Product Description

Studio: Uni Dist Corp (music) Release Date: 04/05/2004

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26429 in DVD
• Brand: Uni
• Released on: 2002-10-15
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Best of, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 200 minutes

Amazon.com
You haven't heard Queen's greatest hits until you've experienced them in surround sound on Greatest Video Hits 1. Disc 1 includes 16 of Queen's most popular singles, restored and remixed in 5.1-channel Dolby Digital and DTS, and the results are nothing less than spectacular. Reformatted for widescreen TVs, Queen's early videos are visually basic (typically combining lip-synched band footage with concert performance clips), but they effectively chronicle the group's musical and stylistic evolution, and "Bicycle Race" includes previously unseen footage of an all-nude female bicycle race! (Optional commentary is provided for all videos by guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, with archival quotes from the late Freddie Mercury and bassist John Deacon.)

Disc 2, while not remixed, features six excellent videos (including the previously unseen "Liar"), and a hidden, alternate-edit video of "Bohemian Rhapsody" originally seen on Britain's Top of the Pops (and accessible by entering "Title 10, Chapter 1" on your DVD remote). "Bohemian Rhapsody" is the obvious highlight of both discs, and its history (both audio and video) is thoroughly explored, including May's fascinating deconstruction of the song's original studio recording tracks. Mandatory viewing for Queen fans, Video Hits 1 will leave you begging for Video Hits 2. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Stateside Queen fans rejoice
Before 2002, the only source for Queen music videos in the states were the VHS counterparts to the red and blue Hollywood Records collections, and the only video in the Greatest Flix series to be released in the US was Greatest Flix III. That said, videos for so many songs were unavailable to stateside fans, such as "Spread Your Wings," "Scandal," "Flash," and a host of others.

In 2002, Queen released their first DVD (excluding the concert video "We Will Rock You"), entitled Greatest Video Hits 1. The package both looked and sounded promising. The tracklist on Disc 1 is essentially what was included on the original Greatest Flix in Europe. That being said, there is plenty to enjoy here. The disc kicks off with "Bohemian Rhapsody," which has since become regarded as the first music video. Included for the first time in the US is the video for Spread Your Wings, a great song from Queen which never made it onto the greatest hits. A real bonus here is a completely new video for "Bicycle Race," using newly-found footage of the band performing the song, and also includes more clear views of the nude females ("I would have liked to have gone to the bicycle race," says Roger Taylor during the audio commentary). Every Queen video from the seventies until 1981 is included here, nothing is left out.

On Disc 2, there are a few more videos previously unavailable on Greatest Flix. A real treat here is "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy," performed live on a BBC show. The version of "Now I'm Here" performed live at the Rainbow Theatre quite stunning as well. Also included are "Keep Yourself Alive," "Liar," and the Live Killers versions of "Love Of My Life" and the fast "We Will Rock You."

Also on the second disc, there is an entire section dedicated to Bohemian Rhapsody. When watching this, it is recommended that all Queen fans have a napkin handy in order to catch the drool. First, we have all new exclusive interviews with Brian May and Roger Taylor discussing the creation and birth of the timeless song, providing a lot of insight to this amazing song. And if that weren't enough, there is an entire half-hour where Brian May plays bits from the original Bohemian Rhapsody master tape, including the individual harmonies in the operatic section, and goes into even more depth about the creation of this masterpiece. Be warned, the drool factor here is extremely high. Also included is an insight to the making of the video, and Brian and Roger being honored for Bohemian Rhapsody being the Song Of The Millenium by the Guiness Book of Records.

Lastly, you will notice things about a "hidden bonus." All you have to do to access it is enter Title 10, Chapter 1 on your DVD remote to access it. I'm not going to tell you what it is, buy it and find out for yourself.

This DVD is a must-own for all Queen fans everywhere. It is truly worth its weight in gold, and set a high standard for subsequent DVD releases from the band (all of which maintain the same high standard). Stateside fans (like myself) should be thankful that Hollywood Records have been nice enough to release this for our enjoyment as well. A grand time is guaranteed for all who watch this DVD.

5/5

Finally.....
Finally the band that many credit as the pioneers of the promotional video get their work released on DVD for the world to see. With pretty much the same track listing as their multi-million selling Greatest Hits album, the most loved and memorable songs from the early career of Queen's Freddie Mercury, Brian May, roger taylor, and John Deacon are showcased in wonderful fashion. Here's what you get:

Disc1:

01. Bohemian Rhapsody
02. Another One Bites The Dust
03. Killer Queen
04. Fat Bottomed Girls
05. Bicycle Race
06. You're My Best Friend
07. Don't Stop Me Now
08. Save Me
09. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
10. Somebody To Love
11. Spread Your Wings
12. Play The Game
13. Flash
14. Tie Your Mother Down
15. We Will Rock You
16. We Are The Champions

Disc 2:

01. Now I'm Here
02. Good Old Fashioned Loverboy
03. Keep Yourself Alive
04. Liar
05. Love Of My Life
06. We Will Rock You (Fast Live Version)
Bonus hidden video: Bohemian Rhapsody (alternative edit)

Plus a Bohemian Rhapsody Documentary telling all about the recording or Bohemian rhapsody in the studio, and the making of the video for it later.

And you get Brian May and Roger Taylor Commentary, a Picture Gallery, and Queen-online homepage links.

All Disc 1 tracks re colour graded and pan and scanned for 16:9, 5.1 Audio mix , PCM Stereo mix.

So hurry up and get yours today, so that they will see that U.S. fans do still love this band and their music, to gurantee that they will release a Greatest Hits II DVD!

Great For A Queen Fan (4.5 stars)
The first of 2 Greatest Video Hits DVDs released by Queen features seemingly all of their biggest hits captured through their 70s and very early 80s music videos, as well as video by video commentary from the crew and a look inside the making of their most famous and epic song, Bohemian Rhapsody.

This is a wonderful purchase for any die hard Queen fan as it captures their early work very nicely and is highlighted by the superb sound quality of the DVD. However, the picture quality is weak in a few of the tracks, despite each of them being digitally remastered.
The reason to avoid this DVD would be that you would be getting hit songs that you may already have on a CD, shown through a TV screen with far from perfect picture quality. The reason to buy it would be the interesting commentary of the crew, the inside look on Bohemian Rhapsody, the live versions of the songs We Will Rock You(Fast Version), Now I'm Here, and Love of My Life, and some impressive music videos that you've most likely never seen before. Therefore, I'll let you decide. I quite enjoy this DVD, and all the commentary from Queen, particularly Brian May and Roger Taylor is effective.

Music Video Highlights include: Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Flash, and Save Me.

Worst Video: Fat Bottomed Girls. A very pathetic video probably kept this song from being an even bigger hit then it could have been. Brian May and Roger Taylor both commentate on how weak a music video it is. It's still nice to hear the great song though.

Overall, I'll leave it up to you, the reader, to decide whether or not it's worth purchasing this 2 Disc DVD collection from Queen. If you're interested in a Live DVD, your best choice would probably be Queen On Fire Live at the Bowl. Live at Wembley Stadium is most likely a good selection from what I've heard, but I don't own it myself.