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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Linkin Park-Frat Party At The Pankake Festival (2001)

Linkin Park-Frat Party At The Pankake Festival (2001)

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Released 24-Jan-2002
Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Music	Menu Animation & Audio Scene Selection Anim & Audio Featurette-Making Of-Making Of In The End Video Multiple Angles-Crawling Live Featurette-Mike & Joe's Art Piece Featurette-Chester's Tattoos Music Video-Crawling-Bryson Bluegrass Version Audio-Only Track-High Voltage; My December Web Links Audio Commentary Booklet
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	50:07 (Case: 70)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Warner Vision	Starring	None Given
Case	Soft Brackley-Transp	Starring	None Given
RPI	$39.95	Music	Linkin Park

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	English Song Lyrics English Audio Commentary English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

Linkin Park - love them or hate them it is difficult to deny they are a very talented band. Honestly, at first exposure I didn't like their music at all. However, after a while it really started to grow on me. If you really examine the lyrics there are a lot of good themes coming through, tackling many difficult subjects. The musical mix of electronica, heavy metal and hip-hop takes a bit of getting used to, but it is worth it.

This six piece band has been around for many years but only recently have made it into the "big time" with One Step Closer and Crawling. These videos feature on this disc with a collection of other music videos taken mostly from their Hybrid Theory album. This disc is, in reality, a musical documentary on the band with behind the scenes and interview footage interspersed with music videos. It is nice to see the option to play just the music videos without the rest of the footage, as the additional footage is generally only interesting once.

Linkin Park - Frat Party at the Pancake Festival is an excellent documentary interspersed with numerous music videos. Their musical style is very unusual but I do enjoy it. This is a must for fans and a good purchase for any music fan with wide-ranging taste.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Track Listing

1. Papercut
2. Points of Authority
3. Crawling

4. Cure for the Itch
5. One Step Closer
6. In The End

Transfer Quality

Video

How unfortunate that 16x9 enhancement was not used on this transfer. I say this as the majority of the feature is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 - letterboxed! Obviously this has come from a high definition source, so why not provide 16x9 enhancement? Having said that - the transfer in most respects is quite good.

Sharpness was fine throughout with no grain present. Shadow detail was also very good. Colours were well saturated but were nothing extraordinary.

I did not note any MPEG, film-to-video, or film artefacts throughout. The video clips and interviews are all so recent that this is to be expected.

Subtitles cover the song lyrics, interview and behind the scenes footage, as well as commentary tracks. This is very good to see and hopefully more titles will offer such an option.

This disc is Dual Layered with the main feature and special features spread over both layers.

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

Audio

This is a very good audio track - for a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo mix. Why is this DVD being released without a Dolby Digital 5.1 track? Even surround encoding would be nice. It becomes even more interesting when some of the extras are encoded in Dolby Digital 2.0 surround.. Hmm..

Another point to note - this transfer is very, VERY, loud. I had to drop my reference volume by about 12dB to make it bearable.

There are two English 2.0 Audio tracks available on this DVD, both encoded at 224Kbps. One is the main feature, the other is the English commentary.

The fidelity of the music is quite good, despite being very frontal. Audio sync seems spot-on and the lyrics are easily understood - if you can understand hip-hop at extraordinary speech rates!

The surround presence on a couple of the extras is quite good for Dolby Digital 2.0. The main feature, however, never involves the surrounds. The subwoofer receives plenty of bass, none of which is dedicated.

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

Extras

There is a very decent helping of extras to be found on this DVD. Good to see!

Making of In The End Video (12:40)

An interesting look into what goes on in the production of a music video.

Crawling Live Music Video With Multiangles and Commentary (3:25 x 4 angles)

This is a great extra. You can choose from the full edit, or three other angles (Stage, Pit, or Wide). Video is not quite as good as the main feature. 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound at 224Kbps. The commentary is quite interesting.

Mike & Joe's Art Piece (1:34)

A look at the talents, other than music, of some of the band. 1.78:1 video with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.

Chester's Tattoos (1.23)

A visual guide to Chester's tattoos along with an explanation of their significance. 1.78:1 video with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.

Crawling - Bryson Bluegrass Version (4:06)

This is great - a bluegrass version of Crawling! Very funny but also very well done. Dolby Digital 2.0 with a static image.

High Voltage (3:45)

Another song by the band. Static image with Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded audio. Excellent audio transfer.

My December (4:23)

Yet another song by the band. Static image with Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded audio. Excellent audio transfer.

Weblink

Link to the band's homepage..

Censorship

There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

As far as I can tell both versions are identical. I guess you will really have to decide which version to purchase based on price.

Summary

Linkin Park - Frat Party at the Pankake Festival is an excellent disc displaying the talents of an exciting new band. Paired with a technically adequate transfer, this is a must have for fans and unusual music lovers alike.

The video quality is excellent but could have been better with 16x9 enhancement.

The audio quality is very good but could have been better with a 5.1 mix.

The extras are excellent.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment
DVD	Pioneer DV-535, using S-Video output
Display	RCA 80cm. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio Decoder	Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
Amplification	Onkyo TX-DS787, THX Select
Speakers	All matching Vifa Drivers: centre 2x6.5" + 1" tweeter (d'appolito); fronts and rears 6.5" + 1" tweeter; centre rear 5" + 1" tweeter; sub 10" (150WRMS)

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