offers slim hope that a perfectly edited and fully featured complete official version is still possible. But that will only happen if the owners of the distribution rights see the potential for sufficient profit.
Undoubtedly a five star film, and even in this "bare bones" DVD format it's still a very good 4 star product.
Description of Urgh! A Music War
Studio: Warner Bros. Digital Dist Release Date: 06/16/2011Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolutionby Craig Marks, Rob Tannenbaum
Dutton Adult; Published: 2011-10-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.82
Price in other shops:
Stop Making SenseUni; Release date: 1999-10-26; DVD
Best price: $19.91
Price in other shops:
Punk's Not DeadMusic Video Dist; Release date: 2008-07-08; DVD
Best price: $7.44
Price in other shops:
Klaus Nomi - Klaus NomiRelease date: 1990-02-12; Music CD
Best price: $4.64
Price in other shops:
Artist Not Provided - The Tomorrow Show - Punk & New WaveSony; Release date: 2006-01-24; DVD
Best price: $3.94
Price in other shops:
Sonic Youth -1991: The Year Punk Broke [DVD]Uni; Release date: 2011-09-13; Published: 2011-09-23; DVD
Best price: $13.23
Price in other shops:
The Clash - Live In TokyoRelease date: 2009-02-17; DVD
Best price: $12.48
Price in other shops:
X (The Band) - The Unheard MusicImage Entertainment; Release date: 2005-01-25; DVD
Best price: $4.96
Price in other shops:
X - Live In Los AngelesRelease date: 2005-05-10; DVD
Best price: $5.81
Price in other shops:
The Cramps - LiveMUSIC VIDEO DISTRIBUTORS; Release date: 2010-11-23; DVD
Best price: $12.69
Price in other shops: