Search - The Supremes: Reflections - The Definitive Performances 1964-1969 on DVD

Someday We'll Be Together...At Last!

Kasey G | 12/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At long last we have an official, remastered DVD collection of vintage performances of those fair maidens from the Motor City, The Supremes.

You can't go wrong with this budget-priced disc that showcases the glamour, poise, sophistication, beauty and unmistakable talent of these three (four) young ladies in their prime (or should that be primette??).

Every one of their Top Ten/Number One hits is here (with the exception of "Love is Like an Itching in My Heart" and "I'm Livin' In Shame").

The highlights are definitely the September 1966 Ed Sullivan Show performance of "You Can't Hurry Love" and the January 1967 Andy Williams Show appearance singing "Love is Here and Now You're Gone," though the latter would have been better had they sang live. All three look gorgeous in both clips, though. The low point would have to be the uninspired miming to "Stop! In The Name of Love" or the Mike Douglas Show debacle of "I Hear a Symphony" where Diana accidentally forgets the opening lyric and flubs another line.

My only complaint about this DVD is that a few of the clips should have been substituted with superior performances.

Yes, the "Reflections" clip from The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show is good but their earlier September 1967 rendering of the song on The Hollywood Palace may very well be the most electrifying performance of the Diana/Mary/Cindy era. The "Ernie" clip fails to showcase the background vocals that the "Palace" version boasts, with Mary Wilson clearly stepping up to the plate in the wake of Florence Ballard's departure. Mary is clearly wailing on this missing clip and all three girls look fantastic in their liquid silver gowns.

On a similar note, I was dismayed to find they chose to include the initial Ed Sullivan performance of "Love Child", from September 1968 to which they lip-synced, instead of the second one from January 1969. At the time, it may have seemed daring for the girls to perform sans makeup and wigs, dressed in street clothes. However, they delivered a much better version of the song a few months later when they sang it live with Mary and Cindy on backup instead of the studio singers who appeared on the record. This second version rivaled the studio version for drama and intensity, had better choreography and the girls looked much better visually in purple velvet pantsuits, which were casual enough to reflect the song's lyric yet still stylish enough to maintain their impeccable fashion sense.

These are minor complaints and we are lucky to have such a wonderful showcase from the 1960's Dreamgirls.

Now we need a Volume II that includes ALL their Ed Sullivan performances, the remaining Hollywood Palace appearances and whatever else the producers can legally get their hands on.
"

This is exactly the same as the "Definitive Performances DVD

B. Meredith Jones | 02/16/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Please if any of you had read a review by a A J Wilson, claiming that this was a special edition with 3 discs, and an extra 17 performances. This is not true! it is exactly the same as the cheaper American version. Why they advertise this copy as the "Definitive DVD collection" as opposed to the American copy of "Definitive performances collection" is beyond me. I ordered this copy after seeing the review by A J Wilson, only to find its exactly the same as the cheaper American copy."

Full Performances of the Legendary Supremes!!!

PM in NY | New York City | 12/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Diana Ross and the Supremes were one of the biggest musical acts of the 1960's, with 12 number one hits. They were everywhere, including countless televsion performances. And.....FINALLY...a selection of these performances is available on this DVD. These are the full songs...not just clips, and the sound and clarity are great.

Here are the Supremes, often imitated, but rarely suprassed....the beehive hairdo's, long eyelashes and the Motown dance moves. And, of course, there are the great songs, that still can still make you tap your feet and sing along. Seeing clip after clip of these songs, it's amazing to see just how many hits they had.

The clips are presented in chronological order, so you can see the evolution of the Supremes from excited young women in simple dresses at the beginng of their career to their sparkly glamour in the late 60's. But, as it is now legend, behind the scenes was not all glamour, and you can see the human side of the Supremes peek through their tight performances ...for instance, Diana messing up the lines at the beginning of "I Hear a Symphony" and a very tired Diana and The Supremes in "Someday We'll Be Together".

Unfairly, the backstage drama of The Supremes may have obscured their role in pop history, as nearly all successful singing groups had their own meltdowns. Hopefully, this DVD will help remind some, and introduce others, to these great performers. And, if we're lucky, get more of their performances on DVD"

Supremes Get A (Mostly Well-Presented) Deserved Nod :-)

Italo | Boston, MA USA | 05/26/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This was a pretty good buy. It's a great collection addition for fans of The Supremes and Ross. Some observations, though:

*I realize the lip-synching clips really were first presented that way, and that the DVD says that they went to the vault masters to enhance those performances in these clips; but I think that when the lip-synch performances first actually occurred, the performances sounded properly "echoed" through the TV studios being performed in front of the attending audiences, in typical '60s variety show style...here, there's a sterile sound where you hear just the records and no studio program "atmosphere."

*It's a pain to transition between clips, the way you first have to go through the opening credits and hear a loudly annoying "Stop!" interlude inbetween each cut.

*It was great to see more Supremes cuts than just those other well-known ones from "Sullivan" that haven't been widely commercially circulated to date. I do like the "You Can't Hurry Love" clip from Ed's show, which is always fun. And the live Sweden show performances. It'd be nice to see more of that show, and more Supremes or Ross clips from a lot of those other great shows like Tennessee Ernie Ford's, in hopeful future such DVDs.

*The DVD booklet claims that this is the first such package entirely devoted to The Supremes. Actually, no, because even here on Amazon there has been available for a long while the DVD of their live, televised Holland show from the same tour that included the Sweden performances on this DVD.

*The commentary and trivia were very well-done, paced and presented!

Great product. Would love to see their "TCB" and "GIT" NBC specials, with The Temptations from 1968 and '69, respectively, come out on DVD possibly in my lifetime, or at least within the next 60-odd years! ;)"