Customer Reviews

Bjork:Greatest Hits

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Having bought Volumen on VHS, I didn't feel too cheated when I bought Greatest Hits on DVD, even though most of the material was the same. I'm sure that some fans would have liked some interviews, a la Vessel, but this is a tremendous amount of music on one DVD, so it's hard to complain.

Looking back on this retrospective, I realize how much the "cute factor" was employed early on. Cute, as in "oh, Bjork looks cute cooking an egg, or look at her eat that slice of watermelon." Not to say that Venus as a Boy or Possibly Maybe were bad videos. The one video that has weathered the worst, in my mind, is Violently Happy. Basically, it's one big euro-trash cliche, by a director that had much greater success with Madonna. I understand the whole insane-asylum concept, but cutting up a teddy bear, and shaving your heard, and clipping Raggedy Ann is too cliched for me.

The first really good video is Army of Me. We must be thankful that this wasn't released post-9/11...I can only think of how the conservative right would have had a field day with this. This was a dark moment in Bjork's life (yes, she b@#^h slapped that reporter). It's interesting how she saves an Asian man...
I can't help but feel that there's a political message there.

Another fantastic video is Isobel, with its sepia tones. Wonderful concept.

From her third album, Joga is kind of a downer, not enough Bjork in there, but Bachelorette and Hunter are superb, especially Hunter, with Bjork unleashing her inner animal. I was blown away the first time I saw it. The main draw from this period, though is All is Full of Love. Someone I know says its disturbing, because underneath our skin we are just bones, not too different from the half-assembled robots in the video.

Alarm Call, despite being a collaboration with bad boy designer Alexander McQueen, is kind of a letdown. There are wonderful green colors thoughout the video, but the concept is too straightfoward. It's in Our Hands ups the ante, with Bjork cavorting in the dark with other nocturnal animals.

The dud video of the latter half is Hidden Place. After 30 seconds, that whole migration of bodily fluid becomes a boring concept, and we have to endure it for the rest of the video! Pagan Poetry and Cocoon are better, especially Cocoon, which I'm sure just baffled the hell out of the critics.

Well, Bjork could never be accused of being boring. This is the best evidence, on the whole, of how music videos can be art forms.

Although I am not a big fan of Bjork's music, her videos have always blown me away. This collection is a must-have for anyone who's remotely interested in creative film making. The styles are widely varied, yet all fit with the music. Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze and Chris Cunningham are among the directors featured here, and they do their best work with Bjork - probably because her prodigious talent and uninhibited energy bring out the best in anyone she meets. She is a unique spirit and an extraordinary talent, surrounding herself with the best music directors in the world. No special features on this one, but her music and performances say everything.

I bought this DVD for many reasons. One reason is because I wanted to see Bjork's videos. I have never seen a full Bjork Video, ever since I heard of her. She's got this great sound, which pulls me deeper and deeper into her music, but I haven't had a good visual interpretation of her.

So, I took the chance and bought the DVD. I'm happy to say that this collection of videos is amazing! The clarity in the picture, the sound, the editing, and the choice of videos is excellent.

Bjork hasn't changed that much. Video #1 (Human Behavior) is so cute and she seems to be really innocent. But in others like "Possibly Maybe", "Play Dead", "Pagan Poetry" and "Hunter"...they are all so different. Bjork never looks the same way twice. She's such a chameleon, and she's really pretty too! I love her facial expressions, which do happen to bring out a hidden beauty about her.

I think my favourite video of all, is the one for "Possibly Maybe". This song in general is so dramatic, and I love the lyrics. The image of her floating in the screen with big hair is so lovely! The way they made her up in 6 different ways, and the lighting effects they used for the background is all really stunning! I love the way they gave her the puffed up hair, when she gets to the "Electric shocks...i love them..." part. Her makeup is so dramatic, and I have never looked at her as an image of beauty until now.

The entire DVD is quite long, considering there are some really short DVDs out there. But this one is perfect. It's like a real long story, and each song is a new chapter.

This is the tracklist and a little thought on each one:

Human Behavior: I like seeing her in a remote scene like this. It's really simple, yet we get the idea of what she's trying to tell us.

Venus as a boy: I love it! She's cooking an egg, and getting all warm and fuzzy inside, thinking about this guy. She's really erotic and it comes out in this one. I love the way she playfully inspects the egg frying!

Play Dead: Cool video! I didn't know that Harvey Keitel was in it! Bjork really goes nuts with her voice. It's so dramatic!

Big Time Sensuality: I like the original version of the song better! For a video, this one would have been a lot better with the fast, original version. But it's still good!

Violently Happy: Weird! Totally Weird! All that hair being cut, and the doll at the end, saying "I'm the baby...I'm the baby!"

Army of Me: Excellent video, and it's really funny! The Gorilla dentist and the large monster truck driving...it's got to be Bjork!

Isobel: My second favorite song of Bjork. I like the video, but it's not the most interesting!

It's oh so quiet: Wow! What great choreography! No wonder this one won an award! I love the way it goes from really hush to absolutely nuts. Can't believe I never saw this video before!

Hyperballad: Neat video. I like her side profile in the mountain. Even here, you see a naturally beautiful edge to Bjork. I noticed she blinks her eyes when she gets to the part where she says "And will my eyes be closed or open?"

Possibly Maybe: Excellent song and video! I love the neon glow on everything! Bjork is so well made up in this one. It's really dramatic and so like her to lick the pile of yellow sand on the floor! :-)

I miss you: Weird! I'm not too crazy about the old-fashioned cartooning. She's portrayed as a funny, bouncy red-headed chick with the tendancy to rip creatures apart. How sickly weird is that?

Joga: I don't know what to say about this one yet!

