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Released by: Columbia Music Video
Released on: August 20, 2002.
Director: Dean Karr
Cast: Bruce Dickinson, Janick Gers, Steve Harris, Nicko McBain, Adrian Smith
Year: 2002
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The Movie:
A long time ago it seems, Iron Maiden were the undisputed kings of heavy metal. Hailing from England in the late 70s, they influenced far more bands than anyone really wants to admit, and had scorns of mullet wearing rockers banging their heads, raising their fists, and plastering posters of their zombie like mascot, 'Eddie', all over their bedroom walls (myself included). So I was stoked to get a copy of Maiden headlining the Rock In Rio show from 2001, an annual event celebrating metal held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
The concert starts off with the cameras zooming around, showing footage and landmarks from Brazil and the audience and the show itself, but quickly launches into the bands introduction (the theme from the movie 'First Knight' for some reason), as the band takes the stage, looking pretty much as I remember them looking back when I worshipped the ground that they walked on circa 1983. Bruce Dickinson did get a hair cut. Other than that, I'd bet that they've been kept in some sort of 80s time capsule.
But I digress, the reason they're on the stage to begin with is to hit us right between the eyes with all the metal might they can summon, and really, they deliver far better than I would have thought possible.
The band plays with an enthusiasm all to rare in music these days, posturing in all their metal poses, jumping around on stage, and even engaging in some good old fashioned hand to hand combat with a giant foam suited 'Eddie' who emerges from the back of the stage to raise a little Hell of his own! Bruce Dickinson, who's gotta be well into his forties by now, does not stop moving for pretty much the entire show, jumping from stage prop to stage prop in a way that David Lee Roth only wishes his balding, fat, ass could maneuver.
Lights dance around the stage, backdrops change every two or three songs to reveal a new or more sinister version of their mascot, pyrotechnics explode into showers of sparks, and the crowd loves every minute of it. And why shouldn't they? Sure, Maiden's sound hasn't changed more than one or two iota's since they formed in the late 70s, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
They know they can rock and they go all out to prove it to you on this DVD release.
While a lot of music videos are only an hour so long, and more often than not, have lesser production values than most feature films, this concert really takes advantage of the DVD format. Using 18 cameras, the crew captured every bit of action happening on the stage at this show, the last of their 'Brave New World' tour and the biggest show that the band had ever played with over 250,000 fans in attendance.
Clocking in at just over two full hours of sweaty goodness, Rock In Rio is a well directed and enthusiastic concert video that goes all out to bring the viewer front row and center at an Iron Maiden concert. The band's own Steve Harris edited this show himself, and it certainly shows all the love that the band has always had for their fans.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The fullscreen picture on both the concert DVD and the second extra features disc is crystal clear. There are virtually no scratches, nicks, or problems of any kind with the video except in one or two small spots where there is some minor video distortion that's only ever so slightly noticeable. The entire presentation was shot on high end video, but the quality here is seriously very, very good.
You've got the choice of watching the concert in either DTS, or Dolby Digital 5.1. There isn't a lot of difference between the DTS and the 5.1 tracks. They more or less sound the same, but it doesn't matter, because this disc sounds amazing.
Excellent use is made of the surround speakers and there's enough bass in this recording to kick the hell out of your subwoofer and have it coming back asking for more. There is seriously nothing worth complaining about audio wise on this DVD. There are also English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese subtitles as well. The extras are presented on the second disc in Dolby Digital 2.0 and they sound just fine. But given the content of the extras, I seriously doubt that a true surround mix would have really enhanced the experience any.
On the second disc, fans are treated to the extras which include a wealth of candid interviews with each band member, a documentary that goes behind the scenes of the metal machine that is Iron Maiden (entitled, oddly enough, 'A Day In The Life'), and finally, the 'Ross Halfin Photo Gallery'.
The 'candid interviews' are decent enough if what you want to do is follow the band members around during exciting moments like when they play golf, go fishing, and things like that. But really, I don't know anyone in their right mind who would want to do that. That being said, I'm sure there are lots of people not in their right mind that I have yet to make acquaintances with who will eat this up, so more power to them. I guess if you're into this type of thing, then the interviews are well done. I'm just not sure why it's there in the first place. Couldn't they have had the band do something cool on camera? It's Iron Maiden! Shouldn't they be worshipping the devil or something equally sinister rather than playing golf? If only that were the case.
The 'A Day In The Life' documentary is roughly ten minutes long and is pretty interesting, much more so than the 'candid footage.' Band members are seen back stage before and after shows, getting ready to rock the socks off of their audiences and stuff like that. It's decent enough, but I don't know that it'll get watched more than once or twice.
The 'Ross Halfin Photo Gallery' has some interesting shots, 56 exclusive ones to be exact, all documenting the South American tour from 2001. His commentary leaves a little to be desired, however, and he gets pretty stale after a minute or so. Still, there are some nice shots here that fans are sure to dig. And at least they're not golfing in any of them. But really, the coolest visual aspect of Iron Maiden has always been 'Eddie' and he's sadly ignored here.
Worth noting, however, is just how cool the packaging is on this set. A nice slip case cover a tri fold disc holder, all adorned with various pictures of the band, the audience, and 'Eddie' with a nifty pop up of the stage in between the two discs. Columbia definitely gets an A for effort in the design department for this release.
The Final Word:
There's a whole lot for the metal head in your household to love about this DVD. Near perfect video and amazing audio quality make this a must own for fans of concert DVDs and cheesy 80s metal alike. The extras leave a little to be desired, but die hard fans are going to want to go through all of the material anyway (otherwise they wouldn't be die hard fans now, would they?).