Product Description
-------------------
This landmark DVD features the first ever film of Pink Floyd
playing the band's seminal album, The Dark Side of the Moon, live
in concert. The set documents the 1994 Division Bell tour and was
filmed at London's Earls Court during a record-breaking 14-night
residency. The two-disc release contains the full concert
performance with rare backstage footage and previously unseen
extras making the collection a must-have for Pink Floyd fans.
Disc 2 features a live filmed performance of Pink Floyd--David
Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright--performing the group's
towering masterpiece, The Dark Side of the Moon, in its glorious
entirety during the second half of the Division Bell concert.
Included on disc 1 are "Shine on You Crazy Diamond," "Another
Brick in the Wall (Part 2)," "High Hopes," and "Learning to Fly"
as well as never-before-seen rarities such as Bootlegging the
Bootleggers and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of life on
the road with one of the world's biggest and most influential
rock bands. Mixed in mind-expanding 5.1 surround sound and
digitally re-mastered by James Guthrie, the Pulse DVD includes
some of original screen films used for the 1970s concert
performances of The Dark Side of the Moon (which were never
filmed) as well as the visual components for the piece which were
remade for the 1994 tour.
.com
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At long last Pink Floyd: Pulse has arrived on DVD, and Floyd
fans already know it's a major cause to celebrate. The original
VHS release was a milestone bestseller, but it seemed to take
forever for the DVD to arrive, with numerous delays while Floyd
guitarist David Gilmour and long-time Floyd producer James
Guthrie labored to restore, re-edit, and remix this legendary
concert video in 5.1-channel Dolby Surround Sound. The resulting
two-disc set was well worth the wait: While the limitations of
the original video source are still evident in the sometimes-hazy
image quality (Gilmour would later admit the concert should have
been captured on film), Floyd fans will unanimously agree that
Pulse has never looked or sounded better, and only the absence of
group co-founder Roger Waters prevents this from being the
ultimate document of Pink Floyd in performance. (Even without
Waters, it's easily one of the group's most impressive stage
productions.) Gracefully directed with minimal intrusion by
veteran music video and concert director David Mallet, and
on video during Pink Floyd's two-week stint at London's Earls
Court Exhibition Centre in October 1994, this 145-minute
performance (from Floyd's Division Bell (
/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002A3T/${0} ) tour) is a sonic marvel to
behold. Under a massive arch festooned with then-state-of-the-art
laser, lighting, and projection systems, the 1987 incarnation of
Pink Floyd (Gilmour, keyboardist Richard Wright, and drummer Nick
Mason) and their stellar supporting band kicks off with "Shine on
You Crazy Diamond" (a loving tribute to Floyd co-founder Syd
Barrett), followed by four tracks from The Division Bell, two
from 1987's A Momentary Lapse of Reason, "Another Brick in the
Wall (Part 2)" from 1979's magnum opus The Wall, and leading into
intermission with an absolutely stunning performance of "One of
These Days," the timeless opening track from 1971's Meddle.
The centerpiece of Disc 2 is a near-perfect performance of
1974's Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety--reason enough to
make this a must-have DVD for even the most casual Floyd
admirers. And while no one will ever re-create the sheer
magnificence of Clare Torry's original tour de force vocals on
"The Great Gig in the Sky," it's safe to say that backup singers
Sam Brown, Claudia Fontaine, and Durga McBroom deliver the next
best thing, in addition to seamless contributions throughout the
concert. After the closing heartbeat of "Eclipse," the concert
ends with encore performances of "Wish You Were Here,"
"Comfortably Numb," and a no-holds-barred, pyrotechnically
explosive rendition of The Wall's "Run Like Hell," all showcasing
Gilmour's guitar mastery with frequent close-ups of his picking
and fret-work as seen throughout the concert. (Like Gilmour,
Mason and Wright were never dynamic onstage, and that's true here
as well, but their technical precision is fully evident, and
while guitarist Tim Renwick and saxophonist Dick Parry are each
given moments to shine, bassist Guy Pratt is a worthy
substitution for Waters, especially when vocally sparring with
Gilmour on "Run Like Hell.")
With beautiful packaging, an 8-page booklet, and menu designs by
long-time Floyd associate Storm Thorgerson, the DVDs offer an
abundance of bonus features including "Bootlegging the
Bootleggers," featuring surprisingly good-quality "boot" video
performances of "What Do You Want From Me?," "On the Turning
Away," "Poles Apart," and "Marooned." The surreal round-ratio
screen films seen throughout the concert can all be viewed
independently (still in round format, and several offered in both
original and alternate versions). Music videos for "Learning to
Fly" and "Take It Back" are included on Disc 1, along with "Tour
Stuff" including s, itineraries, and stage plans for the 1994
tour. "Say Goodbye to Life as We Know It" is a playful backstage
video (mostly involving the production staff's ongoing quest for
a good pint of ), and after delivering a heartfelt
introduction to Pink Floyd's 1996 induction into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame (with Roger Waters and Syd Barrett acknowledged
by Gilmour), Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan joins Gilmour
and Wright for a moving acoustic performance of "Wish You Were
Here" (directed at Waters, perhaps?). Additional features include
album cover art, a photo gallery, and the concert-only audio
choice between a 448kbps audio bitstream or a higher-quality
640kbps stream for higher-quality DVD players. The system set-up
feature ensures that audiophiles will achieve optimum speaker
performance in keeping with Pink Floyd's exacting technical
standards. In tandem with the superior concert presentation,
these features make Pulse one of the best--if not the best--music
DVDs of 2006, guaranteed to satisfy Floyd fans for many years to
come. --Jeff Shannon
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