DVD Talk Forum - 1st Look DVD Reviews: Rage Against The Machine

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It's unfortunate that the version of Rage Against The Machine as we know it have broken up and their new DVD is a reminder of just what an outstanding group of musicians the band as we knew it were. As someone who saw the band twice live, I can honestly say they're one of the most impressive live acts I've ever seen.

"Battle Of Mexico City" is the second Rage DVD that's been released. Their first disc offered concert footage and some videos, but the presentation was somewhat less than satisfactory. Image-wise, "Battle" looks very good, with a sharp, crisp presentation that presents no distracting flaws.

The audio is the big difference between the early release and "Battle". The first release had rather rough sounding audio that wasn't too entertaining, but remained listenable. "Battle", on the other hand, brings the raw power of a Rage concert home. De La Rocha's powerhouse vocals come through clearly and the music played by the fantastically talented band backing him up comes through perfectly. Surrounds offer the music as well, and the result is a completely enveloping and exciting sound experience.

Between some of the songs, there is documentary footage about the situation of living conditions in Mexico; extra features also include a photo gallery, 2 interviews and weblinks.

On the other end of the musical rainbow is pop star Mandy Moore, whose "Real Story" DVD also comes out from Sony Music this Tuesday. a 50 minute documentary about the singer's career(all of two albums), we're occasionally offered some interesting interview tidbits about her music as well as a behind-the-scenes clip or two. Audio is in Dolby Digital 5.1 and sounds enjoyable. Moore's 4 videos are included with audio commentary from the singer, although it becomes apparent that some of the comments are taken from the documentary itself.

Tina Turner has always been one of the world's most popular concert performers, and new to stores is the unfortunately titled "One Last Time: Live In Concert", as it shows what is apparently Tina's last show. She goes through many of her classics in this fun and wonderfully performed 2 hour show that Tina's fans will be thrilled by. DTS and Dolby Digital audio versions are offered and the sole extra is a backstage documentary with Tina.

Leaping back towards the teen pop genre which seems to dominate the airwaves, "Britney Spears: Live and More" finally hits shelves after a few lengthy delays. The teen pop singer's "Live in Hawaii" special makes up the majority of the documentary feature, as the singer performs her latest hits to an audience that's energetic to the point of being creepy. Still, there's a good deal for fans of the singer to enjoy - the concert (as well as her 3 latest videos) are presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, and the sound makes for a fun time as it's well done. The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio for the videos (Lucky, Ooops...I Did It Again and Stronger) also sounds excellent. To top things off, Britney's very funny skits from "Saturday Night Live" are also included, which are definitely good for a few laughs.

"Battle Of Mexico City" and "Real Story" are available 2/20/01. "Live and More" was released on 2/13/01 and "One Last Time: Live In Concert" was released 2/06/01.

Full DVD/Movie Reviews of these titles and more are available at my site, at the link below.

<A HREF="http://www.currentfilm.com/dvdindex.html">My Site: A Guide To Current DVD</A>