Albert Collins' was definitely the funkiest and most soulful of all the Bluesmen (Texas, Chicago, and all points in between !) to walk the planet... The only thing missing from this video is the Hammond Organ... I remember seeing him around that time, and like on his organs... his organist was one of the greasiest I ever heard... Still even without the B-3, Collins' band is slick enough... the horn section in particular... the band is funky, and the video though only an hour long (*I think we would have all prefered 6) really let's you appreciate Collins' warmth, soulfullness and brilliance, even at the blink of an eye... especially apparent is the brilliant, fluent yet cautious way he phrases his lines, each note hitting you like the painful bite of a King Cobra... sometimes you'll even hear him interacting and coupling lines with the horn sections in ways you just wouldn't expect out of no ordinary guy "just" playing the blues... in fact, his style at times reminds me of MILES DAVIS... By that I mean, what other artists might need to say in a billion flashy licks Collins could get out in one simple phrase so perfectly timed its like that one big K.O. punch in a big boxing match, where the guy gets hit... everyone knows he's been hit bad... HE knows he down... and don't even know what hit him... With Collins' virtually every line he hits on his guitar however is like that one last perfectly delivered perfectly landed punch... - - To sum up : Jazzed up horn section (dig Chuck Williams blowing Rhassan Roland Kirk style tenor and alto at the same time), funky rhythm section... and a master guitarist + entertainer at his peek... I'm not going to compare this video to other Albert Collins' videos on the market only to say that the guy's no longer on the planet and I only pray that more and more stuff like this will continue to surface !

I agree with a lot of points in the video... and disagreed with others... though at times Moore seems a bit schmucky and self absorbed, what shocked me was when he went to visit [other] headquarters... I'm thinking, "Well, duh... of course the CEO isn't going to come down just because he walks in unannounced with a camera crew... " and then he pulls off the bullet stunt so brilliantly I think to myself, "Well in the past you had documentary film activists and activists documented on film... but this guy... well, he's sort of an Activist who happens to have a camera... though at times he works a bit too hard to prove his point sometimes and sidetracks... he can be very effective at others..." Still at other times his "Shame on you, Dick Clark !" type antics and getting doors slammed in his faced do seem a bit self importantly silly - - The other thing that shocked me was that Heston (*possibly a bit senile) actually let him in his house... (*well he did keep mentioning that he's a lifetime NRA member....) I mean, if MIKE WALLACE came knocking on my door, even if I didn't do anything wrong, I'd know to run for the woods... - - Though I felt it was a bit long and went on and on at times, the animated sequence narrarated by the bullet giving the brief history of America was so hillarious I think it made the entire DVD worth getting...

I was a bit confused at the start of this film when I thought I detected what sounded a bit like a Swedish accent by a Jew living in a Polish schtetle who was being idealistically lectured by a suspiciously non grizzly looking blond hair little boy with a bit of a Brittish accent. - - Though the story is great, throughout the film its apparent that Herzog may have gotten a bit carried away with his genius as a director as if almost to say, "I'm such a great director, I could take anybody and make them look like great actors... !" - - uhhhhhh, not so. - - Likewise, maybe he thought that by having real people, the film would have a more realistic feel ? - - Though Tim Roth gives an OUTSTANDING performance (the evil of his charactor gushes through) and a few other actors as well, one begins to wonder through the film "What's going on here ?" - - Keep in mind, I saw the film without realizing it was a Herzog film, so I was wondering if maybe it was a good film but a director who... well, just wasn't quite there yet, but still, had a good story to tell. - - Still, scenes that should have been climatic (The Jewish Samson announcing before a room of Nazis that he was indeed a Jew) and others, turned out to be... drab, whereas others (virtually any scene that Roth appeared in) were full of passion and energy in comparison. - - The end result, I felt the true significance of Zeisha's charactor was lost... If you read his actual biography, you find out that he became a mythical folk hero to the Jews of Europe... he wasn't just an unintentional symbol, but called himself the Jewish Samson and lectured avidely on behalf of the then budding Zionist movement. In contrast, his charactor in the film doesn't seem to be the shapest knife in the drawer. - - In the film, though a hero to the Jews of Germany, when he returns to the Schtetles (where the real Zisha was a true folk hero) he's made into a virtual laughing stock with his predictions as to the rise of Nazism. (*And is it just me, or do some of those beards look rather fake...?) - - Not to spoil the end of the film if you haven't seen it, I'll only say that the real Zeisha died in 1925 from blood poisining as a result of an injury from a stage stunt.

