Prince - The Glory Years DVD

Comments
Mike's Comments(rates this release 4.0/5.0)
I thought that this particular documentary was fantastic. I've been an avid fan of Prince since I was young, and as of late there are very few films documenting his life or his music to an acceptable standard, so it is always a nice suprise to find a good one. In the film there are several recognisable music experts who assess some of Prince's finest performances; there is some incredible performance footage on here too, including a lot of clips i've never seen before - and I thought i'd seen it all! Putting the brilliant musical and analytical aspect of the dvd aside, the rest of it is pure gold as well. One of the things I liked most was that the interviews were not entirely with music professionals and experts who have studied Prince's music and career from afar (like most), but a number of them are with people who are known to be/have been very close to Prince. So on top of everything else you get a great insight into the personal life of someone who is notoriously secretive and something of an enigma. As a Prince fan, a music fan and a documentary fan I thought this dvd was class A. I would definately recommend it to anyone.

Dean's Comments(rates this release 4.0/5.0)
I gave this DVD a rating of 4.0 because it features Gayle Chapman, Owen Husney, Dez Dickerson and Alan Leeds. Gayle Chapmans' very brief part in Princes very early career succinctly described how, despite her reservations, she was told, "If we're gonna be Superstars then we better act like Superstars! Let's go to breakfast wearing lingerie." And that's how many music superstars are formed, see Ziggy Stardust. I never imagined I would ever hear of her. To me, she could've moved on, got married, had kids, baked apple pie..... Maybe she did. But here she is... Owen Husney... another very early contributer is here, Dez! I thought he'd gone all religious and was busy eating apple pie with Gayle after church on Sunday...... However..... I have read loads of biographies on Prince and Alex Hahn's is the best. Sorry all you Per Nilsen Devotees. So watching this was painful cos I already know the facts I was being told. Paul Gambaccini who I respect for his knowledge of music went further and offered his opinions which opens him up to argument. I don't want that from him. I just want facts from him. So I got irked by him. Despite the first review of this DVD, and with all due respect to that reviewer, there isn't any new or rare unseen footage. So anyhoo, if you're a hardcore purple fan then watch this out of curiosity and because you're a completist. But if you are hardcore be patient with the repetitive derivitive funky scratch guitar that plays behind the narrative over and over again and the facts you already know just to see Gayle et all. Oh and a great photo of Prince with Wendy and Lisa circa the noughties, I'm guessing. Well it was around the time Prince said he will only play with Wendy and Lisa if they apologise for their sexuality!!!! Tongue severly in cheek....