The Movie Box 1981-2007 [DVD]

Any ounce of material, visual, audio etc. do with Genesis, I must have! That's how big of a fan I am! And of course that included the Movie Box. However, my flaws with it are as such:

- Even though I already have the Invisible Touch tour, I was pleased to now include Three Sides Live, Mama + Way We Walk to my collection. (even though I HATE how 3SL is put together being only 70% of concert footage left to watch after continous interrupted interviews + of course we all hate how no futher material is included on the Touch tour as extras!)
- I adore the Rome DVD package and would hate to separate it from it's main contents!
- I had only discovered today that the Way We Walk DVD doesn't have any of the extra features the normal one has such as the interviews + camera angle options! Hate to say it, but that made me feel cheated!

The only one I'm 100% happy with is the Mama Tour as along with it's fantastic concert, it includes the amazingly rare home footage of the self titled album being made, recorded, etc. plus following the on site shots of their video singles!
Plus even though the VH1 documentary seems rushed (though that is VH1 for you!) I'm happy it includes an up to date version.

So only three stars representing the 3SL, Way We Walk & Mama concerts, along with the home footage.

ps. may I suggest replacing any of the already purchased DVD's in the Box with our own discovered rare Genesis material easily found on line?

There's some awesome stuff in here.There's also some stuff they want you to buy again.And then there's some previously unreleased material in here too but,unfortunately,it's a bit of a hit and miss affair.So should you part with your hard earned and hand it over to the Banks,Collins,Rutherford & Gabriel retirement fund?? I'll leave that decision up to you.I had the opportunity to purchase this box set during the Post Christmas sale for a reasonable price so I pounced.I was very interested in the new to dvd material,more on that later and sorry for the long review,there's a lot of content here.

If you don't own any of the three previously released Genesis live dvd's,here's where to get two of them (only one of which is still available new Live At Wembley Stadium [DVD] [2003]).The second previously issued title,"The Way We Walk",is no longer available outside this set and has been modified for this reissue(more details below).The third live dvd released,"Genesis - When in Rome - Live 2007 (3 DVDs)",is not included in this set but a slot and case have been included should you wish to place all your Genesis live dvd's together in one box.I like nicely presented music product and all of the dvds have newly mixed dts as well as Dolby surround soundtracks(except Live At Wembley,more on that below too).Going by the other Genesis box sets,which are awesome including the Live 1973 - 2007 (Audio CDs and NTSC format DVD) box,I sort of knew what this would look like.The set is a worthy purchase,if you find it reasonably priced,even if you own the three already released titles but I must admit,it's strange having dvds in cd sized cases.Then again,if they made it a dvd sized box it wouldn't fit on the shelf next to the other four sets.Let's have a look at what's included.

First up we have "Three Sides Live" which is the same as the previously released VHS video.It's a tour film rather than a straight up concert so it's inter-cut with footage from life on the road and interviews with the band,manager and crew(which can also be viewed as separate videos).The really good stuff on this disc is 48 minutes of bonus audio only content in glorious hi-res dts 96/24 or 5.1 Dolby if your system can't play dts.These seven tracks,unlike their video counterparts in the film,are in full length versions uninterrupted by interviews.So you get about half of the "Three Sides Live" album in surround sound.

Next up,"The Mama Tour".This is also the same as the VHS but it's great to finally have it on dvd with a new 5.1 audio track.Unlike "Three Sides',this is a straight up concert performance and although it's not the entire show,something is better than nothing.There's a bonus feature included here too.Phil Collins,using the then new 1983 technology of a portable video camera(read a brick sized video camera and 6kg portable betamax tape recorder in a shoulder bag,hasn't that technology come a long way!),decided to have a go at filming Genesis writing and recording their self titled album(sometimes known as the Mama Album).It's genuine fly on the wall stuff and shows you how dull it can sometimes be working in the entertainment industry.Personally,I love this kind of stuff because I'm into how music was/is made.

The third dvd is the previously issued "Live at Wembley" first released on dvd in 2003.Unlike the other titles,this one is a straight re-release identical to it's 2003 cousin in all ways except it's cd sized artwork and case.I wouldn't mind having to purchase this title again if it had something extra as it didn't need a remaster.There's nothing new here.The set loses a star for making me buy this again!

The fourth dvd,"The Way We Walk",has also been available prior to this release though unlike "Live At Wembley",is no longer available.There are a couple of major differences between the former release "Genesis - the Way We Walk Live in Concert [DVD] [1993]" and this reissue,some good,some not so.There was a lot of content in the 2001 version so it was spread out over two dvds which meant you had to change discs half way through the show.The extra content was thus.Multi-camera option for most of the show,which meant you could watch the concert from many different angles by pressing the button on your dvd player's remote.A commentary track for the entire concert with Tony,Mike & Phil.Extra interviews,a photo slide show and scans of the original tour programme.All of this extra content has been removed from the reissue.The only plus we gain by having the show on one disc is a remastered dts surround sound-track.So putting the show on one disc makes it convenient not to change discs at half time,has upgraded sound,but,ALL the bonus content is gone.The set loses another star for the loss of bonus content at the expense of better sound.The domino principle indeed!

In the next slot is the empty case and art work for "Genesis - When in Rome - Live 2007 (3 DVDs)".It's only a two disc case,the third disc,the "Come Rain or Shine" documentary,has a slot inside the back cover of the enclosed box set essay book.Personally,I prefer the packaging for When In Rome and am leaving my dvd's in that case.

Unlike the audio boxes,The Movie Box only contains one bonus disc,a dvd with the "Genesis-VH1 Behind The Music" documentary.Originally produced in 1999,updated to include the 2007 reunion and with a running time of just over 43 minutes it's a tad skimpy but if your chasing archive video content,the audio box sets are full of rare stuff."Genesis 1970-1975 , Genesis 1976 - 1982 [Hybrid SACD + DVD] , Genesis, 1983 - 1998 [Hybrid SACD + DVD]"

So is this dvd video box worth the money,maybe yes,maybe no.For me it was a lucky buy at a bargain price and considering most of the content is now only available here,it will probably become more of a worthy purchase over time.I'm almost a happy customer,but only just.
That's all.

So, the box is released, and it's out. So, is it as bad as we predicted?

Yes, unfortunately.

On the positive side, the 5.1 sound on TSL and Mama really rocks. But as expected, cutting in and out of interviews on TSL pretty much makes that release worthless, and some weird vocal overdubs on Phil's vocal on the Mama DVD doesn't help that release either. And don't even get me started on the video quality.

The IT DVD doesn't even play - what a joke. They re-release the DVD exactly similar to the old DVD, except the new one doesn't play.

TWWW DVD - doesn't really add anything to the old one, but at least now it's on one disc. Find the positive things where you can, eh?

Extras? Look that word up in the Genesis dictionary and you'll find it means 'foolish dreams'. The Behind The Music thing has a new chapter on the reunion tour (yawn) and instead some of the old parts have been reduced in length (lol). Give some, take some, indeed.

So basically, one star for the TSL audio extras, and another star for the MAMA audio, and then I'm almost subtracting a star for the incredibly poor value of this box.

I guess if you haven't got any of the old DVDs or VHS releases, it might be worth your money when it goes down in price. For oldtimers and dedicated fans (should there be any left - there seems to be a rapid runaway these days) it's just a rip-off.