Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		5.0

The Cure: Trilogy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 20, 2009

"Ay, in the very temple of delight veil'd melancholy has her sovran shrine"- Keats

Led by the enigmatic Robert Smith, British New Wave rockers The Cure released their first album Boys Don’t Cry in 1979. Success did not come immediately, but the fresh sound the band introduced gained them a lot of admirers. The release of Pornography in 1982, an album with a distinctively Gothic flavor, gave The Cure the type of attention they deserved. Other bands began imitating their music and the Gothic movement emerged.

Japanese Whispers (1983), The Caterpillar (1984), and The Top (1984) marked the beginning of a new trend for Robert Smith and Co - their music became more pop-oriented allowing mainstream radio stations across Europe to actively promote their records. The releases of Disintegration in 1989 and Bloodflowers in 2002 solidified The Cure as one of Europe’s biggest and most innovative New Wave bands. In 2002 The Cure released Trilogy: Pornography, Disintegration, Bloodflowers, which was recorded and filmed as the band performed three separate gigs at the Tempodrom arena in Berlin. Their line-up was: Robert Smith (Voice/Guitar/Six String Bass), Simon Gallup (Bass/Six String Bass), Perry Bamonte (Guitar/Six String Bass/Keyboard), Jason Cooper (Drums/Percussion), and Roger O’Donnell (Keyboards/Percussion).

The lovely Blu-ray disc I hold in my hands, titled simply The Cure – Trilogy, contains all three shows that were originally filmed at the Tempodrom arena in Berlin. The entire set was recorded with multiple, strategically positioned, cameras that captured The Cure live in what is arguably their greatest concert.

Technically, Trilogy is without a doubt a superbly executed project. It is inspired by a similarly ambitious show staged by David Bowie in the early 80s (Robert Smith saw it before the band completed Bloodflowers). Each of the three installments in Trilogy, however, is quite unique. The first, Pornography, shows The Cure unwilling to improvise and, by large, the songs they perform are of more upbeat nature. Disintegration introduces an entirely new side of the band – Robert Smith’s voice is far more convincing while the rest of the musicians appear notably more comfortable with their parts. Bloodflowers, the last installment in Trilogy, is also the best one. As soon as The Cure appear on the stage you could tell that they are about to deliver a memorable performance. Robert Smith’s voice is wild yet seductive, and on more than a few occasions the crowd is seen in a near state of trance. Bloodflowers ends with fantastic encore performances of “If Only Tonight We Could Sleep” and “The Kiss”.

Bloodflowers

Tracklisting:

"Pornography"

1. "One Hundred Years"
2. "A Short Term Effect"
3. "The Hanging Garden"
4. "Siamese Twins"
5. "The Figurehead"
6. "A Strange Day"
7. "Cold"
8. "Pornography"

"Disintegration"

1. "Plainsong"
2. "Pictures of You"
3. "Closedown"
4. "Lovesong"
5. "Last Dance"
6. "Lullaby"
7. "Fascination Street"
8. "Prayers for Rain"
9. "The Same Deep Water as You"
10. "Disintegration"
11. "Homesick"
12 "Untitled"

"Bloodflowers"

1. "Out of This World"
2. "Watching Me Fall"
3. "Where the Birds Always Sing"
4. "Maybe Someday"
5. "The Last Day of Summer"
6. "There Is No If..."
7. "The Loudest Sound"
8. "39"
9. "Bloodflowers"

Encore section:

10. "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep"
11. "The Kiss"

The Cure: Trilogy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in as aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC, and granted a 1080i "live" transfer The Cure: Trilogy – Pornography, Disintegration, Bloodflowers arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment.

As expected, Eagle Rock Entertainment have put together a fantastic package for Trilogy. The AVC-encoded transfer is sharp, with a near perfect contrast, and a color-scheme that is impossible not to admire. The blacks here are lush and well-saturated, the blues and reds piercing, and the rest of the colors covering the spectacularly decorated stage simply terrific-looking (the lighting for each of the three legs in Trilogy is indeed very effective). This being said, there really isn't any substantial difference in quality between Pornography, Disintegration, and Bloodflowers. Each of them looks stunning in 1080i and it is quite obvious that the master elements Eagle Rock Entertainment had to work with were in perfect condition.

Motion-judder is practically non-existent. There are multiple cameras that capture the stage from all sorts of different angles, and whether they focus on Robert Smith's face or the enthusiastic crowd the image remains plausibly stable (there aren't any disturbing contrast issues here that I could detect). As mentioned above, lighting is a key element in Trilogy and I am happy to report that the Blu-ray transfer captures the rich spectrum of colors used by the tech crew very well. Finally, neither macro-blocking nor edge enhancement would affect your viewing experience. (Note: This is a Region-Free release which means that you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

The Cure: Trilogy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three different audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (96KHz/24-Bit), Music: Dolby Digital 5.1, and Music: LPCM. I opted for the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track and did random comparisons with the other two for the purpose of this review.

The audio treatment Eagle Rock Entertainment have secured for the Trilogy will surely delight fans of The Cure. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is potent, with plenty of activity in the rear channels and, more importantly, well balanced. Robert Smith's voice comes off the speakers with great resonance and so are the wailing guitars of Perry Bamonte and Simon Gallup. The bass is full and rich – the energetic openings for "The Hanging Garden", "A Strange Day", and 39 are a great example for the type of audio presentation Blu-ray is capable of delivering. Superb!

As I mentioned earlier, I did perform random comparisons between the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track and the Dolby Digital 5.1 and LPCM tracks. To make a long story short, there have been certain releases by Eagle Rock Entertainment in the past where I felt that the LPCM track was quite effective in improving certain balance issues. Fortunately enough, there is nothing that needs to be improved here. Furthermore, neither the LPCM track nor the Dolby Digital 5.1 track matches the quality of sound introduced by the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. Take for example the intoxicating "Watch Me Fall" and listen to it with each of the three mixes. The depth and fullness of sound the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track delivers isn't even remotely noticeable via the LPCM and Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes. Quite frankly, if you cannot hear the enormous gap in quality between the DTS-HD MA 5.1 and the other two mixes on this Blu-ray disc, then there is something terribly wrong with your audio system. To sum it all up, The Cure: Trilogy is undoubtedly the best live show Eagle Rock Entertainment have released thus far. Simply terrific!

The Cure: Trilogy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

In the bonus section of this disc you will find an Encore Set containing two songs – "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep" and "The Kiss". Next is a large interview with the members of The Cure where they address the history of Trilogy, why it was staged and recorded in Berlin, and what exactly each of the sets was meant to symbolize (Eagle Rock Entertainment have provided optional English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, and Portuguese subtitles for the interviews). In addition, you would also find interview outtakes that are offered as a bonus. Finally, in addition to the tech credits you could also see alternate performances of Same Deep Water As You and Plainsong.

Packaging:
The Blu-ray release of The Cure – Trilogy arrives with the same type of case Criterion introduced with their first batch of Blu-ray discs. It is a slim, digi-esque case with an inside holder for the Blu-ray disc's booklet. This being said, Eagle Rock Entertainment's case does not come with the slip-cover seen on Criterion's Blu-ray releases.

The Cure: Trilogy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Together with Depeche Mode's One Night In Paris, The Cure's Trilogy is arguably one of the greatest modern rock concerts I have seen. It is dark, incredibly powerful, and simply beautiful to behold. Robert Smith's voice is stunning! The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment, is fantastic. Frankly, this is the best Blu-ray presentation of a rock concert I have seen thus far. Very Highly Recommended!