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Dom Robinson reviews
EMI Universal
- Cert:
- Cat.no: 724349294493
- Running time: 133 minutes
- Year: Varies
- Pressing: 2002
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 19 plus extras
- Sound: DTS 5.1 (disc 1 only)
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: None
- Widescreen: 1.78:1; Fullscreen: 4:3
- 16:9-enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: No
- Disc Format: 2 * DVD 9
- Price: £19.99
- Extras: Audio Commentary, Picture Gallery, Inside the Rhapsody, Queenonline,”We Will Rock You” ticket offer
Remastered for DVD by :
- David Mallet
Producers :
- Simon Lupton and Rhys Thomas
Audio Producer :
- Justin Shirley-Smith
Band:
- Freddie Mercury (Lead Vocals)
Brian May (Guitar and Vocals)
John Deacon (Bass)
Roger Taylor (Drums)
Buy from 
Bohemian Rhapsody – the first-ever music video,a track that’s been covered by many from Wayne’s World to Bad Newsand the No.1 single of all time in one of those polls they have every so often.
The content of the music tracks on this disc, are neither in question, nor dothey need much in the way of introduction. Just a mere listing would suffice,but standout tunes include Another One Bites the Dust, since I rememberhaving the 7″ single and playing it over and over, Flash, for the sheertheatrics you can envision as it plays, Play the Game, for the wayFreddie looks like he’s about to destroy the set at one point and then justchucks Brian May’s guitar back to him, Don’t Stop Me Now, for the fading ending, although most bloodyradio DJs tend to talk over because they think they have to, and… well, Icould go on and include them all, but the line-up is as follows:
1. Bohemian Rhapsody
2. Another One Bites the Dust
3. Killer Queen
4. Fat Bottomed Girls
5. Bicycle Race
6. You’re My Best Friend
7. Don’t Stop Me Now
8. Save Me9. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
10. Somebody to Love
11. Spread Your Wings
12. Play the Game
13. Flash
14. Tie Your Mother Down
15. We Will Rock You
16. We Are the Champions
Disc two only has six tracks, three of which were featured as extras on thePAL Laserdisc,Queen: Greatest Flix I & II.Some of the following are in 16:9 anamorphic and some in 4:3 fullscreen as theyshould be.
- Now I’m Here was filmed live at the Rainbow Theatre in London,November 1973. It was Queen’s first major London concert and the culmination oftheir first headlining tour of Britain. The film was shown at cinemas throughoutthe UK.
- Good Old Fashioned Loverboy was recorded for the BBC’s Top of the Pops,for broadcast on July 14th, 1977.
- Keep Yourself Alive was filmed at St. Johns Wood Studios in 1973,and was shot as the promotional video. It was Queen’s first experience ofa video shoot, but the finished video was rejected by the band and never used.The sleevenotes of the PAL Laserdisc state that Freddie actually shaved hischest for the occasion.
- Liar was filmed at Brewer Studios in 1973. The track was neverreleased as a single in the UK, but the video was shot specifically forpromoting the band in North America.
- Love of My Life is a live version from the album “Live Killers”.However, the video footage comes from a concert in Tokyo in 1979, while theaudio is from the same year but a different concert in Frankfurt.
- We Will Rock You (Fast Live Version) was recorded in Texas inDecember 1977, when they were supported by Thin Lizzy, and does exactly whatit says on the tin.
When it comes to the audio-visual side of things, there are some things youcan toy with and there are certain things you should leave well alone. I’llstart with the bad bit first – the picture.
It’s generally a bad idea if a DVD is released of a film that should be inwidescreen and is cropped to 4:3. It’s also equally bad when you take musicvideos that were filmed in 4:3 and attempt to crop them at the top and bottomto fit the 16:9 shape of a widescreen TV, which is what has happened here.
It says they’ve been restored, but print damage is still evident duringDon’t Stop Me Now, for example, but I can live with that as it ratherevokes the period of the song.
However, what I can’t understand is the need to zoom the original videos ineither to 16:9, or to a slightly less wide ratio, but still within the 16:9frame – see Bohemian Rhapsody and Somebody to Love for examples ofthis – as I prefer to watch 4:3-filmed pieces in 4:3 and not zoomed in. Whenthe second volume of Queen videos comes out I hope they leave them well alone.Those that will be 16:9 letterbox already can be transferred to anamorphicprint, but those that are 4:3 should not be tampered with. Of course, with amixture you’d need them to be separate titles on the disc rather than just theone title, but that’s what’s been done on disc two so it’s no hardship.
Thankfully, when it comes to the sound you do get the option of originalPCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 sound, the latter of which really does enhance the soundfor these ears and fills the room with rich bass and vocals. Now if only they’dincluded all the videos in 4:3 too…
Of the brief extras, the Photo Gallery puts pictures to nearly 2½minutes of Queen music, there’s some brief info about the Queenonline.comwebsite, an audio commentary on the first disc and a 45-minute featuretteabout a particular song – entitled Inside the Rhapsody, it doesn’ttake a genius to work out which song. Finally, inside there’s a voucher forthe Ben Elton “We Will Rock You” stageshow which halves the £40 ticketcost during Monday to Thursday shows.
The menus are all static and silent and there are no subtitles on the songs,while each one gets its own chapter.
I’m looking forward to Vol.2, but please leave the 4:3 videos alone next time,picture-wise.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.