All in all... great story... Werner Herzog, despite being a great film director might have done better to hire professionals... because virtually every element of the film BUT the acting reflects his greatness... unfortunately wouldn't one expect a director of Herzog's callibre to realize that acting... ummmm... does count...

First of all, the one thing that a lot of people miss about Zappa was that he was a master "resource" utilizer. - - He knew what he wanted his projects to look and sound like, and was great enough of an artist/producer to find/discipline people capable of delivering his vision - - So the big question : Despite his notorious reputation for his mixture of music and oddball stage antics, given a REAL big budget to make a real big motion picture, could he pull something off ? - - The answer... UNBELIEVABLY FRIGGIN' YES ! ! ! - - The film captures the MOTHERS in their prime circa the antics of FLO & EDDIE... the bizarre stage routines of his group are MELTED together by a great theme... that TOURING can make you crazy... though surreal, beyond the paranoia and psychadelic wierdness, the backstage politics of a band touring on the road, the stresses between the leader and bandmembers... and yes, the neverending quest for the ultimate BJ come through in the form of a BRILLIANT opera, featuring a full symphonic orchestra and some surprizing guest appearences... including Ringo Starr as frank zappa. - - The music is great... the images are great... and the performances (musical, now and then sexual, and stagewise) are a brilliant and mindtripping experience... This film is DEFINITELY something to watch over and over into and really get into... especially (of course) if you're a Zappa nut - - just don't get too psyched, otherwise you might find yourself singing the words to LONESOME COWBOY BURT outloud on the bus on the way to wherever...

In order to really appreciate this film, you really have had to been through the experience... for that reason, there are a lot of people who will watch it and not get it.... - - I first saw the film before I really knew very much about Japanese culture... Some elements of the humor were universal... and I still could appreciate the Itami Juzo's dry surrealism... but after seeing the film I came to live in Japan on and off for 9 years and went through the experience, watching the film went beyond "interesting and sometimes funny"... one one had it was incredibly cathartic... on the other hands, uncomfortably hillarious... Its one of those films that if you'd just been through the experience and you watched it, it would definitely serve as a cathartic dose of laughter... - - Too many scenes, unfortunately, parody experiences and rituals (sometimes seemingly senseless, others incomprehensibly complex) that you'd really have to experience to appreciate... If you haven't been through them, those scenes might be a bit boring... for this reason my advice is this : read up on the subject first... and also, watch the film with an understanding that Japanese funerals are very different than Western funerals... The strange scenes in this film in many way present Japanese funerals as they are, and in other ways parody them...

All in all, having been lucky to have gone 9 years without any close personal losses in Japan, but recnetly having lost an important member of our family, I can't tell you how thankful I am that Juzo Itami made this film !

One of the most horrifying experiences I've ever had in my life was playing the English langauge version of this DVD at my club in TOKYO and suddenly a bunch of customers doing the WARRIORS... COME OUT AND PLAY-AYYYYYY... WAHHHHHHHRIORS... COME OUT AND PLAY-AYYYYYYY... thing, even with the bottles... in Japanese... aside from being strange though it made one thing clear... Even in Japan, where action type films and animation are taken very seriously, THE WARRIORS is considered a classic... Though its true that the DVD lacks many extras (*commentary would have been great, or even alt takes, deleted scenes, making of info, or even the news reports about the "riots" and controversy the film ignited) the fact that you can actually watch your favorite scenes at the flick of a button even without many extras, makes the Dvd well worth the purchase... (*Can youuuuuuuuu dig it !) - - Though I'm still disappointed that dispite all the ridiculous gang get ups and uniforms they didn't have a gang dressed up like Orthodox Jewish Rabbis or Ballerinas... The Riffs, Lizzies and Turnball ACs more than made up for it... not to mention the rockin' soundtrack.

The Warriors is more than just a film... like THE WALL and ROCKY HORROR its just one of those late night films you watch with your buddies over... and over... and over... and over again... (or even annoy them by quoting from whenever the opportunity arrives...)

