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182 of 192 found the following review helpful:
 A review of the "window dressings" onlyJan 27, 2005
By The Scenario
The movie itself - compelling, bizarre, incomprehensible (slightly less so once you listen to the director's commentary, but still a baffling story), and completely addictive. It's a film you won't be watching every week, but certainly once you put it on, you've pretty much committed yourself to falling under its spell for the duration.
But I'm here to primarily discuss the diffrences between the two editions of the DVD. If you have the previous edition of this DVD, don't bother getting this one thinking that you're upgrading. The "limited edition" disc itself is absolutely no different than the old one - same menus, same extras (nothing more, nothing less), same audio encoding and video transfer, even the same artwork on the disc. The packaging is the only difference here, and it's a beautiful slim digipak that looks more like "The Wall" album than the original box did. Of course, the original box mimicked the film's promotional poster, so if you're more of a purist in that sense, get that one. The box is then slipped into an clear acetate case with the movie's logo printed on the outside. Inside is a fold-out of the movie poster and a few photos.
What's odd though is that the "limited edition" is actually 5 bucks less than the previous version. Five bucks more just to get a standard plastic clamshell case? I think not! That in itself is what finally led me to purchase this movie, was the lower price!
86 of 88 found the following review helpful:
The Final CutDec 16, 1999
By G. Lanz
Most clearly put, this movie is a spellbinding artistic masterpiece. It will evoke every possible emotion and leave you wanting more of even those that are "negative".Roger Waters knew when the album itself, a masterpiece all its own, was made that he wanted to eventually make an accompanying screenplay. The fact that the music of The Wall forms a story on its own is a testament to Waters' vision. There is very little script in this movie, it is more of a visual aide to the music itself, and allows us to see what Waters really wanted us to see when the album was originally released. It is like an art gallery more than a movie, where each scene is full of both powerful meaning and subtle expression. It spotlights the roller coaster ride of Pink's tumultuous life, who is reportedly based on several influences. From Roger Waters' own personal past, to his views on the influence of drugs on music and performance, to thoughts of the mentally unstable former member of Pink Floyd, Sid Barrett, this movie will both shock and move you. I honestly cannot describe this movie and give it the justice it deserves. You simply must see it. As for the DVD itself, the remastering is truly phenomenal. From start to finish the video is crisp, and the sound.. my god the sound. I dont know if I will ever find a movie which possesses equal richness of sound. This DVD uses both senses to their fullest potential. Some person commented that the widescreen format meant losing a portion of the picture. Au contraire, widescreen is the only picture where you capture everything through the eyes of the director's camera. It is the full screen format which loses the sides of the picture by stretching and trimming to a (roughly) 4:3 ratio. Unfortunately however, being only available in widescreen format on this DVD, those viewers with small televisions might be faced with a vertically short, albeit complete picture. The DVD extras and menus are incredible. This is the first DVD I have seen which has menus to configure your sound system for optimum performance (speaker position and test). And the sound.. did I mention the sound? This movie and DVD version deserves far more than 5 stars, and is the definitive "Final Cut" of Roger Waters' vision.
224 of 251 found the following review helpful:
 Pink Floyd: The Wall - Welcome my son.....Nov 10, 2000
By Paul
I was a Pink Floyd fan throughout my younger years, but The Wall to me
is still one of the most wonderfully well-produced albums of all time.
I must have seen this film in the theater over 20 times during my high
school years. And now, seeing and hearing this film on DVD has
'remastered' my appreciation for this entertaining visual and audio
experience. At first sight, the graphics work on the package and the
disc itself is attractive. the animated flowers are beautifully
portrayed on the disc. The inner pamphlet is a simple mini poster,
with movie and DVD credits. I was hoping for a little more to read,
but I guess not this time. I popped the DVD into my player and was
immediately introduced to the main menu. You have 4 choices....the
movie, the extra features, scene/song selection and audio selection.
Let's first talk about the audio selection, titled "Set The
Controls". You have a choice of 5.1 surround and PCM stereo
surround. **TECHNICAL NOTE-If your DVD player has 3D sound
enhancement, you must turn this off for this disc. Having that
feature on will lower the sound quality from this disc** You also have
a "system set up" choice. It gives you specific sound tests
and directions on volume and surround elements. A nice addition, kind
of like the THX optimode on other discs, but slightly different. The
next menu button is titled "Any Title You Like". Under
this, you get to choose subtitles if you wish. Your choices are
Spanish, French or English. You get to choose scenes by song, of
course. Unfortunately, these choices are only numbered, there are no
descriptions of the scene or the song. So, it may take a few tries to
find an individual scene. You also have a choice to watch the film
with the song lyrics below the picture. This is pretty cool. It
reminded me of those "Pink Floyd Karaoke Parties" that I
never went to! Anyway, it would probably be taken more seriously to
those not too familiar with the lyrics. The final button, titled
"A Soucerful of Features", contain all the supplemental
material. You have your choice of two documentaries, titled "The
Other Side", "Retro Part One", and "Retro Part
Two". "The Other Side" is a piece produced around the
time The Wall was released, and it's great to watch. There is a lot
of behind the scenes footage. "Retro Part One and Two" are
recent documentaires containing rather new interviews with Roger
Waters, Alan Parker and others who worked on the film. Both of these
documentaires are fascinating because it is well known (to fans), that
Roger and Alan had very different views as to what the film is about!
