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Depeche Mode: Devotional (1993)
Depeche Mode At The Top Of Their Game
This is Depeche Mode the way they should be seen.
Filmed by Anton Corbijn over several nights of their 1993-94 DEVOTIONAL TOUR (listed by Q Magazine as "the most debauched rock tour ever"), the final product is an almost dreamlike chronicle of Depeche Mode at the absolute peak of their influential creative talents.
Musically, the song selection is on-target, the arrangements are tight & rockin', and frontman Dave Gahan is at his over-the-top best and surrounded by Anton Corbijn's opulent stage set and surreal visuals. Accordingly, after this film's VHS release, it was nominated for "Best Longform Music Video" at the 1994 Grammy Awards.
The extras on the DVD set include two previously unseen excerpts from the performance ("Policy Of Truth" and "Halo"), the tracks that were (irritatingly) only released on the European versions of the film ("Behind The Wheel," "Mercy In You," "Fly On The Windscreen" and "Everything Counts"), the music videos from SONGS OF FAITH AND DEVOTION, the original concert projections used on the tour, and two relevant documentaries.
At any rate, without bias, this video is truly one of the best live performance documentaries that are out there. It captures a band in top form, an audience in almost trance-like devotion, and, thanks to Anton Corbijn, the film is dripping with color and, at times, in hazy focus...much the way you'd remember the show if you had been there. Recommended to all.
Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
If you see only one of the Psycho sequels, make it this one.
This movie works very well in conjunction with the original movie and story, and offers a great perspective into Norman's mind. (Thanks to the original Psycho screenwriter Joseph Stefano.) After Norman hangs up with Fran Ambrose for the last time, however, you can turn it off. The rest is superflouous.
Some great acting from the highly underrrated CCH Pounder, too.
Depeche Mode: One Night in Paris (2002)
Simply the best live concert DVD.
This is a great "package."
First of all, you have Depeche Mode at their live-est ever, performing in front of 30,000 screaming Frenchmen on October 10, 2001.
Second, you get Anton Corbijn's photographic sensibilities, both during the terrific concert film, and during the DVD's literally groundbreaking extras.
The plentiful extras include the visually stunning concert projection films made by Corbijn, candid pre-concert interviews with the band, Martin Gore singing "Surrender" to his dressing room mirror (classic!), and a "choose-your-own angle" version of "Never Let Me Down Again."
Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
If you see only one of the Psycho sequels, make it this one.
This movie works very well in conjunction with the original movie and story, and offers a great perspective into Norman's mind. (Thanks to the original Psycho screenwriter Joseph Stefano.) After Norman hangs up with Fran Ambrose for the last time, however, you can turn it off. The rest is superflouous.
Some great acting from the highly underrrated CCH Pounder, too.