Documentaries & Biographies > Entertainment Biographies Documentaries & Biographies > 5 GBP to 10 GBP

Advantages: Behind the scenes with one of the most influential bands in rock
Disadvantages: Unless you're Spinal Tap, tours aren't a natural for a linear documentary

...an internationally representative level on the subject of the Pixies. A "most influential rock band of the last 25 years" here, a "staggering use of loud/soft quick/fast" dynamics" there. They emerged, almost fully formed, in 1987, recorded five (well, four and a half) seismically memorable albums, and then split in 1992 amidst acrimony; singer Black Francis informing the media before his bandmates, then tossing them a cursory fax afterwards. The ...
...was one sure thing in the music biz, it was that they would NEVER reform. In 2004, they reformed. In their absence, their fame had grown; the platitudes of Kurt Cobain and countless others, the iconic use of "Where Is My Mind?" at the end of "Fight Club", all had served to elevate their stock. A rabid audience could scarcely believe it; for years, the two most obviously warring elements, Black Francis and bassist/vocalist Kim Deal, had refused ... Read review

Advantages: Solo Videos, rare last Freddie interview, a lot of extras
Disadvantages: Some of the extras are a bit long and boring

Freddie Mercury-Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs DVD I had this DVD bought for me for my birthday in November 2006 when it had just come out. I also have the Freddie Mercury CD "Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs, The Very Best Of Freddie Mercury Solo" being a big Queen and Freddie fan. I love the name of the CD and DVD as I think it sums Freddie up perfectly, as it says on the back of the DVD booklet, it was Brian May's inscription for the Freddie Mercury ...
...with the boy who played Freddie as a child in the documentary. Subtitles DVD 2- Singer Of Songs...The Solo Videos 1. Barcelona 2. The Great Pretender 3. I Was Born To Love You 4. Time 5. How Can I Go On 6. Made In Heaven 7. Living On My Own 8. The Golden Boy 9. In My Defence Bonus Video's 10. Barcelona (live version) 11. The Great Pretender (Extended version) 12. Living On My Own (1993 Remix) Extra feautures: Rare interviews-including ... Read review

Advantages: If you know next to nothing about Guns n' Roses, might be worth a look.
Disadvantages: Bad layout, no real conclusion, repeated facts, uninteresting interviews.

I am an avid Guns n' Roses fan and bought this DVD a while back. However, it was a waste of my money as I didn't learn anything new from it. If you don't know much about the general history of the band and want to learn more, then it might be worth purchasing it but otherwise I wouldn't bother. Most of the people that are interviewed in the DVD seem to be complete randomers with no real connections to the band at all. You don't really get to see ... Read review

Advantages: Door stop sized
Disadvantages: Dissapointing

This was a great show on TV which each hour long episode followed a different celebrity on a travel back through their families past exploring the past of their grandparents and great grandparents and revealing family secrets which had been forgotten through the ages. Celebrities featured in the first series include: David Baddiel, Jeremy Clarkson, Leslie Garrett, Ian Hislop, Sue Johnstone, Bill Oddie, Amanda Redman, Vic Reeves, Meera Syal and Moira ...
...managed to catch in this series and was particularly impressed with Jeremy Clarkson, Bill Oddie and Vic Reeves episodes so thought this an excellant chance to catch up. BIG MISTAKE THIS IS NOT EACH AND EPISODE IN FULL BUT RATHER SHORT SNIPPETS FROM THE SERIES. It is 10 hours of TV reduced to 76 mins - why? It would have been so much better to have each episode in full. With the 76 min feature (as sold here as an added extra) which is all it really ... Read review

Advantages: Thought provoking, will learn alot about graphs and spreadsheets
Disadvantages: You may never want to go near Microsoft Excel again, tad boring

...follow (Super-Size Me for example), An Inconvenient Truth is essentially one of Al Gore's lectures, put onto film, with a few clips 'tacked on' to break up the never ending flow of graphs. Some just don't seem to fit with the nature of the film, for example, the clip of Al Gore losing the 2000 American elections. Although he does explain why it's important to his passion for global warming (unfortunately I wasn't convinced), its obvious the real ...
...going to the cinema, not an auditorium. Humour plays a small part in Gore's fight, with cartoons displaying simple-to-follow explanations of global warming, and stories that poke fun of the intellect of the American education system. Unfortunately, despite its best efforts to appeal to a wider audience, only scientists will be able to sit comfortably throughout the films running time. Some parts of the lecture have the American audience in stitches, ... Read review