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>>> DVD Documentary: The World of Strings (about 1 hour long)
Interesting documentary showcasing the effort you knew would go into a production like this. What we do get is something I think you won't see in a Hollywood making-of doc: a clearly-upset producer selling his beloved car ... Read review
A dark tale of love and revenge, Strings tells the story of young prince Hal (James ... more
McAvoy) who sets off to avenge the murder of his father, the Emperor of Hebalon. However, the lines between enemy and ally rapidly blur as it becomes apparent that all ...
Tied by hate - Bound by love A dark tale of love and revenge Strings tells the story of ... more
young Prince Hal who embarks on a perilous mission to avenge the apparent murder of his father the Emperor of Hebalon. However the lines between enemy and ally ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Music Sales Strings & Frets, DVD, B-Stock.The seven fingerstyle guitarists on this DVD ... more
have all put their own, highly personal stamp on the instrument, not only by the way they play, but also by the music they write and interpret, and the emotions and images their music invokes. No other instrument has found such a vast, global audience in the last 40 years, and as you'll see and hear, no other instrument is capable of such a diverse range of sounds and styles. As divergent as these performances are, the personal backgrounds of these highly creative and influential musicians are interwoven by the mentors who inspired and guided them, their influence on each other, and by the events which have become a part of modern musical history.BOB BROZMAN: Zonky, Down The Road, Train Song,PIERRE BENSUSAN: La Femme Cambree, Cordilliere,JOHN FAHEY: On The Sunnyside Of The Ocean, Who Will Rock The Cradle, JORMA KAUKONEN: Embryonic Journey, Water Song,JOHN RENBOURN: Sweet Potato, Angie, STEFAN GROSSMAN: Struttin' Rag, Blues For The Mann,MARTIN SIMPSON: Medley:The Turtle & The Asp/Dreamtime, Icarus, Remaining stock with slight traces of usage
Postage & Packaging:refer to website Availability:in stock
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1976 - Drama - Director: Herbert Wise - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Brian Blessed, John Hurt, Derek Jacobi, Sian Phillips, David Robb, Patrick Stewart, Fiona Walker
Advantages: Unique and imaginative Disadvantages: DVD presentation not of reference quality
...convincingly presents a world where strings mean life. The story is strong enough to keep you going and make this a fully-featured film, not just an impressive technical exercise. This is a must-see movie and one you want to tell your friends about.
>>> Plot teaser
In a marionette world, a despot ruler is about to try and rectify his own misdeeds by committing suicide and letting his son make a new start and ... ...world of marionettes where all strings stretch up into heaven and so houses don't have roofs and you die when your headstring is cut. The genius here is in presenting this using marionettes. While that seems an unnecessary observation, you just know that if this was Hollywood produced, it would have been a CG movie.
There are a number of wonderful highlights in the movie regarding this world of marionettes. The One Stringed, the birth ... more
>>> Summary
Imaginative and visually striking, this movie convincingly presents a world where strings mean life. The story is strong enough to keep you going and make this a fully-featured film, not just an impressive technical exercise. This is a must-see movie and one you want to tell your friends about.
>>> Plot teaser
In a marionette world, a despot ruler is about to try and rectify his own misdeeds by committing suicide and letting his son make a new start and move towards peace. An evil uncle, however, intercepts the plan and re-dresses the king's suicide as an assassination leading the son on a mission of revenge to murder the innocent leader of the rebels.
>>> More comment
This is a world of marionettes where all strings stretch up into heaven and so houses don't have roofs and you die when your headstring is cut. The genius here is in presenting this using marionettes. While that seems an unnecessary observation, you just know that if this was Hollywood produced, it would have been a CG movie.
There are a number of wonderful highlights in the movie regarding this world of marionettes. The One Stringed, the birth (very cool), the suicide, the city gate and the broken hand will all catch your eye and capture your imagination.
