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The Movie:
Concert film or documentary? Director Sarah Pirozek filmed this 1996 rock concert that benefited Tibet. There's a strange back and forth to the film; the concert is trying to educate this generation to what is going on in Tibet and the problems there - that's certainly good. For the most part though, it looks as if these kids are just here to see the concert, which includes performances by the Beastie Boys, Beck, Sonic Youth, Rage Against The Machine, and a number of other acts. Both a message and entertainment can be put together well in a film, but it doesn't quite work here or achieve the right balance.
Both sides of the film begin, but never really are fully looked at. The footage that educates the viewer on the Tibetan people doesn't really tell the audience enough. It feels as if it needs its own film rather than being sort of awkwardly inserted in the midst of the concert footage. The concert footage itself is filmed decently, although there are too many cuts and the footage freqeuently feels choppy. Performances are also pretty solid, with the Foo Fighters performance of "This Is A Call" being the most intense one; also good are The Beastie Boys, Rage Against The Machine and Beck.
This isn't a bad film or anything, it just feels like two separate films that are trying to break apart from one another - and probably should. The Tibet footage feels like it needs a longer presentation, while the concert footage also feels somewhat choppy to keep it all in at 90 minutes (with some songs not even shown in their entirety), when it should have been two 90 minute features - one concert film, one film about Tibet.
The DVD
VIDEO: The video quality varies almost from moment to moment depending on how the scene was filmed; some shots are sharp, colorful and bold - the next scene can look softer and sometimes grainy. Colors in general seem accurate and natural. I also noticed some slight marks on the print used and occasional traces of pixelation. The film is presented full-frame and although it does have a few minor problems, I was more pleased with the video quality than the audio quality.
SOUND: I was honestly dissapointed in the audio for "Free Tibet". The documentary portions, which consist of interviews and other similar material, sound fine and about what you would expect. The music material though, varies - but never was I really impressed with the sound for these performances. I would call the sound for the concert portions a very "raw" live audio. I don't mind that sort of "open" live sound, and it did sound fairly good on the "Woodstock '99" DVD.
That was smooth though - this is not. The film is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and the audio again, varies from performance to performance, but never really rises to the level of "good". There were some where I thought it sounded fairly decent - the Foo Fighters performance, for example. There were other bands though (such as the Beastie Boys doing an otherwise great version of "Sabotage"), where I felt the audio lacked detail and clarity, becoming muddy. It's not the kind of smooth, rich audio that many have enjoyed in concert DVDs such as Sheryl Crow's "Rockin' The Globe", Peter Frampton's "Live In Detroit", etc. I felt the sound quality for "Free Tibet" was on the thin side and became somewhat tiring to listen to after a while, which is unfortunate because I really do like most of the performers.
MENUS:: As with almost all of the Palm Pictures titles I've seen, the menus are very nicely done, with subtle animation that fits with the film and subject.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary track from Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, Evan Bernard and cinematographer Spike Jonze, the last participant you may be familiar with from his directing "Being John Malkovich" and starring in "3 Kings". The three of them discuss their plans for the concert, and their ideas for what they wanted to show in the film in terms of the balance of concert footage and information. Yauch is the one who does the most talking, with Bernard serving as somewhat of a moderator, asking questions and having some comments of his own. It's a fairly relaxed commentary, with a few pauses, but many moments that are informative about how the concert was put together and how the film came together. Speaking of how the film was put together, it's somewhat strange that the director herself wasn't included on this track.
Also: Text information on the Milarepa foundation that helps educate about Tibet, Beastie Boys "Root Down" video from NYC performance, previews for other Palm Pictures titles and weblink.
Final Thoughts:The film itself is okay; but the audio quality is a dissapointment, and although there are some decent extras, I'd say give this one a rental first.
Film Grade
The Film B-
DVD Grades
Video 82/B = (328/400 possible points)
Audio: 75/C = (300/400 possible points)
Extras: 82/B = (248/300 possible points)
Menus: 82/B = (164/200 possible points)
Value: 80/B- = (240/300 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:1280/1600
DVD GRADE:B-/80%
FILM GRADE: B-
DVD GRADE: B-
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