Manilow Live!

Dom Robinson reviews

Manilow Live!
Distributed by
Pinnacle Records

    Cover

  • Cat.no: IX 9531 SJUKD
  • Cert: E
  • Running time: 115 minutes
  • Year: 2000
  • Pressing: 2000
  • Region(s): 2, PAL
  • Chapters: 24
  • Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, Digital DTS 5.1
  • Languages: English
  • Subtitles: None
  • Widescreen: 16:9
  • 16:9-enhanced: Yes
  • Macrovision: No
  • Disc Format: DVD 9
  • Price: £19.99
  • Extras: Biography, Discography

    Director :

      Lawrence Jordan

    Producer :

      Mark Angotti

“Tonight we’re going to have an orgy! … of music that is”

Barry Manilow has been entertaining his fans for 25 years and this near-2hr concert, recorded in Nashville, does the necessary when it comes to belting out 24 of his greatest hits, including Mandy, I Write The Songs, Copacabana and Could It Be Magic?

Probably banned in France now, given their track record of ancient ‘Concordes’, Barry has belted out many a hit single, too many to mention here, so look later for the track listing.


The picture quality is very good with zero artifacts, but it loses a little in the way of sharpness by being converted from NTSC material. It’s certainly very watchable but can’t be considered perfect. Presented in anamorphic 16:9 widescreen, the average bitrate is a very high 8.41Mb/s, frequently peaking over 8Mb/s.

The sound is top-notch with all the loud tracks bursting out of the speakers with flavour and even the ballads are delivered with gusto. It’s presented in both DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1. Of course, with a stereo/ProLogic setup, the DD5.1 sound will downmix fine to play that way.


Extras. : The only extras are a few pages of notes listed as a Biography and the Discography, is just a list of all the albums he’s released, including the copious number of ‘Best of’s.

There are 24 chapters, one for each track, the complete listing being as follows :

        1. Could It Be Magic? 2. Somewhere in the Night 3. Tryin’ to Get the Feeling 4. Can’t Smile Without You 5. Bandstand Boogie 6. Mandy 7. Even Now 8. Daybreak 9. Flight of the Bumblebee 10. All the Time 11. New York City Rhythm 12. Every Single Day

13. I Am Your Child 14. This One’s For You 15. Sinatra Overture 16. Chicago (My Kind of Town) 17. That’s Life 18. When October Goes 19. Weekend in New England 20. Copacabana 21. I Made It Through The Rain 22. One Voice 23. I Write The Songs 24. Stars in the Night

The menus are mostly musical with some subtle animation.


The presence of a widescreen version is pleasing, but obviously the only ones who buy it will be fans of the man and his music. I dare you to sit through the Copacabana without tapping your foot or nodding your head.

FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS


OVERALL
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2000.

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