Eyes Wide Open [DVD]

Absolutly a must for any JLS fan!
The film is more of a documentary, with clips from the tour with background information about the band... and behind the scene footage of the band on tour and the fans.
So inspirational and makes you love JLS even more.
The picture quality is amazing and the extras a great aswell... so funny!
5* - one of the best DVD's I owe.

When you take in the incredible success that JLS have achieved in the three years since they first appeared auditioning before Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh on the 5th series of ITV1's "The X Factor" in 2008, you might think it's easy to say that everyone knows their story inside out: beaten by Alexandra Burke in the final, signed to Epic Records, 5 number 1 singles, 2 hit albums, countless BRIT and MOBO awards, sellout tours, books etc. And merely just another boyband that will doubtless be long forgotten about in years from now. And that's where I'd be inclined to suggest you think again, particularly when watching 'Eyes Wide Open'. Originally intended to be shown for one day only, it was the surprise box office hit of the early summer this year, and was the most successful cinema event by a British music act ever. It's not hard to see why when you watch it either (I even saw it twice over the two weekends it was shown).

Produced by Fulwell73, James Corden's production company that has had a long running association with JLS (they were also behind their TV Christmas special 'This is JLS' last year), the film is as intimate a portrait as you're ever going to get from Oritse, Marvin, JB and Aston. Following them on their sold out arena tour for their 2nd album 'Outta This World' during December and January of last year, this is much more than a simple insight into the ins and outs of what goes on during a JLS tour, and much more than just selected highlights of what was an absolutely brilliant live show (I can testify as I went to the Wembley Arena date of the tour just before Christmas).

Instead, 'Eyes Wide Open' also captures the boys in rare, off-guard moments that are both enjoyable and sometimes quite emotional, as the real story behind their beginnings is told - how Oritse, graduated from university, unsigned but ambitious and caring full time for his mum (who was diagnosed with MS when he had just started high school), decided that after being scouted for major label boyband projects that fell by the wayside, to form his own band with his own vision. When you see the positioning between some early rehearsal footage of the band when they were called 'UFO' (an acronym of 'Unique, Famous, Outrageous') and the footage of them singing at the O2 Arena on the tour, you see some differences (namely in haircuts and clothes), but more than anything you also see some things that haven't changed one bit in the time they have been together so far, and that's namely how tight they are as a unit.

You can tell that, having properly grafted for well over 18 months before they got their 'X Factor' break - writing songs together, struggling to pay for rehearsal rooms, chasing big opportunities that never materialized, that the result of all that is how grounded they've remained with all that they've experienced. And you also feel an overwhelming sense of admiration for their genuine brotherhood between each other, and realise that, like Take That before them, JLS have something that can't be manufactured or even dubbed along those lines because of their camaderie, professionalism and friendship, on stage and off. But above all that, I'd argue that you also realise how passionate they are about what they do and how they're a lot more talented then people will probably give them credit for on the basis of what they know or what they think they know about them. They really are multidimensional showmen who know how to entertain, and that is what I think will stand them in good stead to be going for many more years beyond the average shelf life of a pop group. Even if you're not the biggest fan of their music, 'Eyes Wide Open' should, if nothing else, open your eyes to JLS and see them in a light you might never have thought was possible.

Amazing DVD, any JLS fan will be madly in love with it! Would definitely recommend this....needs to be watched! Brilliant