Search - Todd Rundgren: Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect on DVD

A complete waste of time

A True Fan | 07/24/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"An interviewer who is unfamiliar with Todd's work asks Todd overly abstract questions, interrupted by amateurish videos for some of Todd's cheesiest '80s music. Focuses on Todd the songwriter/performer and ignores Todd the singer, guitarist, multimedia pioneer, arranger, producer, bandmember, etc. For example: the interviewer asks Todd if he believes in an afterlife; Todd -- inscrutable behind hair and sunglasses -- sits in silence for five seconds, touches his nose for a few more and refuses to answer the question. Tortured artist indeed. Then another video featuring a floating egg/brain/vagina/chambered nautilus object. This DVD was painful to watch, even with the remote control handy to speed through videos of Todd's naked backside. I actually feel that Todd is a lot less interesting now that I've seen this. Todd -- from a fellow Philadelphia/San Francisco boy who has been a fan for 20-plus years: do yourself and your fans a favor and get someone else to do this kind of thing for you."

A poor effort

Rev. Dan | 02/23/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I am a long time Todd fan going back to Nazz days. I saw him every time I could. He did a show at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta with Utopia that still blows me away to think about. I have almost all of his recorded music.Having said that, this DVD is not recommended. The interview part is interesting, but Todd often comes cross as self indulgent and arrogant. This is in stark contrast to the image that I have developed of the man who is often self effacing in his lyrics. The other parts of this DVD are simply poor except for the three song video which is well worth watching. Except for that part, don't buy this DVD for the music. To say that I was disappointed in a number of ways would be an understatement. Most importantly, this video has changed my view of Todd which is very disturbing. Yeah we're all human but to see a god reduced to the level of dour human being is extremely painful."

The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect

A True Fan | Northern Illinois, USA | 12/15/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is a video for the Todd afficionado who wants to hear in Todd's own self-effacing words what it is like to be a creative genius. Less committed viewers will find it disappointing that many of his great songs are not played all the way through. Also, the video will strike many as hokey, because the special effects are very homemade-looking; one seems to be an homage to "2001-A Space Odyssey." But if you love Todd, you will appreciate his concepts and overall message that being Todd is a never-ending, solitary quest for new challenges, truth and an ideal state of being. The non-music sections of this show Todd in dark glasses responding to questions from an unseen interviewer. His comments are illuminating: sometimes funny, sometimes off-putting. They remind me of a line from "International Feel" -- "I only want to see if you'll give up on me." But there's always more...the live performance on this DVD of "Real Man" makes this worth buying, but it's not for the un-initiated."

Great content for true Todd fans, but poor quality DVD

Rev. Dan | Mason, Michigan United States | 06/14/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you're truly a Todd fan, you've probably seen this already in the VHS format. I've enjoyed it many times in that format and was excited to see it available on DVD...but was very disappointed when I finally viewed the DVD, as it looks like it's a second or third generation dub from the VHS copy. At least on the DVD I bought, the picture quality is so lousy I suggest you stay with the VHS.
So, 4 and a half stars for the material. One star for the visual quality."