Cirque du Soleil 3-Pack (Quidam / Dralion / Journey of Man) Review

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(More customer reviews)Three years ago, I was lucky enough to see, within a three-week period, Riverdance in Tokyo and Cirque du Soleil in Melbourne. Watching Cirque du Soleil live is, of course, a heart-stopping and heart-racing experience, so joyful, so amazing. My reaction again and again to the dozens of performances on these DVD's is not "unbelievable", but "impossible". The laws of physics do not permit what these performers are able to pull off. The performers are so far above and beyond anything you will see anywhere else, combining original styles you never see in a traditional circus. Nothing is predictable. On top of that you get a production worthy of an Olympic opening ceremony, just on a smaller scale to fit into CdS's live tent. In addition, there are no live animals used for the amusement of us humans. All the entertainment (including the lions in Dralion) is provided by people for people. The show is wild, uplifting, inspiring, hysterically funny. Two of the shows were filmed before live audiences, and just as in the live performance I attended the audience is screaming, clapping, whistling, guffawing and gasping almost constantly throughout the show. Totally involved. Most circus acts start slow and build to an amazing climax. Cirque du Soleil acts start amazing, move through unbelievable and climax at impossible. My only slight disappointment in this set is "Journey of Man", which was not filmed before an audience but at a variety of famous natural and man-made sites around the world. The "journey" narrated by Ian McKellen is so fast, the baby in the first scene grows to late middle age about as fast as Alice changes size in Wonderland, only to discover that the secret to happiness as an adult is to keep the child within you alive. Somehow, the writers try to connect this to some of the Cirque acts which are truncated to fit into the short show. Nonetheless, the acts are still impressive and the photography is lush, the scenes varied. On the whole, you will not find a more entertaining DVD set for the whole family to enjoy together. Be forewarned: after viewing the DVD's you are going to want to see Cirque live if they come to your neck of the woods.

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Three Cirque du Soleil performances.Genre: Performing Arts - ConcertsRating: NRRelease Date: 19-NOV-2002Media Type: DVD

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The Making of "Miss Saigon" (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Almost two decades after the creation of Miss Saigon, the DVD version is finally released. Well, it was worth the wait... Just like the VHS, this is a documentary on THE MAKING OF, and does not include much footage from any of the productions.
Actually a behind the scenes look at one of the best musicals. Starts when the producers are searching for the lead singer Kim; the Vietnamese girl. Auditions were conducted in New York, later In Hawaii and finally in the Philippines where Lea Salonga (Kim) and Monique Wilson (Mimi) were selected. Scenes of the staging, coreography and rehearsals have been included which do not contribute much to the documentary.
Fortunately, there are some scenes that make this production very valuable including the earliest rehearsals of Salonga, Wilson and Jonathan Price (who played then the Franco-Vietnamese engineer). Some songs vary considerably from the Broadway production. As well, this documentary includes scenes that never made it to Broadway and others with different lyrics; the originals.
A few minutes (too few perhaps) are dedicated to actual footage of the original London production ending with The Fall of Saigon (with an helicopter on stage) and The American Dream (platinum hair girls and the twenty foot long Chevy).Overall this is an excellent production with good quality of video but poor audio. Nevertheless, is highly recommended to every fan of Miss Saigon.

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THE MAKING OF MISS SAIGON is the definitive documentary film companion to one of the greatest Broadway hits of all time. Witness the evolution of this monumental production from its inception in the sumptuous hills of Provence to its glamorous London debut on a fascinating insider's voyage into the world of the theater. Under the exacting leadership of famed Broadway producer Cameron Mackintosh (The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Les Misérables) the artistic forces behind the Tony Award®-winning show circle the globe in search of the perfect Miss Saigon. After auditioning thousands of girls in NewYork, Hollywood and Honolulu, they land in Manila where they finally find Lea Salonga whose angelic voice sends a rush of goosebumps--and relief--through the room. Acclaimed stage director Nicholas Hytner invites the camera to peer into the depths of the creative process as the orchestra builds, performances soar and the players hurtle toward the opening night that will determine their destinies. DVD Features: Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

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