Duran Duran Greatest- the V

First Disc----

Planet Earth: This is a cool video with water and fire and very tacky clothing. However, I believe Simon must have been getting used to performing the songs. He's still a real ham, though, and I mean that in a good way.

Girls on Film: Supposedly about exploitation of models (from what Simon says in the hidden audio interview) and that's what the lyrics suggest (they sound very sarcastic) but Simon does admit that the uncensored video definitely "overshadowed" this message. Sexist, tasteless---you name it.

The Chauffeur: Kind of artsy and I read somewhere that it's based on a movie. Unnecessarily (...) the band members are not shown in the video.

Hungry Like the Wolf: DD finally gives porn a rest. A video in the vein of Indiana Jones where Simon is hunting down a woman in tiger paint while the other band members are hunting him down. Takes place in Sri Lanka with shots of snakes and such and images that conjure up the idea of literal hunger.

Rio: Rio teases the boys and has them running all over the place, trying to catch her. John throws Andy off the boat while the others snap their fingers and sing "Oh Rio, Rio".

Save a Prayer: The boys roam the beaches of Sri Lanka in expensive suits (and I don't mean the kind you swim in, although they had no problem throwing each other in the water in Rio and getting their fashion model clothes all wet). Lots of kids, shots of sand and the water, a temple that they all stand before in the end.

Is There Something I Should Know?: Takes place mostly in some kind of shadowy room with the band singing to a light shining through the ceiling. Great video. Clips from their other videos at the end. Simon dancing with someone in Save a Prayer, Nick peeking through a door in Nightboat, John having make-up applied in Girls on Film, Roger in the beginning of Planet Earth where he's trapped in some kind of embryo-state (hard to describe) and that shot of Simon (?) with the water pouring through his hands and onto his face in Planet Earth.

Union of the Snake: Takes place in the desert. Simon is led into an underground place where he meets up with all kinds of shady characters and spends the rest of the video trying to escape with this kid whom you never find out what happens to. And in the end, the rest of the band drives off with out him while he collapses on the sand with flames in the background. But a man on a donkey or something comes by and gives him a ride after he wakes up in the daytime.

New Moon on Monday: Mostly has band members plotting something, running around a city in France with lighted torches and waving flags, while those in authority ride around on horses.

The Reflex: Live concert. Water flows from screen (don't think that's real. Maybe illusion?) and shots of people on chain leashes (?).

Wild Boys: Band battling it out with the "wild boys" who try to drag them down. Simon is tied to a windmill that churns water. John is chained to a car. The others fly through the air. I don't know what is going on with Nick. But they escape in an old-fashioned, roofless car in the end, victorious as snow falls down.

A View to a Kill: Clips from Bond but the band also takes part in a sort of spy plot.

The second disc includes Notorious (mostly them dancing), Skin Trade (Kinda stylish. Simon is wearing a Freddy Krueger like shirt and gloves), I Don't Want Your Love, All She Wants Is, Serious, Burning the Ground, Ordinary World, Come Undone (which takes place in an aquarium room with a woman singing underwater, trying to free herself from these chains wrapped around her) and Electric Barbarella (affair with a robot. Sexist but so ridiculous. Seems tongue-in-cheek).

Overall, good collection. Gets one less star because of the porn and because of the annoying extras. But the extras are pretty good when you find them. Includes chopped up video of Violence of the Summer.

Pros: The video and audio quality is awesome. The Videos Included are Awesome, And the Extra features are quite entertaining, especially the Liberty EPK. The DVD box is nice too.

Cons: Some great videos are missing. For Example, Breath After Breath, Femme Fatale, Perfect Day, Too Much Information, Out Of My Mind and White Lines. It would've been great and very apropiate to include the Greatest EPK from 1998. Some live versions doesn't hurt anyone also. And finally, there should be comments about the reunion, the DVD and the videos from the band.

Well, anyway, this collection is still great, includes all the classics from the 80's and 90's with some exceptions. But if you want to see it from another point of view, Emi will probably never release another video collection DVD from this band including all the missing videos. So I recommend you to buy this DVD if you like this band or if you want a bit of nostalgia.