David Bowie-Black Tie White Noise (1993)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Menu Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	1993
Running Time	63:15
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	David Mallet
Studio Distributor	EMI Music	Starring	David Bowie Reeves Gabrels
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$24.95	Music	None Given

    By his own admission, David Bowie tends to emphasise the theatrical aspects of his performance over the aural, all the while experimenting musically so that the listener is never quite comfortable. I am only a casual Bowie fan, having been introduced to his music through Labyrinth and dabbling with a few early classics like "Life on Mars" and "Space Oddity." So far, I've been more interested in his acting, having enjoyed his appearances in Labyrinth, Fire Walk With Me, and The Last Temptation of Christ (and I am looking forward to The Man Who Fell to Earth), but exploring his music album by album is definitely on my "to do" list. His 1993 LP, Black Tie White Noise, though, was perhaps not the best place to start.

    EMI's DVD Black Tie White Noise is taken from the VCD released in Hong Kong along with the album. Consisting of interviews with Bowie, "live" performances of several songs from the album, and a few music videos, the DVD is on the level of a standard EPK. Bowie is interesting to listen to, but doesn't really cover anything new or in depth. The "live" performances are simply mimed to the original recordings, although carried off with a lot of energy. There's plenty of early 1990s fashion on display in all its horrendous glory and a few amusing dance styles. The music videos seem fairly conservative and mostly forgettable.

    I'm a little undecided about the music itself. It's all very layered, incorporating, for example, harmonies slightly delayed behind the main vocals in the title track. Bowie disturbs what are generally catchy melodies with some interesting vocal stylings and rhythms that succeed in keeping the listener just a little decentered. In this sense, Bowie has achieved what he set out to do. But to my mind, it all smacks just a little too much of standard 1990s pop. I expected something just a little more interesting. The title track "Black Tie White Noise" is very "hummable" (if a little self-conscious as a response to the L.A. race riots) but surely Bowie is capable of a lot more than just "catchy."

    Black Tie White Noise is a bit of mixed bag. It's not particularly interesting as film, nor particularly provocative as music. This release is probably one for the Bowie completists only, although if you loved the album there is plenty here to enjoy.

Video

    Black Tie White Noise is given a very good transfer. It is presented full frame 1.29:1, close to its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

    Shadow detail and sharpness are excellent with only the slightest hint of low level noise in occasional splashes of blue and some grain in several shots. Colours are a little muted during the "live" performances, although much more saturated and vibrant in the music videos. Interview segments are in black and white, switching between pure black and pure white backgrounds. Blacks are very solid, with just a hint of noise, while whites flare a little.

    The solid backgrounds in the interview segments introduce a hard line around Bowie: I'm not sure if this effect is introduced simply through removing the original background or if edge enhancement has been added to boot. I caught a brief glimpse of cross colouration on Bowie's microphone at 8:06. The transfer is let down by continual and consistent interlacing.

    The few grainy shots manage to avoid any serious pixelization, although the stone busts at 51:13 have very blocky outlines. I didn't catch any film artefacts.

    Interview segments are subtitled, dropping a few words here and there: songs are not subtitled at all. The Japanese subtitle stream mentioned on the case is missing.

    This is a single layer disc.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio transfer is fantastic. Only one audio track is included, English Linear PCM 48/16 2.0 (1536Kb/s), surround encoded.

    Dialogue is always clear and well synced. I thought I noticed some popping in the soundtrack during the performance of "Black Tie White Noise" that turned out to be clapping.

    Music is written by David Bowie and a few others. Everything sounds nice and crisp with good front stage separation. In surround mode, the rears produce nice echo effects, particularly from percussion. To my ears, though, the track sounds much better in stereo. It sounds more dynamic and "fuller" in stereo, while playing the track through Pro Logic sounds fairly dull.

    The subwoofer is very active and well integrated. It sounds very clean in stereo but a little muddy in surround mode. Stick with stereo all the way.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    No extras.

    All regions have the same disc.

    Black Tie White Noise is probably not the best album to begin listening to David Bowie and there is nothing particularly interesting about this promotional film.

    The video transfer is generally very good with a few minor problems.

    The stereo track is fantastic.

    No extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall