7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Music | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 720p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: LPCM 2.0
English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Apparently their 2003 DVD release of The Complete Masterworks wasn’t complete enough, and so the D are back—on Blu-ray this time—with a second volume of absurdist rock comedy to add to their wicked, childish, and occasionally hilarious oeuvre. While the first volume of Masterworks was exhaustive—containing a complete concert, the entirety of the band’s six- episode HBO series, three short films, three TV appearances, two documentaries, and five music videos—this second release is somewhat slimmer content-wise. The bulk of the experience is a one and a half hour concert at Seattle’s beautiful Paramount theatre and a one hour documentary that chronicles the ups and downs of The D’s post-Pick of Destiny world tour. While not nearly as complete as their first collection, Masterworks 2 is the band’s first appearance in HD, and will likely satiate fans who are patiently awaiting Tenacious D’s third album.
"The Metal"
Tenacious D make their first appearance on Blu-ray with a 720p, AVC-encoded transfer that's neither impressive nor disastrous enough to warrant much discussion. While some will nit-pick over the merely 720p presentation, the image is sharp, clear, and well defined. Though it may lack the extra resolution, the transfer shows off everything from Kyle's dripping brow sweat to Jack's scraggly chin stubble with no trouble whatsoever. Black levels are appropriately attuned, presenting a purely realistic picture that never crushes or looks washed out, and the HD video source material is relatively clean and free of noise. Colors are strong—especially the crimson hues of hell and the Devil's suit—but extremely strong tones, like the yellow of Kyle's t-shirt, do look occasionally blown- out. Highlights have a tendency to get hot, and KG's bald dome gleams a little too brightly under the stage lights. When the duo first arrives in hell, it's presented to the audience via projected video, and there's some terrible CGI and green screen work on display. Visually, this isn't the best concert Blu-ray by a long shot, but The Complete Masterworks 2 has a fairly pleasing presentation that will most likely satisfy fans of the band.
With a Linear PCM 2.0 track, I'm assuming the concert was recorded directly off of the Paramount's soundboard and mixed for some slight stereo spread. The music, to me at least, never sounded as full as I thought it could, possibly because of a somewhat weak low-end that never really roars. At the beginning of the show, when Kyle and Jack are unaccompanied, the sound is clean enough, but their acoustic guitars are a bit thin and don't have much projection. Obviously, the music rounds out considerably when the band joins in—the Anti-Christ's guitar scuffs and chugs with beefy overdrive, Colonel Sanders' cymbal hits splash with high-end clarity, and Chaplain's bass lines lay down roots—but the music never has as much heft as you'd expect from purported rock gods. The lyrics are at the forefront—what good is the comedy if you can't make out what they're saying—and the vocals are high in the mix, presented fully with just a drop of reverb. While The D rock out just fine in stereo, a full 5.1 mix would have given the concert a bigger, more immersive sound.
D Tour: A Tenacious Documentary (1080i, 1:08:56)
With high hopes for The Pick of Destiny, their first theatrical outing, Tenacious D planned
to make a victory lap with their subsequent world tour, riding high off the film's expected success.
The movie proved to be a box-office disaster, however, raking in only a meager 8 million dollars—
the production and marketing costs were in excess of 50 million—and what was planned as a
celebratory stroll across the globe became a long slog through disappointment. D Tour,
directed by Jeremy Konner, documents the band as they struggle with the demands of touring,
confront jealousies between members, and face up to their critical and financial failure. As you
might expect, the documentary is a bit of a downer, interestingly though, as it reveals all of the
fears, hopes, and hard work behind the comedy. One of the core conflicts is Kyle Gass' mounting
resentment over Jack Black's more established fame. The umbrage comes to a head when the
duo is set to appear on Letterman, but only Jack is invited to the interview couch. Black takes a
stand, though, refusing to let his friend play second fiddle, so to speak, and threatens to bail out
on the show at the last minute. Gass is a talented performer and actor in his own right, and you
really begin to feel for him as Black constantly overshadows him in the media. The thing's not all
dour, thankfully, and we do get some brief appearances by John C. Reilly, Dave Grohl, and Jeremy
Piven, among other, along with plenty of backstage horseplay and green room tomfoolery.
Tenacious D fans will definitely want to watch this one.
Time Fixers (SD, 8:47)
This short film features Kyle and Jack as continuum-fixing time travelers who jump back to the
1850s to ensure that president Lincoln gets assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. One wonders if
they know that Lincoln was killed in the 1860s. Look out for a brief cameo by Michael
Keaton.
John K. Classico Piece (SD, 1:10)
This is a super-short animated music video by Ren and Stimpy artist John Kricfalusi.
TV Performances (SD, 8:19)
Includes performance of "Master Exploder" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, "Friendship" on the
MTV Video Music Awards, and "The Metal" on Saturday Night Live.
Tenacious D's brand of infantile humor isn't for everyone—I'm more of a Mighty Boosh guy myself— but for those who dig the D, The Complete Masterworks 2 is a must-have release, even if it's less fully featured than the band's first "complete" collection.
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Limited Deluxe Edition
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