A lot of behind the scenes stories and information. They are put
together very well and a pleasure to watch! You also have the choice
of watching the film with commentary by Roger Waters and Gerald Scarfe
(animation). These commentaries have great behind the scenes
information throughout the film. Roger Waters is especially a
pleasure to listen to because he laughs (which is rare), and he gives
the commentary a more personal experience since the film is
semi-autobiographical. He even mentions a story about Syd Barrett
(the founder of Pink Floyd). This commentary is outstanding. The
final piece of supplemental material is when you click a button titled
"Oddities". These pieces of supplemental material include
the trailer, photographs from the movie set, paintings from the film,
a music video of "Another Brick in the Wall-Part 2", and a
sequence of the song "Hey You" that was not in the final cut
of The Wall. That's all the supplemental material...well worth it
too! The only two complaints I have are these buttons that you can
press that give you 10 second sound bites from the film, and the
slowness of the menus. After you select something, you need to watch
10 seconds of video before you are allowed to make your next choice.
Menu design and graphics is pretty good, but should be MUCH faster.
OK, so I watched the film and the high definition transfer is
incredibly beautiful. Colors are deeply saturated with a sharp
picture and wonderful clarity. The transfer is very impressive!
Sound quality is a mixed bag. The production track sounds dated, not
too much range but not at all annoying, just noticeable. The music is
unbelievable! The soundtrack was remastered from the ORIGINAL MASTER
TAPES. If you've never heard The Wall on a surround sound system, you
are in for a big treat. The music sounds almost perfect, with some
hiss, but nothing to complain about. There were times I heard
instruments that I didn't remember from the album....incredibly clear,
wonderfully recorded music. I can't say enough about the musical
soundtrack, it comes alive on DVD. Pink Floyd never sounded better!
In conclusion, I recommend this DVD to EVERY Pink Floyd fan, and to
those who want to hear a unique, musical experience and watch a
beautifully photographed film. I must add that the animation is
absolutely wonderful. Gerald Scarfe has included his great creativity
throughout the film! The disc loses points ONLY for its slow menu
navigation. Other then that, Pink Floyds The Wall on DVD is
wonderful. Tons of extra footage, a beautiful transfer and
unbelievable sounding music. A great DVD to own whether you live
inside or outside the wall! Enjoy!
51 of 54 found the following review helpful:
PowerfulNov 24, 1999
By Boyd Baker
"Pink Floyd the Wall" is what it was always supposed to be...a visual experience. The music from the original LP hit us hard enough, with such poignant tunes as "Hey You", "Vera Lynn" and "Mother", not to mention the showstoppers "Run Like Hell", "Another Brick in the Wall", and "Comfortably Numb". It was a natural progression that a movie came out, and I'm glad it did. The result is powerful. The film creates an eerie, sad, desperate and pervasive world that envelopes you, taking you in and down with the movie's anti-hero, Pink. His life is one of rebellion and loneliness, and he never quite comes to terms with himself until the end, when it's really too late. From his early experiences with bitter and sarcastic headmasters to his final drug overdose and near insanity, we get to run the gamut of experiences with him, and if it isn't always satisfying, it is certainly compelling. One of the most memorable, tragic scenes involves Pink's crew trying to get him ready for a gig, while he's whacked out on pills and whatever else is handy. As they drag him, wasted and near-comatose, to the show he must play, he hallucinates that he's literally rotting away, while the song "Comfortably Numb" drones ominously on the soundtrack. The result is frightening, and very good. Not for the squeamish, this movie has many brilliant little moments like this, and as a whole, ranks as one of the more intense dramas ever made.
35 of 37 found the following review helpful:
we don't need no thought control...Apr 23, 2002
By Brian R Yandle
"Brian R Yandle"
if there is one dvd that you must add to your collection, pink floyd the wall should be it. very few dvd videos out there offer so many extras to such a great film as this and not to mention you are already getting one of the greatest rock-n-roll operas of our time. or should i say one of the greatest films of our time period? in my life, i have never witnessed a film which successfully combine live drama, rock music, and state of the art animation such as the wall has done. bob geldof gives a truly amazing performance as pink who is slowly going crazy in his hotel room. guess what?? the viewer has the ultimate pleasure of taking this grand descent into madness right along with our lead character. through visions of war, godawful childhood memories, and a painful reminescence of a failed marriage we get a glimpse of everything which could DRIVE a person to complete insanity. pink floyd contains some of the most beautiful but insanely grotesque images ever placed on film and probability suggest few films can ever hope to rival the wall here. the wall is an emotional rollercoaster ride which everyone should take atleast once in their life if not many times. again, not a film that a serious dvd collector would want to be without so add this to your collection if you haven't already. i give this dvd my highest rating of five stars. please vote for me if this review was helpful to you and happy viewing.
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