If you dig this film, keep your fingers crossed and pray that the late 70's (or was it early 80's) NYC gang documentary "120(?) Blocks from Tiffany's" eventually makes it back to print !

In my book, this album even beats (or atleast matches up with)the Blackbyrds ventures...
Mixing the disco tinged funk of the era with Byrd's masterful hornplaying... this album is totally tripped out... Its not one of those albums with one or two good tracks then a lot of fluff in the middle... the thing is kickin' straight through... Though "contemporary Jazz" (circa that era) its by no means "sell out" or "soft music" - - the stuff is hard hitting... with, of course, a very Jazzy edge... I guess its been almost 13 years since I first gotten the album, and it hasn't warn out... When I listen to it, I feel just as transed out and grooved up as when I first got it... and from that perspective... the thing is a masterpiece.

The good news about this film... some phenomenal choreography, and very strong performances by the ensemble... The bad news... woe, do they milk that death scene and the open heart surgery... It seems to go on and on and on for about half the film, until you feel like applauding when he finally goes... any minute, any minute, any minute... beeeeeeeeeeeee...pppp... oh wait... another dance number ! ! ! - - At times, it also has the feel of one of those great Broadway musicals captured on film, but that just doesn't seem to work as well on film (all in all, Broadway dance numbers are rarely true to themselves when captured on screen... atleast if you saw them on stage...) - - In the end, any film featuring Fosse or about his work is well worth seeing... however, unlike the great Fosse musicals, this film does have a tendency to drag at times (in terms of plot) (Yeah, we get the point, too much boozin', womanizing, a clogged artery, and he's about to go...) ... the choreography borders on making up for it though... I say borders because with such great acting, dancing and scripting you'd wonder why both couldn't have fit in together.

There's an old maxim that the only way to really experience go go is to experience it live... This is the main difference between go go and hip hop... Hip Hop music is done in the studio... and its about the rappers and drum machines. - - Go Go is done live and its about the interaction between the musicians and the audience...and the way the musicians fire up over the groove - - Now, atlast, for the first time in ages, GO GO has been caught... and proven to be alive and well... coincidentally, on the birthday of the man who started it all.

Recorded before a packed house in the Go Go capital of the world the sound and picture quality are only rivaled by the music and the DVD represents the diversity of go go, from the the Chuck Brown Jazz/Funk school (his horn section in particular is phenomenal) to 3 generations of go go bands that picked up on what Chuck Started... from the old School (including EU and Trouble's Big Tony) to the New School - - 911, who have one foot in the new school of urban contemp/hip hop, but when fired up, sound a lot like Trouble Funk...

- - One of the first Go Go albums I ever heard was LIVE AT CAPITAL CENTER. - - Go Go had actually been proclaimed dead after the movie GOOD TO GO failed to launch the music into the world outside DC... This DVD is proof that while a lot of people might not know what Go Go is.... 1) It's influence is unquestionable. 2) DC's got a secret they ain't letting go of.

Let's hope this DVD is just a hint at the shape of things to come !

Before Monty Python split the atom and changed the face of comedy forever, there were certain "standards" of sketch comedy (such as beginings, middles, and endings with clever witty punchlines.) - - The downside of this tape is that... well the sketches have them all... They're funny, but the Pythonesque formula of "sillyness & surrealism" isn't there, though the Pepperpots do make an early appearence... - - expect to see more "traditional" and sitautional TV sketch comedy (though as delivered by... may I repeat 3 comedic geniuses. - -All in all, the main reason to get this is that its a chance to see three Pythons working together in their pre-Python days... John Cleese, Graham Chapman, with Michael Palin... but don't expect a missing gem that's going to rival the DEAD PARROT SKETCH. (*PS. if you want to see or rather hear pre-Python Python, I suggest you get your hands on a British Radio Show called I'M SORRY I'LL READ THAT AGAIN... Supposedly that was the *radio* show in which Cleese also debuted his trademark silly work... though oddly enough on the radio it was said not to have worked as well (!) - - Once you get past the horrible Oxford speach impediments, its quite hillarious.) - - All and all... if you're a die hard Python fan... this tape is worth getting... but if its a choice between this and an episode of MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS missing from your collection, definitely go for that !