Search - The Smiths - Under Review on DVD

TERRIBLE!!

glen | 08/01/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Horrible money grab (by whom I'm not sure is making money off this) but since there is little Smiths dvds out there, as my eyes saw this upon on shelf, I had to fork over my hard earned money. For what? I got hosed, the DVD says there are 'extended interviews' which I assumed was of the band, NO. Here we get ramblings of past producers whom offer little we already know about the band. I was at least looking forward to what Stephen Street had to say, since he produced some of my all time favorite albums, but what a drab that guy is. Of all the sessions he had with band all he could say is 'Johnny Marr' is brilliant? WOW! Thanks man! I shelled out $20 to hear that? THIS IS A COMPLETE SHAM RIP OFF!! I know there are desperate needy Smiths fans "completists" but you have been warned to avoid this"

"Under Par" is more like it

Dan The Man | Hempstead, LI,NY | 06/24/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Under Review is actually "Under Par" since the great songs we know and love are only snippets and they are never played in their entirety. The interviews are not going to tell you anything you don't already know from reading the Johnny Rogan book "The Severed Alliance" (yes, I know, the one Moz wants us to boycott), or from looking at any Smiths fan site. I feel ripped off, but maybe you will watch the Smiths collection of videos "The Complete Picture" and save money and time by skipping this offering. It should also be noted that this is an unofficial dvd, and hopefully Moz and Marr didn't approve of this second rate documentary. I am almost a completist so I think it is my job to share that the best part of the dvd is the quiz on Smiths trivia toward the end-I scored an 18 of 25-I'm sure you can do better!"

I was'nt expecting much but...

Carlos | NJ | 08/13/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"These "unauthorized/under review/critical overview/etc" DVD's are a dime a dozen. Practically half of the DVD section at my local record shop is now comprised of these cheap knock-offs. I can understand the frustration of Smiths fans who were hoping for an all encompassing documentary on what made these Mancunian mopesters tick but if you're familiar with the "Under Review" series you really ought to lower your expectations...I mean..REALLY lower them. After all, this entire "Under Review" series is just a half step above a bootleg.
That said, Stephen Street, John Porter and Craig Gannon ARE worth listening to and the no-name journalists who rehash the story of The Smiths do a concise if somewhat repetitive and generic job. The actual clips of The Smiths are all taken from "The Complete Picture" DVD so if you have that and you've read "Morrissey And Marr: The Severed Alliance" you basically have this DVD already.
I think the main problem with this DVD is that way WAY too much time is devoted to interviewing these so-called rock writers. Often times they have nothing to say about the subject at hand (the "How Soon Is Now" single, the "Meat Is Murder" album etc.) but their babbling is included anyway just to fill up the time.
This DVD probably would've been more effective at 60 minutes and with a little more judicious editing.
If you're a Smiths fan..and you're not expecting much from a rush job..you might enjoy reliving it all again."

Fun to Watch but Not Incredibly Insightful

SandmanVI | Glen Allen, VA United States | 07/09/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I guess it's important to mention that I did, in fact, enjoy watching people talk about The Smiths. The contributors were journalists and critics as well as some producers and engineers who worked with the band; And let's not forget Craig Gannon, a.k.a. the 5th Smith. The commentary was more enjoyable than insightful for the most part. You'll get more out of reading the books that you probably already own. Although I found Gannon interesting in that he really seems to respect the band so much despite his obviously feeling that he got screwed over and badly mistreated.

As others have noted, the quiz is fun... I also got 20 which graded out as "Excellent". Otherwise the extras are lacking. I was somewhat disappointed that the commentary basically just tracks the singles chronologically. I would've preferred more talk on the albums as a whole and also some talk from a wider range of critics about how the guys stack up in rock (or at least British rock) history.

Oh well, it's not perfect but as a collector I'm not as disappointed as others."