The History of Rock and Roll |  | Directors: Andrew Solt, Bud Friedgen, Obie Benz, Ted Haimes
Actors: Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Bono
Studio: Time-Life Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.98
Buy New: $29.75
as of 3/11/2010 16:32 EST details
You Save: $10.23 (26%)
New (28) Used (10) Collectible (1) from $23.96
Seller: SummerTime26
Rating:  54 reviews
Sales Rank: 7894
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Discs: 5
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 5
Running Time: 578 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.5 x 1.6
MPN: 34991
ISBN: 0790794586
UPC: 085393499129
EAN: 9780790794587
ASIN: B0002234XQ
Release Date: June 29, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Ten titanic hours of the greatest rock extravaganza ever! This definitive 10-part documentary covers rock 'n' roll history from its humble beginnings in the '50s to Lollapalooza in the '90s. Fans can experience their favorite rock 'n' roll moments all over again through hundreds of exclusive interviews,ic footage, and unforgettable in-concert performances from rock 'n' roll's biggest stars. A must |
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Product Description
A survey of rock 'n' roll covering a forty-year span, from the fifties to Generation X includes actual performances, interviews and peripheral material.
Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 05/23/06
Wide Screen: no
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: yes
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve
Amazon.com
Serving as an introduction for neophytes and a refresher course for experts, The History of Rock and Roll is a mammoth and, when considered on its own terms, frequently successful undertaking. The series, which was first presented in 1995, consumes some 578 minutes, with 10 episodes (there are no bonus features) spread out over five discs. Its pedigree (executive producers include Quincy Jones, while respected writers Peter Guralnick and Greil Marcus are listed as consultants) is impressive, as is its scope, beginning in the pre-rock days of bluesman Muddy Waters and boogie woogie master Louis Jordan and continuing through the death of Kurt Cobain and the birth of the Lollapalooza festival in the mid-1990s. Along the way, dozens of big-name performers (with the notable exception of the Beatles) are on hand to lead us through the story. On the minus side, the format--clips of musical performances cut short by a parade of talking heads--while typical of the genre, will frustrate those who come for the music alone. Nor is it likely that anyone who studies such things will find much here that hasn't already been seen. To be sure, there are some terrific moments, like the profile of Bob Dylan (in part 5, "Plugging In"), some cool clips of relatively obscure legends like James Burton and T-Bone Walker (in part 7, "Guitar Heroes"), and rarely seen live bits with Jimi Hendrix, Steely Dan, Iggy Pop (goofing on the Dinah Shore Show in '77), and many others scattered throughout the set. Part 8, which chronicles the '70s, is surprisingly compelling (one forgets how many major artists--Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder--came into their own in a decade remembered largely for disco and faceless arena rock), while part 9, "Punk," is arguably the most entertaining of the lot. In the end, it's the lack of complete musical performances that is the set's Achilles' heel. Then again, with their appetites whetted here, perhaps viewers will move on to other, more detailed looks at their heroes--beginning with, say, The Beatles Anthology. --Sam Graham
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 54
 History of Rock & Roll Review March 11, 2010
Momma Chong (Florida)
This is not what I thought it would be, alot of talking and not enough music. They only play small exerpts of songs but never a whole song. It wasn't worth the money I paid for it. I bought it for my husband as a gift, he had seen an advertisement for a product like this on tv and wanted it because it had alot of old footage of rock bands and their music. This has too much talking and interviews.
 "put another dime in the record machine" December 28, 2009
Cardmen E. Gee (Watertown, NY)
And I do mean a dime because all these music videos and related materials must have averaged out to be that, a small price to pay for such a comprehensive piece of work. Great service, good product and just what I expected. Some of these artist haven't been seen on tv since their hits made the charts long ago but along comes Marianne Faithfull(As Tears Go By), Arthur conley(Sweet Soul Music), and many others popping out at you on that big screen tv to be enjoyed today. These discs devide rock into eras complete with a little history of the days' events. The observations of the artists and some of their explaination of the personal significance of their work help to round out the feel of Rock N Roll.
SPEAKING TO THOSE WHO KNOW LITTLE OR NOTHING OF ROCK 'N ROLL December 28, 2009
drkhimxz (Freehold, NJ, USA)
I seemed to have been doing something else in my post-teens, the fifties and thereafter, but somehow all the developments in popular music covered in this set passed me right by. The precursors I had heard, rhythm and blues, folk, blues, the contents of "Race" records and small labels, both played by our indefatigable NYC disc jockeys and, in the forties, available in many venues for a high school and college student in the City. However, just what Alan Freed was presenting to draw the long lines of younger people whom I passed on my way elsewhere in those years of the fifties, I never knew. Ah, yes, we did see Elvis on TV a few times and the Beatles first two movies, six or seven years after they came out, but that was about it. My judgment is that for such people as myself, and there are still some of us interested in some aspects of the history of modern popular culture, this is an excellent introduction to what we missed. There is the usual problem with the documentary form in the hands of most film-makers, how to balance the talk with the music, so as to provide a sufficiency of explanation with adequacy of examples, but that is something to which most of us are accustomed. My own feeling was that this is a basic text from which one branches out to whichever features of the period seem to warrant further study; in the case of most of us, not study in the sense of learning much more, but, rather, to gain further exposure in some depth of what promises gratification. We, who are seeing much of this for the first time, must or, I should think, should, try exposure to the product and the talk of practitioners here with a mind in sufficient control to avoid letting repulsion toward these musical forms either on musical or socio-political grounds prevent us from listening and watching in such manner as to let us be exposed to what is actually on the screen. We should do so not in the interests of the people or music we are observing, many of the former are now gone, retired, or continuing to ply what has sometimes been a source of incredible wealth for them, much of the latter has been incorporated, or been replaced, by later forms. It is for the sake of our own gratification as well as of our ability to see which forms of popular culture have earned a place of permanence in the national and international heritage.
It is simply not possible for me to judge the value of the set to those who know the music; for those I have chosen as my audience, certainly I can recommend it highly.
Exelente October 22, 2009
Cristian Galeano (Paraguay)
Un documental realmente exelente, recorriendo por todas las influencias del rock and roll, son como 10 horas de documento exelente, recomiento para todos los que aman este estilo musical y se quieran informar de como nacio y cualques son sus estilos e influencias... Es bastante emotivo volver a escuchar muchas musicas que hicieron mucho y nunca se borran de la memoria. Los subtitulos en español estan correctos en los 5 discos...
AN absolute steal at $15.99, a good basic history August 3, 2009
Mossman (Nashville, TN)
This box set is a very good overview of the history of rock and roll from it's beginning up until about 15 years ago when this series was made. While they may be much left out due to covering such a wide expansive subject over a many year period, to get the basic history, this is a very good set. For $15.99, it's even better. For anyone who has lived it and has an appreciation of rock and roll over the years, this is a good one to enjoy and review what you've experienced. For younger fans of rock wanting to get up to speed on where it came from and how it developed, this DVD documentary set should serve as an excellent starting point.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 54
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