BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Music	Theatrical Trailer(s)	None
Rating		Other Trailer(s)	None
Year Released	1996	Commentary Tracks	None
Running Time	112:32 minutes (not 143 minutes as on packaging)	Other Extras	Featurette - The Making Of (30:42)
RSDL/Flipper	RSDL (73:15)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Movie
Region	1,2,3,4,5,6	Director	David Mallet
Studio Distributor	Warner Vision Australia	Starring	Tina Turner and band
Case	Amaray
RRP	$39.95	Music	Tina Turner

    And this is certainly a large venue, the then new Amsterdam Arena, packed to the gunwales with a very enthusiastic audience. And a great concert it is too, so different to the roboticised concerts so predominant nowadays. Tina Turner enjoys what she does and makes sure the crowd goes home very happy indeed.

Video

    The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

    Apart from some problems caused by the usual culprits in the stage lighting, the main problem here is the flare and glare that the video source has had problems dealing with. And this is compounded by Tina Turner at times wearing a sequin dress, which causes almighty problems. There is also an unusual aura effect created around the performers under the intense stage lighting, which is a little disconcerting. However, once you have adjusted to these problems, most of which are fairly common for concert videos, this is quite a sharp and well defined transfer. Most noticeably, there is no loss of focus during the concert, which also helps the overall effect. Shadow detail is good, although the venue is quite well lit throughout the concert, which means that everything comes up very clear indeed.

    The colours are very nicely saturated throughout, and overall this is quite a vibrant transfer. It is a consistent transfer too, apart from the odd occasions when the lighting just gets too intense and washes out the colour in the transfer. Nothing too much to complain about in this regard though.

    There did not appear to be any MPEG artefacts in the transfer, nor were film-to-video artefacts a problem. There did not appear to be any film artefacts present in the transfer, reflecting perhaps a video source for the material.

    This is an RSDL format disc, with the layer change coming at 73:15. This is quite a noticeable layer change, but then again how much opportunity does a concert video give to hide a change? It was only mildly disruptive to the flow of the concert, as it came between songs.

Audio

    There is only the one audio track on the DVD, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, and one of the better ones I have heard in concert videos.

    The music and vocals are very clear and understandable in the soundtrack.

    Audio sync did not appear to be a problem with the soundtrack.

    The soundtrack does not make much use of the rear surround channels, but other than that this is a very nicely encompassing soundtrack with nice balance in the front surround channels. A very nice, crisp sound is the result, although just a tad recessed on occasions. There were a few minor audio drop outs, most noticeably at the chapter points between songs, but this was never too annoying. The bass channel gets some decent workout here, and would certainly reward the volume being turned up above your normal listening level.

Menu

Featurette - The Making of (30:42)

    A very good video transfer.

    A very good audio transfer.

    A decent package of extras.

    And just a word of explanation as to why the timing on the packaging is incorrect: I believe general convention is that the timing shown on packaging is for the main feature only. Warner Vision include the timing of extras as well in the timing shown on the packaging. This is just an inconsistency in presentation with other distributors - you are not being conned in any way.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Ian Morris
10th December 1999