Depeche Mode: Spirits in the Forest Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Depeche Mode: Spirits in the Forest Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 30, 2020

Depeche Mode is another band with decades of huge global success to their credit, but which has been kind of curiously absent from the upper reaches of various American charts, at least at one time probably the leading arbiter of one kind of “measurable” impact. Perhaps surprisingly given the band’s undeniable popularity and influence, they’ve only hit the top spot on the United States albums chart once, with 1993’s Songs of Faith of Devotion, which it should probably be pointed out was also their first number one in the United Kingdom, though they had visited the upper echelons of the UK album chart more consistently than they had in the U.S. On the singles chart, they’re even less of a presence in the U.S., with only seven tunes making the Hot 100 chart, and only one of those, “People Are People”, making it into the Top 20. Perhaps predictably, the band has been a bit more of a presence on the Dance charts on this side of the pond, and they did make it to Number 1 on that particular list with “Strangelove”. But chart activity is of course only one way a band’s popularity can register, and this really interesting new set from Sony/Columbia aggregates a documentary focusing on select members of the band’s fanbase with a complete concert video of the performance the fans in the documentary are attending. It makes for a really appealing “double feature”, and the documentary proves that music can be a unifying, and maybe even a healing, force for some, including some who probably wouldn’t be thought of as a “typical” Depeche Mode fan, if there’s even a way to categorize something like that.

One man's "main feature" is another man's "supplemental content", and this release offers both the documentary called Spirits in the Forest as well as the concert featured in the documentary (even if it's typically used for brief interstitials), which is here entitled Live Spirits. I'll leave it to diehard Depeche Mode fans to duke it out over which is which in terms of being a "bonus". That said, the release's title might suggest it's kind of oddly the concert that's the bonus item. The documentary is a rather fascinating piece, even if it seems a little arbitrary in its choice of six fans of the band, who are profiled as they prepare to (and later do) attend Depeche Mode's 2018 performance in the Waldbühne in Berlin. This sextet evidently were the winners of a contest to select people specifically to be profiled in the documentary, and the cross section here is both international and rather varied.

I’m frankly not entirely up to speed as to the mechanics behind the choice of these six, but it doesn’t seem entirely random, since the stories are often so unbelievable at times. One of the featured fans, Dicken Schrader, may already be known to Depeche Mode fans due to his viral videos featuring him and his kids playing Depeche Mode tunes on toy instruments, but all of the people profiled have really fascinating backstories. One of them, a French woman named Carine Puzenat, developed debilitating amnesia but had a secure memory with regard to Depeche Mode music. Some of this content is frankly almost surreal at times, but it becomes increasingly evident how important Depeche Mode’s music has been to not just these six, but untold millions around the globe. As such the interstitial snippets of some of these folks, along with the hordes of other fans at the Waldbühne, make it clear what a cathartic experience enjoying not just music, but in this case live music, can be.

Disc Two of this set features Live Spirits, the entire concert that is seen in passing in Spirits in the Forest. The concert is a high energy affair, and it's kind of fun to see a Berlin afternoon turn to dusk and then nighttime as things progress. Dave Gahan is in near "Jagger" mode throughout much of this, racing around the stage and offering a number of kind of patently weird "dance" moves. The setlist for the performance is as follows:

Intro
Going Backwards
It’s No Good
A Pain That I’m Used To
Useless
Precious
World in My Eyes
Cover Me
The Things You Said
Insight
Poison Heart
Where’s the Revolution
Everything Counts
Stripped
Enjoy the Silence
Never Let Me Down Again
I Want You Now
Heroes
Walking In My Shoes
Personal Jesus
Just Can’t Get Enough

Depeche Mode: Spirits in the Forest Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Depeche Mode: Spirits in the Forest is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Columbia Records with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 (the live concert is also in the same aspect ratio and progressive presentation). Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any technical data on this shoot, and I would love to be able to, since it looks from occasional passing snippets like the concert at least was digitally captured (see screenshot 9), both the documentary and the concert have noticeable if variable "grain", which I'm assuming was a tweak added for stylistic reasons in post (as always with my reviews, if someone has authoritative info to the contrary, please Private Message me, and I'll post an update here). This is a generally sharp and very well detailed looking presentation, though the palette can look just slightly tamped down at times, which can perhaps be gleaned by some of the screenshots accompanying this review. Detail levels are generally high throughout, especially in the interview segments with the six fans, where things tend to be more "stationary" and calm than in some of the frenetic concert fare. The concert occasionally shows very minor flirtations with banding, especially when some of the "fog" or dry ice smoke wafts into some of the stage lighting. Some of the lighting choices for the concert don't promote really consistent fine detail levels, and there are a few moments of near posterizing in the most deeply toned lighting choices.

Depeche Mode: Spirits in the Forest Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Depeche Mode: Spirits in the Forest features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks (as does Live Spirits). The documentary probably frankly doesn't need a surround mix all that much, but there is still good, regular engagement of the side and rear channels not just in the expected interstitial concert footage, but also in several interview segments, where ambient environmental sounds dot the surround channels. All of the interview segments offer clear fidelity, but some accents are fairly heavy, so the optional subtitles may be of help to some. The concert itself offers superior sonics, and this is now the second concert video in a row I've reviewed where the surround mix does not bury the vocals in the overall mix.

Depeche Mode: Spirits in the Forest Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While some may agree with my assessment above that the title of this release suggests that Live Spirits (1080p; 2:06:24) is a bonus item, that said, there are no supplements on either of the Blu-ray discs in this release. There are two Bonus CDs of the concert, as well as a nicely appointed insert booklet.

Depeche Mode: Spirits in the Forest Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I freely admit Depeche Mode is not my favorite band who emerged from the British New Wave in the 1980s, but both this documentary and the live concert performance prove not just how remarkable their music is, but how deeply it has touched their fanbase. This is a really appealing package which could very well appeal to those who, like me, perhaps don't consider themselves big Depeche Mode fans. Technical merits are solid, and Depeche Mode: Spirits in the Forest comes Recommended.