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(More customer reviews)Before my actual review is even to begin, I feel compelled to dispel nonsense about Sarah's supposed lip-synching. She doesn't. I made a road trip when she visited the west coast and saw three of her shows consecutively. If she lip-synchs, she must record a new track every night because each show was different. These allegations come about because sometimes, her lips don't synch perfectly with the singing. You'll notice that these instances occur almost always with close-up shots. The reason for this is this: Her concerts are recorded twice. She goes through the entire show without an audience so the director can get some nice close-up shots, then she does it for real in front of a live audience. The reasoning for this method is quite simple. To get the type of close-ups desired, the camera would be parked up on a crane with a film crew surrounding it right in front of the artist. A paying audience would riot if cameramen and stagehands were right there on stage hovering around Sarah. I know this isn't what people really want to know, but the editors have done an absolutely fantastic job putting the show together in a way that is totally seamless. It really is Sarah singing live, and while the method isn't what people want (I know we all want a DVD that shows footage only from the live audience show), but it's either we get to see her up close this way or we don't. If you go to her official site's fan section, you'll see they make absolutely no secret of this fact. In fact, there are photos from the first closed-set taping, which I believe a select group of lucky fans were able to sit in on and watch happen. Her official camp is absolutely candid about this process, and those who discredit her in their reviews are just ignorant of this process. Now, on to the review...
While One Night in Eden has more undeniable charm and La Luna drew us into another world more effectively, this latest concert hallmarks a great period in Sarah Brightman's career. She pulls all the stops in this one, and the sheer scope of what she puts together is a perfect accompaniment to this point in her career: she is at the top. If you think only getting the abridged soundtrack is enough to give you a taste of the Harem experience, you're dead wrong. You'll have to see this DVD, because the audio alone cannot portray the wonderful costumes, dances, and pure theatrics Sarah brings on stage.
The costumes are sheer decadence (meaning, of course, they are luxurious and fantastic). The diva is in top form, both vocally and physically, despite her age of forty-four, which she doesn't look anything like, mind you. The show is a lighting extravaganza, with the lighting director using each and every method and trick in his arsenol to use each and every bulb to highlight Sarah's presence. Together with the entourage of dancers who dance around her, Brightman is portrayed almost as a queen straight out of 1001 Arabian Nights. This, however, is how her fans know her best. Her shows almost always showcase her as the aloof goddess hovering on stage where her fans may best worship her. Despite all this, however, she still manages to come across as a warm, personable, charismatic performer.
While this concert was a little bit more 'showy' than I prefer seeing her, it was nonetheless dazzling. Sarah does not share a stage well, though, and she's best when she's the sole object of attention. The best performances feature her in this way: Who Wants to Live Forever, La Luna, Nessun Dorma (which was amazing), What a Wonderful World (probably the most memorable performance of the concert). The dancers, however, were terrific during the interludes. (My only gripe with the dancers was the 'biker chick' number where not only the dances, but the costumes were horribly out of place during the performance of 'Arabian Nights.) Featured vocalists Violet (née Amelia Brightman, Sarah's youngest sibling), Shwetta Shetty (indipop artist who contributed vocals on the Harem album), and Eli Barak were each brilliant. Shwetta, especially, is a powerhouse talent that brought much-needed 'ooomph' to Arabian Nights and What a Wonderful World.
Harem is a wonderful ride from beginning to end. She starts off strong with Harem then ends with the ever-crowd-pleasing Question of Honour. The camera captures each song very well. There is none of the fast camera changes, funky camera tricks, and downright schizoid camera handlings we've come to know and hate from recent concert releases -- thank God. (On a side note, I really wish that trend would die.) The camera is handled reverently, respectfully, and, most of all, maturely.
Video noise is the downfall of this DVD. It was destined to be the pinnacle concert DVD, but the director chose to use film that was subpar to what we expected. Pictures are not as crisp and clear as they were on La Luna, and the video noise is worse on this DVD than it is on One Night In Eden. Strangely enough, many scenes seem to be a bit 'smokey' in color. The color is not as vibrant or clear in some scenes because of this foggy quality. The worst is during far-away shots, because you can barely make out her face due to the video noise. For this reason, La Luna still ranks #1 as being the best DVD. Sound, however, on Harem Live is lush, rich, and everything I expected it to be. You can definitely see the images, and the only reason it was distracting for me was because I was expecting something just as good (or better) than La Luna when it came to video quality. Everything does show up well and it is watchable, don't get me wrong. I just wish video quality was better, because Brightman's concerts are such a visual feast for the eyes.
The extras on the second disc include some entertaining interviews with her entourage. It also includes a photo sequence that shows various photos, and while it plays, a few remixes of Harem songs play in the background -- worth listening to if you enjoyed the Harem album! There's also a video quiz that is quite infuriating, but the prize is a password to access a prize on the official site (this offer may or may not be still available, since it was a limited time offer). I finished the quiz and got my prize from the official site which was free photos of Sarah in concert from the Harem Tour called 'The Signature Collection.' I paid for s/h, of course, but that's more than fair.
All in all, this concert is still a must-have. It is a triumphant extravaganza sure to please fans and non-fans alike. It's a spectacle, and ranks high as one of my favorite concerts.
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