Posted in Disc Reviews by Carly Peters
Intro
I had to dab the drool from the corner of my mouth when I was handed this beauty. The Smashing Pumpkins are considered to be one of the most musically and visually creative bands of the Twentieth century. This DVD features every music video released by the Pumpkins from Gish to Machina, and includes some live footage that was not released previously.
Audio
The audio sounds exactly like CD quality. The music is clear, rich and full, with no auditable distortion. Unfortunately thi… disc was not remastered with a 5.1 audio track, but the Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track is still very good.
Video
This was hard to judge at times. I couldn’t decide whether the distorted images were supposed to be “artistic” or if they were just poor quality. Most of the earlier videos look distorted, grainy, and at times, a little washed out. As the videos progress the quality does become slightly better, becoming more vibrant, but still doesn’t have the desired crispness.
Features
While there is only a small extra’s section designated for special features, there are still considerable amounts of features for each video. After you choose which album you’d like to see, you choose the video in either the video format, the outtake version, or the documentary about the making of that particular video. You are also able to use the multi-angle function for most of the videos on the DVD. A noteworthy piece to watch is the making of “Tonight, Tonight”, which was inspired by the early French films that Billy Corgan used to watch.
Once you’ve made that decision you can either select just the music to play or audio commentary. Since some of the Pumpkins videos appear to be quite symbolic and aesthetic it is interesting to hear what the director and band members have to say about the production, meaning, and consideration that went into each piece.
In the extra’s section is a live version of “I am One”, an early single from Gish, and a short film called “Try”, which is the extended and fuller version of the video for “Try, Try, Try” off Machina. Very well done mini-film, quite an interesting watch.
Closing Thoughts
Each video on this DVD is like a short film, it has a story line that draws the viewer into its world and holds them there through the opulent music and stunning, and at times, bizarre images. Any fan should get this DVD and those who just dabble in the Pumpkins, will become full fledged after they see this DVD.
Special Features List
- Band Commentary
- Narration by the Video Directors
- Never Before Seen Outtakes
- Behind the Scenes Documentaries
- Short Film by Jonas Akerlund
- 21 music videos
- Multiple Angles