Bachelorette: The landscapes of Iceland are beautiful, but it seems to turn into some computerized game at parts, when the land splits apart. I wish that we saw more Bjork in this one!

Hunter: The way they computerized Bjork's transformations is hirlarious. She seems to be shaking off the graphics like some kind of flies on her ears! This one took a lot of work to do, I imagine!

Alarm Call: My third favorite. The remix is great, and it's really amusing. The scenery is perfect, and i wish they didn't edit the F-Word out like that. Sheesh...I'ts got a "parental advisory" sticker on it, after all!

All is full of love: I love this one too! It's way up there, tied with the "Possibly Maybe" video. This is incredible how they made the robot's faces move like Bjork's own face. This one should have won many awards!

Hidden Place: This one is really weird, with all that elcrified goo going in and out of her nose, computer generatedly.

Pagan Poetry: Ouch! That must be really painful! Imagine wearing a dress made entirely of pearls and thread, sewn into your torso. We see Bjork's naked chest, and I think this is the one of the most dramatic videos that she has made!

Cocoon: She looks so old, with her hair done up in that "Granny Roll" on the front. It's way too weird to be at the end of the DVD! :-)

It's in our hands: Don't know what to say about it yet.

Nature is Ancient: I think this one is really weird...watching a sperm fertilize an egg. It's the most original of all the videos, but we don't see Bjork at all.
What a way to end a DVD!

So, now that I have given my 2 cents worth, for each song, I feel that you should go and buy this DVD. Bjork is really the most original female artist I've ever heard of. She's not afraid to express herself. I don't think she's the type that will be chewed up and spit out like some of the trashy commercially produced women in music today.

Hope my review helps you!

Whether you're a new Bjork listener or a devoted fan, you're going to be pleased. This is one of the best video collections I own. In fact, of all the videos, there is only one I didn't enjoy: Play Dead. Everything else on here is really, really good. I especially enjoy the later videos like Cocoon, It's in Our Hands, Hunter, and All is Full of Love. Some of the earlier videos by Michael Gondry are somewhat dated, but charming. Highly reccomended.

Bjork is a terrific artist, she is unique and she created in her carreer, a style, a genre ! Everything she tried, became a jewel.Mixing simplicity and complexity, image and sound, she is like a movie director. Bjork I love you :) And this DVD is an excellent gift for all your fans. Thanks for your amazing personality, creativity and your unforgettable art.

Bjork, like Madonna, is one of the rare artists who really makes the most of the music video medium. Instead of creating disposable promos, Bjork's videos are performance art pieces, as captivating and experimental as anything you might see in an art gallery. She has a knack for teaming with wonderful directors who share her vision and pioneering spirit. Some highlights of this stunning collection include "Human Behavior" (a playful, surreal fairy tale by Michael Gondry), It's Oh So Quiet (a post-modern musical extravaganza by Spike Jones), "I Miss You" (an animated wonderland by the artists behind Ren & Stimpy) and "All Is Full of Love" (a cybersexual saga by Chris Cunningham). This collection is a must-have for any true Bjork fan.

This is an amazing DVD, it includes almost all the greatest hits of the Iceland's most known and experimental artist ever (just before her new disk Vespertine, released in 2001).
The music as well as the visual impact is great and the quality could have not been better, each one of the fourteen songs gives something new to the traditional form of making a video just to promote the new single of a new disk from the artist, and join together the art of beautiful pictures with the atmosphere that just can be achieved with the singular voice of this strange woman. In addition, Björk is so cute.

The work & creativity that was put into the music & videos on this collection is immeasurable. It should be clear by now that everything Björk touches turns to gold. The elements in the music combine with the elements in the video so well, & you can notice that in many videos the beats in the music & the images on the screen are strongly linked. This might sound obvious to mention, but it's not when most music videos today are made up of bland clichés. This DVD brings back memories from a time when MTV actually played quality art (I'm not joking), when videos by artistes such as Radiohead, Björk, Beck & Peter Gabriel were all part of the channel's regular play-list. Actually, I remember that when the Post & Homogenic videos were new they were played very frequently, compared to the following videos which were only played on MTV:New or not at all ("Nature Is Ancient" was never played in its entirety for all I know). It's a shame that the prevalent idea nowadays is that new music is always good, when in fact it's mostly the opposite. Then again, the result is artistes releasing DVD compilations such as this one. It contains one of the best videos of all time, "Bachelorette". I just can't separate the song from the video, together they create such an overwhelming feeling of deterioration, which along with its clever plot are extremely rare in modern art. Most certainly, this is a must in every art lover's collection.

I'm a big fan of Bjork's music, but had never really seen any of her full videos until a friend showed me this DVD. I had to go out and buy it the same night. The surrealism and diversity of the videos makes for a DVD you can watch straight through without getting bored. It's difficult to pick a favorite video, but I was most impressed with Pagan Poetry because of the way she really sewed pearls into her skin, tugs on the strings, etc. While a lot of the other videos are impressive for their costumes and surreal effects (among other things), Pagan Poetry is especially raw and hypnotizingly bold in its erotic imagery.

My friend also showed me the Inside Bjork DVD, which is a documentary. I'm going to be picking up that one soon, too. I recommend it if you enjoyed this DVD, it gives more insight into the "characters" Bjork was in for each album.

I don't really have much to add here. The other reviews seem to sum up my feeling about this DVD. My only complaint is the lack of attention given to the Main Menu. It just gives the listing of the contents of the DVD with the ability to hear the Vespertine vids in 5.1(which is awsome by the way). I would have liked to see the little duck floating along the screen as it does on her website,or some other kind of animation. A bit of music here would have also helped. "Frosti" would have sounded nice here. The sound is very good,if not excellent. All of her videos are nothing short of classics. If you are a Bjork fan or not, you will enjoy this DVD.