7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 3.4 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
The chance to see a living legend in the flesh doesn't come often, but in 2005 former Beatle Paul McCartney graced the U.S. with his presence and undertook a lengthy tour of the country. Fortunately, a full camera crew captured the highlights, and 'The Space Within Us' presents a mixture of songs from the tour, with Beatles songs and solo McCartney tracks all included. The title 'The Space Within Us' is a reference to the origins of this broadcast, which was first witnessed by astronauts aboard the Mir space station, who received this performance as a live feed. Now earthbound audiences can enjoy live versions of tracks such as "Yesterday," "Get Back," "Drive My Car," and a goosebump-inducing "Hey Jude."
Starring: Paul McCartneyMusic | 100% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: LPCM 5.1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A concert film, chronicling Paul McCartney’s gigantic 2005 US tour, “The Space Within Us” arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of A&E Home Video. The film, shot with more than twenty five different HD cameras, also features footage from the historic broadcast to the International Space Station which Paul did as part of his show.
Multiple award-winning singer, writer, producer, composer, and guitarist Paul McCartney is undoubtedly one of the most widely recognized names in the world. Once part of the legendary The Beatles, together with John Lennon, Ringo Star, and Paul Harrison, Paul McCartney boasts a formidable resume – he has sold over 100 million singles worldwide, performed in some of the greatest venues, and inspired an endless list of artists with his “Yesterday”.
The show in progress
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with VC-1, and granted a 1080p transfer Paul McCartney: The Space Within Us arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of A&E Home Video.
Combining raw behind-the-scenes footage with concert material, shot with more than 25 high-definition cameras, Paul McCartney: The Space Within Us is a terrifically looking film. The actual concert material is very detailed, crisp-looking, and exceptionally well defined. Its color-scheme is solid – the blacks are lush, the blues and reds rich and piercing, while the varieties of white blend with the rest of the colors perfectly. Furthermore, I did not detect any overly disturbing patterns of edge-enhancement or macroblocking either. As far as I am concerned the transfer A&E Home Video have provided is proficient and with truly solid basics. In addition to the concert material Paul McCartney: The Space Within Us also offers an abundance of documentary footage. As expected, the quality varies here, as there are a number of different sources that have been used. Nevertheless, the film boasts and overall strong and notably convincing look, which I am certain fans of Paul McCartney will enjoy. Finally, I wish to point out that the quality of actual print is superb – I did not detect any scratches, debris, or dirt. (Note: Even though this Blu-ray disc is marketed as being Region-A it is in fact Region-Free, meaning that you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English PCM 2.0 and English PCM 5.1. In a manner somewhat similar to the video treatment described above, the audio treatment is affected by the variety of different sources used by the producers. The actual concert material sounds quite well on the PCM 5.1 track – there is a relatively strong balance between the music and Paul's voice, and the clarity of sound is good. There are, however, occasional loopholes where the audience, with its screams and cheers, gets in the way of the music. As a result, you would notice that some of the instruments quickly get lost in the noise (mostly the guitars). Obviously, considering that this is a concert film, these are limitations that could not have been avoided. This being said, I am certainly pleased with what the PCM 5.1 track delivers. My preference, however, goes to the PCM 2.0 track. Having compared the two PCM tracks I believe that the 2.0 mix tends to minimize the effects of the loopholes I mentioned above, and provide a more balanced, even rounder, quality to the audio. Frankly, I also believe that it comes off as the more natural sounding track considering the fact that there is an abundance of archival footage where the PCM 5.1 is practically identical to the 2.0 mix. This being said, I did not detect any disturbing audio imperfections. For the record, I watched the entire film with the 2.0 mix on before I did a selective comparison with the 5.1 mix, and could not hear any hissing, pops, or cracks to report here. Optional English, white, subtitles are provided for the main feature.
This Blu-ray disc offers the following extras – "US Tour Pre-Show Film", a lengthy featurette where more of the documentary footage used in the film is offered. Here, you will see Paul talk more about his family, his heritage, as well as the history of The Beatles. Next, is a collection of standard sound checks for the show. "On the Road With Us" is basically a collage of filmed scenes from Paul's tour of America. From east to west, and from north to south Paul's show is greeted by fans and casual bystanders. Finally, "More About Us" is yet another featurette where Paul explains why the show was tagged "Us", and what inspired it. In addition, the Blu-ray disc offers a very interesting option called "Jukebox", which allows you to input up to ten songs from the concert, and then listen to them without accessing the documentary footage offered in between.
A great concert-film, highlighting Paul McCartney's memorable 2005 US tour, The Space Within Us is a great gift for fans of the British musician and The Beatles. It is terrifically filmed and expertly produced. The actual Blu-ray disc, courtesy of A&E Home Video, is also of very high quality. The audio and video presentations are solid, and I recommend it highly to those of you interested in its content.
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