Arts & Entertainment - Page 61

Manufacturer: Polydor / Umgd Brand: UNIVERSAL MUSIC VIDEO DIST.

Abba ~ Abba Gold - Greatest Hits For those who love Abba (and if you're reading this, chances are you do, even if you don't know it yet), ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits represents a happy, joyous compilation of 19 of the Swedish supergroup's numerous videos (it omits 13 that were on Abba: The Definitive Collection but adds "Lay All Your Love on Me" and "I Have a Dream"). Granted, they all seem to have been filmed on the same soundstage (even the firelit "Fernando"), but they retain their appeal and infectious charm. Fans can thrill to these vintage clips, which provide an opportunity to rediscover who was the most natural in front of the camera (Agnetha), who was the best dancer (Anna-Frid, a.k.a. Frida), who was the most demure (Benny), and who was the worst lip-syncher (Bjorn--always Bjorn). Lassé Hallstrom, later an Oscar®-nominated filmmaker, directed most of the early videos, and it shows in their natural, no-fuss style; it wasn't until Abba tried to make the jump to '80s-style electronica that they faltered in both style and content. In addition to old standbys like "Waterloo" and "Take a Chance on Me," there's a 25-minute historical documentary and a 1992 version of the "Dancing Queen" video. To this we say: Thank you for the music--and the videos! --Mark Englehart

Manufacturer: Eagle Rock Ent Model: 2263343

ERIC CLAPTON, PAUL McCARTNEY, PHIL COLLINS, MARK KNOPFLER, and STING all on one Royal stage for one night!! On September 15, 1997 at Royal Albert Hall, Sir George Martin assembled an all-star cast to perform a benefit for the island of Montserrat, an island in the Caribbean that ws devastated by a volcanic explosion. The artists that appeared at this show had all recorded some of their biggest hits at Martin's recording studio on the island. Included in this group are PAUL McCARTNEY, STING, ELTON JOHN, JIMMY BUFFET, AND ONE OF THE FINAL APPEARANCES FROM CARL PERKINS. Track Listing: Phil Collins - Take Me Home Arrow & His Band - Hot, Hot, Hot Carl Perkins - Blue Suede shoes Jimmy buffet - Volcano Mark Knopfler - Brother In Arms Mark Knopfler - Money For Nothing (w/Sting, Eric Clapton) Sting - Message In a Bottle Sting - Magic Elton John - Your Song Elton John - Live Like Horses Elton John - Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me Eric Clapton - Layla (w/Mark Knopfler) Eric Clapton - Same Old blues (w/Mark Knopfler, Phil Collins, Jools Holland, Ray Cooper) Paul McCartney - Yesterday Paul McCartney - Golden Slumbers (w/Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton) Paul McCartney - Hey Jude (w/all the artists who appeared at the concert) Paul McCartney - Kansas City (w/all the artists who appeared at the concert)

Manufacturer: Kultur Video Brand: BERNSTEIN,LEONARD

Broadcast to millions in America and abroad, the immensely popular series was the winner of multiple Emmy, Peabody and Edison awards. Now this national treasure is available for the first time on DVD in a Special Collector's Edition 9-disc set that contains 25 programs from the Young People's Concerts Series. Leonard Bernstein earned glory as a composer, conductor, and pianist (classical and jazz), but nothing gave him more pleasure than the joy of teaching. He presented the unique blend of spoken words and music known as the "Young People's Concerts" throughout his tenure as music director of the New York Philharmonic and for several years after. His enjoyment, and his audience's, can be seen vividly captured by the video cameras. He is an intensely interactive teacher, getting his audience to sing, springing a quiz full of trick questions, and singing a Beatles song to demonstrate a point. Bernstein is completely at ease talking to his audience. He can take the most abstruse subject - the meaning and function of intervals, tonality and atonality, the links between Gustav Mahler's troubled life and his music - and present them to a young audience with clarity, without condescension, and with a clear sense of the material's value. His subject-matter is enormously varied. For Igor Stravinsky's 80th birthday, he simply tells his audience the story of Petrouchka while conducting a dazzling performance of the colorful ballet. For a program on "Folk Music in the Concert Hall," he plays some of Canteloube's folk song arrangements and the boisterous finale of Ives's Symphony No. 2, full of borrowed pop and folk melodies. The influence of folk music is shown in folk song imitations by Mozart and Carlos Chavez. The sound and images, taped over a 15-year span when the art of recording was rapidly advancing, are varied in quality; the series begins in black-and-white and ends in vivid color. Not all of the programs are equally compelling, but all are worth close and repeated attention. --Joe McLellan

Manufacturer: Universal Int'l

The hit AOR act's 1993 live release/ NTSC/Region 0. Includes the following tracks, 'Calling Elvis', 'Walk Of Life', ' Heavy Fuel', 'Romeo And Juliet', 'The Bug', 'Private Investigations', 'Your Latest Trick', 'On Every Street', 'You And Your Friend', 'Money For Nothing', 'Brothers In Arms', 'Solid Rock' and 'Local Hero - Wild Theme'. Universal. 2004.

Manufacturer: Kultur Video Brand: Kulter

‘This Coppelia is a traditional ballet from start to finish and one that is timeless in the way of all the best and best-loved fairy tales’ – Sunday Telegraph. This delightful ballet tells the story of Dr Coppelius, a toymaker and magician, who attempts to bring to life his beautiful doll, Coppelia. He is fooled by the mischievous Swanilda, who masquerades as Coppelia and saves her lover Franz from the doctor’s magic. From a tale by Hoffman. With Lisa Pavane, Greg Horsman, The Australian Ballet.

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon Brand: DVD Model: 2227948

Mirella Freni, Placido Domingo, Christa Ludwig, and Robert Kerns star in this Jean-Pierre Ponnelle-directed version of the Puccini opera, with Herbert Von Karajan conducting the Vienna Philharmonic.

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon Model: 2227964

Manufacturer: Kultur Video Brand: Kulter

The three ballets on this remarkable DVD tell no stories, but they are full of human drama. In one sense, they all ell the same story--of the vitality, daring, intelligence, and emotional depth that a great dancer possesses.