Paul McCartney-Back in the U.S.: Concert Film (2002) |
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Paul McCartney-Back in the U.S.: Concert Film (2002) |
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| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Music |
Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Backstage/ All Access Pass Featurette-Behind The Scenes-On The Road With Paul Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Pre-show Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Meet The Band Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Macca Mania Deleted Scenes-Driving Rain Deleted Scenes-Every Night Deleted Scenes-You Never Give Me Your Money/ Carry That Weight Additional Footage-Bring It To Jerome Additional Footage-Midnight Special Additional Footage-San Francisco Bay Web Links-Secret Website Access |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2002 | ||
| Running Time | 122:50 (Case: 180) | ||
| RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (64:50) | Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | Directed By | Mark Haefeli |
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Studio
Distributor |
Capitol Films EMI Music |
Starring | Paul McCartney |
| Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
| RPI | $29.95 | Music | Paul McCartney |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Full Frame |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0  (192Kb/s)English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s) |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | None | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement | No | ||
| Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.33:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | Yes, credits are played over the encore. | ||
As the title suggests, this was filmed at various shows across the United States and made into a "concert film", not a live DVD. What's the difference, you ask? This feature basically represents an entire Paul McCartney show, but with backstage footage and inane celebrity back-patting interspersed between almost every song. In fact, four songs have this unnecessary banter over the top of them! (Coming Up, Hey Jude, a sound check performance of Matchbox and Loving Flame.) Having to listen to a not-very-entertaining interview over the top of a classic Beatles song is inexcusable.
Thankfully, the good outweighs the bad on this DVD and part of the non-concert footage is actually quite interesting. Paul and his band visit a University where apes have been taught to communicate, utilising a very large vocabulary. They hang out (pun intended) with them for the afternoon and in one of the most hilarious scenes I've seen for a long time, Paul and his band jam with these apes on a few Beatles songs. Seriously, it has to be seen to be believed.
The excellent direction is also worth mentioning - the use of split-screen images and fast editing adds a lot of energy to the pace of the feature. Although the running time is quite long for a music DVD, I don't recall ever being distracted during the experience.
As you can see by the huge track listing below, we are treated to a great array of songs from throughout Paul's career. Apart from the two songs representing his new album, most of the material is from his Beatles and Wings eras. Paul makes a moving tribute to George Harrison with a surprisingly great ukulele rendition of Something and afterward he dedicates his ballad Here Today (one of my favourite songs from the Tug Of War album) to John Lennon.
| 1. Hello Goodbye 2. Jet 3. All My Loving 4. Live And Let Die 5. Coming Up 6. Blackbird 7. We Can Work It Out 8. Here, There And Everywhere 9. Eleanor Rigby 10. Matchbox 11. Loving Flame 12. Fool On The Hill 13. Getting Better 14. Here Today/ Something | 15. Band on The Run 16. Let Me Roll It 17. Back In The U.S.S.R. 18. My Love 19. Maybe I'm Amazed 20. Freedom 21. Let It Be 22. Hey Jude 23. Can't Buy Me Love 24. Lady Madonna 25. Long And Winding Road 26. Yesterday 27. Sgt. Pepper's (Reprise)/ The End 28. I Saw Her Standing There |
After witnessing the excellent 16x9 transfers on his two previous DVD releases, Wingspan and Live At The Cavern, my expectations were high. This video transfer is sadly presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, full frame.
No low level noise is apparent and sharpness is good, considering the amount grain that is present. Shadow detail is adequate for a stage performance such as this.
Colours are quite rich, as you would expect for a brightly lit stage area. There were no instances of oversaturation.
Grain is evident throughout, particularly during the backstage footage and crowd shots (0:40, 21:45, 87:10). Macro blocking is also a persistent problem (15:37, 40:25). Aliasing rears its ugly head on more than one occasion (37:55, 80:30, 105:25) and proves to be quite distracting at times.
No film artefacts were present.
English subtitles were paced accurately with the lyrics and the spoken word between songs.
This is an RSDL disc, with the layer change placed between the songs Let Me Roll It and Back In The U.S.S.R. at 64:50.
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There are three audio tracks to choose from. The default is English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded (192 Kb/s). The other two are English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384 Kb/s) and English dts 5.1 (768 Kb/s). I listened to the dts and Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in their entirety and sampled the Dolby Digital 2.0 for a few minutes.
Dialogue and lead vocals were easy to understand at all times.
Audio sync was generally good but for one small instance (8:45) when Paul's lips didn't seem to match the audio.
The surround channels on both the Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts tracks were used exclusively for crowd noise. Disappointingly, I didn't notice any instruments spilling to the rears at all. The frontal music mix was good, however. The lead vocal and snare drum are placed in the front centre and all the remaining instruments were panned across the left and right of the front soundfield.
Subwoofer use was quite aggressive in all three audio options, emphasising the kick drum and bass guitar very well.
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There are a good selection of extras available.
Three sound check performances, Bring It To Jerome (02:46), Midnight Special (02:37) and San Francisco Bay (03:00). Presented in 1.33:1 full frame, all contain optional English subtitles and are available with Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded (192 Kb/s), Dolby Digital 5.1 (384 Kb/s) and dts 5.1 (768 Kb/s) audio.
All the featurettes below are presented in 1.33:1 full frame, contain optional English subtitles and have Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.
A look at Paul's wardrobe and the luxuries he can't live without while touring.
Paul discusses how great the relationship with his crew has been on this tour.
Explains the arty pageant that took the stage before Paul each night, instead of a support act.
Self explanatory.
Those wacky Americans are at it again. Boy, the accents do get annoying!
I've tried many times to view the 'secret site' without any success, I'm afraid. It apparently contains bonus downloadable video footage.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The video is not the greatest, exhibiting a great array of artefacts.
The audio is excellent, although surround activity is minimal.
There are a lot of great extras related to the feature.
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| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Pioneer DV-525, using Component output |
| Display | Panasonic TX76PW10A 76cm Widescreen 100Hz. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
| Amplification | Denon AVR-2802 Dolby EX/DTS ES Discrete |
| Speakers | Orpheus Aurora lll Mains (bi-wired), Rears, Centre Rear. Orpheus Centaurus .5 Front Centre. Mirage 10 inch sub. |