Search - Party at the Palace - The Queen's Concerts, Buckingham Palace on DVD

A bit of a disappointment

D. Movahedpour | CA United States | 01/08/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I purchased the DVD of this concert, hoping to see the parts that had been left out of the VH-1 viewing, but, also, to see more of the introductions and extended versions of songs by the more famous performers. Although some of the songs are on display here (most notably the set with Queen and the cast of 'We Will Rock You') there is also a considerable amount left out. There is not one second of Dame Edna's hilarious introduction of Paul McCartney; nor is George Martin's heart-warming introduction of Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney's version of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' included. Instead, there is a very bland voice-over, which takes a lot of the emotion and humor out of the day.There is also far too much of flash-in-the-pan artists I've never heard of before, and might not hear of tomorrow. It's refreshing to see the crowd's enthusiasm for Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey, and the classics of British rock, including Ray Davies, Steve Winwood, and Rod Stewart. But, the concert opens with a set by Ricky Martin. What does Ricky Martin have to do with Britain, and why is he opening the concert?Her Majesty looks uncomfortable, as usual, with her subjects, as she makes the obligatory nod and stroll past the superstars. The Prince of Wales, on the other hand, seems downright relaxed and even flirts with some of the back-up singers, before giving a heartfelt speech. The two young princes seem to be stuck between two worlds, working the crowd of pop icons, while wearing their suits and keeping their place.I did a lot of fast-forwarding on this DVD, and, except for the highlights of the classic stars, this DVD really isn't a must-see."

Well, the picture is at least clear...

Colin Klein | Chagrin Falls, OH USA | 07/24/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"One and a half really, but that's not a choice here. If you have to own everything Beatles-related, then you are stuck with this sad excuse for a concert video. To not have a 5.1 soundtrack on a DVD that was recorded recently is unbelievable ... To have a sticker on the case saying as seen on VH1, and not even include all the performances that were shown on VH1 is unbelievable... To leave out ALL of McCartney's solo performances (only "duets" and big group encores are included, minus even one of those) and include song after song of no-name, barely talented bores is just UNBELIEVABLE. I guess this thing is around 3 hours? I sat there with the remote having to fast forward through almost everything. I feel sorry for those poor people who were actually there and had to sit through this in person without a fast forward. The picture was filmed nice and clear, but the same genius who decided to leave out all the good stuff, must be the same [person] who thinks a great DVD bonus is watching fireworks on TV. What an inspired use of video time. If I ever take this down off the shelf to watch again (not just to maybe goof on with friends), that means someone has broken into the house and stolen all the other DVDs."

A "must have" for baby-boomers

Glen Martin | Richardson, TX USA | 07/28/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What an incredible concert! 12,000 people in the garden behind Buckingham Palace and over 1,000,000 gathered outside the Palace. Well over twice as many people as attended the original Woodstock back in '69.OK, I could have done without Ricky Martin and Tom Jones... and what was Tony Bennet doing there? But the rest of the line-up was incredible. Brian May of Queen playing "God Save The Queen" from the roof of Buckingham Palace and Eric Clapton doing "Layla" both gave me goose bumps. Phil Collins played drums for almost everyone. Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart, Steve Winwood, Ray Davies and Ozzie sounded great. Brian Wilson looked more zombied-out than Ozzie and did a great rendition of "Warmth of the Sun" with Clapton. Dame Edna was a hoot! Sir Paul McCartney capped it off with everyone singing along to "Hey Jude".I actually got to be there in person. The concert blew this 50 year old Texas boy away! The DVD makes an excellent keep-sake of my first trip across the big pond..."

Ruined by clueless editing

T. Bryant | Sebastopol, CA USA | 07/09/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This could have been a much more enjoyable concert if not for the simply ridiculous continual cutting away to long shots, and the flitting from shot to shot. A little pulling back once in a while would have been fine, but each time a performer was introduced, the first 20 seconds or so was spent re-emphasizing that, yes, there was still a huge crowd of people there. As the DVD goes on, it gets more and more annoying. Seldom do you see more than two or three seconds of anything (except the long shots, of course). This spastic approach to editing was especially irritating when Prince Charles finished his speech and we were treated to yet another shot from a quarter mile away before seeing Her Majesty's reaction. There was just no sense of pacing, or of getting the moment. Not a bad concert at all (although I found myself skipping things here and there) but absolutely maddening to watch. For all the work and expense put into it, there should have been money in the budget to hire an editor with a sense of what people enjoy watching."