Post by fugees-online on Apr 25, 2006 16:42:18 GMT 1
RELEASE DATE of "Chappelle's Block Party" is JUNE, 13th 2006
REVIEW OF THE DVD
What could have been wasn't meant to be.
Despite the availability of several hours worth of unseen concert footage, the producers of the unrated edition of Dave Chappelle's Block Party chose instead to bog down the movie with needless extra footage that distorts the pacing of the excellent theatrical release of the film, making for a disappointing release.
The 10 minutes of extra footage, all of which involves the quirky homeowners of the Broken Angel, is interesting and funny, but would have better served a role as bonus material and not spliced into the film itself. Regardless, Block Party is still the same excellent Michel Gondry-helmed documentary that shows us a day in the life of comedian Dave Chappelle in his successful attempt at gathering everyday folk from his hometown in Ohio to see some of his favorite musical acts in Brooklyn.
Considering the film was shot on a tight budget, the video and sound transfer are excellent on this release, with every Chappelle punchline, every ?uestlove snare and every Mos Def verse coming off crystal clear in Dolby Digital Surround Sound. The included mini-documentaries, “Ohio Players: The Bus Ride” and “September in Brooklyn: The Making of Block Party,” are both well-constructed looks into the organization of the event featuring a plethora of interesting footage not shown in the film, including the original conference call between Chappelle, Gondry and the involved artists, which initially jump-started the creation of the block party.
Unfortunately, the advertised “Extended Music Acts” are almost a joke. Instead of including extra song performances omitted from the film (such as “Spaceship” or “The Light") or showing the complete footage of songs that were truncated in the film (such as “Two Words” and “Move Somethin’"), the DVD instead uses branching to feature the uncut performances of “Hip-Hop” and “Boom!,” both of which are readily available on the CD soundtrack to the film.
Despite the many flaws of this disappointing and lackluster DVD release, Dave Chappelle’s Block Party is still a heartfelt and hilarious picture featuring some of the best musical performances ever captured on the big screen. One can only hope that a jam-packed special edition with all the extra concert footage will see the light of day.
– Adrian Ruhi
REVIEW OF THE DVD
What could have been wasn't meant to be.
Despite the availability of several hours worth of unseen concert footage, the producers of the unrated edition of Dave Chappelle's Block Party chose instead to bog down the movie with needless extra footage that distorts the pacing of the excellent theatrical release of the film, making for a disappointing release.
The 10 minutes of extra footage, all of which involves the quirky homeowners of the Broken Angel, is interesting and funny, but would have better served a role as bonus material and not spliced into the film itself. Regardless, Block Party is still the same excellent Michel Gondry-helmed documentary that shows us a day in the life of comedian Dave Chappelle in his successful attempt at gathering everyday folk from his hometown in Ohio to see some of his favorite musical acts in Brooklyn.
Considering the film was shot on a tight budget, the video and sound transfer are excellent on this release, with every Chappelle punchline, every ?uestlove snare and every Mos Def verse coming off crystal clear in Dolby Digital Surround Sound. The included mini-documentaries, “Ohio Players: The Bus Ride” and “September in Brooklyn: The Making of Block Party,” are both well-constructed looks into the organization of the event featuring a plethora of interesting footage not shown in the film, including the original conference call between Chappelle, Gondry and the involved artists, which initially jump-started the creation of the block party.
Unfortunately, the advertised “Extended Music Acts” are almost a joke. Instead of including extra song performances omitted from the film (such as “Spaceship” or “The Light") or showing the complete footage of songs that were truncated in the film (such as “Two Words” and “Move Somethin’"), the DVD instead uses branching to feature the uncut performances of “Hip-Hop” and “Boom!,” both of which are readily available on the CD soundtrack to the film.
Despite the many flaws of this disappointing and lackluster DVD release, Dave Chappelle’s Block Party is still a heartfelt and hilarious picture featuring some of the best musical performances ever captured on the big screen. One can only hope that a jam-packed special edition with all the extra concert footage will see the light of day.
– Adrian Ruhi