The puppet performances are uniformly remarkable. The movement is so brilliant that background movement could easily be mistaken for real human beings. Check out the camp dance to see a superb example of this. You may be somewhat distracted that the mouths do not move but you quickly get used to this and the director only loses track of conversation monentarily in one or two places (though it could just be me).
>>> DVD
Picture and sound quality are not too impressive. With source material this strong visually this should be a reference-quality presentation. Sadly, the film source used is very dirty and the picture is dull when it should feel almost 3-dimensional in clarity. The other shocking thing is that the feature was directed in 2.35:1 aspect ratio but presented at 16:9. Whereas this results in an image that fills your widescreen display, it's not what was originally intended. Still, there is another way of looking at it. The film was shot without the use of anamorphic lenses and this means that a taller image than 2.35:1 is photographed. This allows flexibility when transferring to non-film media such as DVD and television. Extra information that was photographed but not used in the film presentation can be used in the DVD and television presentation. The director made a film in 2.35:1 aspect ratio, however, and that is what I would have preferred to have seen. The clips in the documentary are presented at 2.35:1. Go figure.
>>> DVD Documentary: The World of Strings (about 1 hour long)
Interesting documentary showcasing the effort you knew would go into a production like this. What we do get is something I think you won't see in a Hollywood making-of doc: a clearly-upset producer selling his beloved car to keep the production going.
The strings on the production were 5.4m long which, astonishingly, is almost two storeys above the puppets. The skill of the puppeteers in this production is quite remarkable. Each puppet is about 2 foot tall.
Because puppeteers don't have six hands it took three people to operate each character. There is a great behind-the-scenes, er, scene where a gambol by Hal is shown being filmed. The patience and persistence of these guys is worthy of applause.
>>> DVD Extras
There are few pages of text from the director about the production (also produced on the website) and a pretty useless trailer that doesn't convey the spirit of the film and misleadingly tries to sell it as a Hollywood action movie. Doh!
Advantages: Perfect performances, funny in the right places, genuinely heartfelt effort. Disadvantages: Not for thos who prefer Eels the rock band
Normally, any band who releases a live album/DVD is looking to make some extra cash for relatively little work. It's like me taking a camcorder to my job, filming it, and selling it to you. In some respects, the same could be said for Eels - With Strings. But, out of a desire to write a decent review and a desire to defend the band I love the most, I shall try my best to explain why this is worth your time and money.
First up, an explanation of who the Eels are to the uninitiated. They are best known for the 1996 hit Novocaine for the Soul. Remember? The one with the man in the funny glasses floating around? Yep, that's them. They've poked their heads into the mainstream in recent years too, having provided tracks for all 3 Shrek films, as well as Souljacker Part 2 being the main song from Hot Fuzz. But The Eels (in various ...
Advantages: humbling Disadvantages: dragging a bit now
highlights the selflessness of some people. It shows the great lengths they go to to help others which is often without reward.
The secret Millionaire then becomes humbled by this and at the end of their stay in the area denotes some money. Sometimes they donate their expertise instead- in one episode the millionaire business man offers one of the children a chance to work as an apprentice for him. I particuarly like it when something practical gets offered as I can see it's long term benefits more but sometimes when it's just some cheque for something I wonder what will happen in years to come when that money has all been spent... then what?
I like this show because I like to see people doing good and you really get to see it. I also like to see the emotions that the millionaires go through and how the stories tug at their heart strings ...
Advantages: Will improve flexibility and tone Disadvantages: Very repetitive and clearly low budget
the dances you are simply launched in and expected to pick it up as they go. As quite an experienced dancer who enjoys watching music videos and copying the moves (I know this may sound sad) I found it very hard to keep up and ended up giving up both times. The second dance is harder than the first and as described on the cover - challenging.
I also found the camera work for the dance section very distracting as it swings back and forth multiple times.
The DVD has one soundtrack for all three sections which has a relaxing drum beat and some strings but becomes repetitive the more you hear it. The DVD would have benefitted from three different tracks for each section to break some of the monotony.
This DVD is not for beginners. It is better for someone who already understands the basic Yoga poses and who has some flexibility. Saying ...
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