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Stars:
John Belushi, Jane Curtain, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner, Chevy Chase, Bill
Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short, Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Christopher
Guest, Joe Piscopo, Rich Hall, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey,
Chris Farley, Jon Lovitz, Phil Hartman, Mike Myers, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler,
Rob Schneider, Ana Gasteyer, Cheri Oteri, Molly Shannon, Will Ferrell, Tim
Meadows, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Parnell, Chris Kataan, Joshua Jackson, and Horatio
Sanz,
Guest
Stars: Paul Simon, Andy Kaufman, Mick Jagger, Steve Martin, Tina Turner, Ringo
Starr, Eddie Van Halen, Valerie Bertinelli, Aerosmith, Patrick Swayze, Jerry
Hall, Sting, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Mathew Broderick, Paula Abdul, Kevin
Spacey, Beck, Michael Palin, Garth Brooks, Tom Hanks, and Eric Idle
Music
Artists: Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Carly Simon, Grateful Dead, Simon &
Garfunkel, Joe Cocker, Elvis Costello, The Blues Brothers, Patti Smith, Mick
Jagger, Peter Tosh, The Band, Tina Turner, James Brown, Queen, Randy Newman,
Stevie Wonder, The Go-Go’s, Rick James, Talking Heads, Spinal Tap, John
Mellencamp, Duran Duran, The Bangles, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Neil
Young, Roy Orbison, Sting, Fine Young Cannibals, R.E.M., Sinead O’Connor,
Madonna, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, En Vogue, Bruce
Springsteen, Michael Boltin, Live, Blind Melon, Nirvana, Mariah Carey, No Doubt,
Spice Girls, Garbage, Jewel, Beck, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Metalica, Garth Brooks,
Dave Mathews Band, Backstreet Boys, Counting Crows, Ricky Martin, Paula Cole,
Hanson, and U2
Volume
Hosts: Chevy Chase, Martin Short, Al Franken, Jay Mohr, and Cheri Oteri
Executive
Producer: Lorne Michaels
Feature
length: 80 minutes/75 minutes/70 minutes/80 minutes/85 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, PCM Stereo Sound, and Monaural Sound
(For Volumes 1 & 2 Only)
Subtitles:
English Closed Captions
Packaging:
Five Keep Cases Within A Slipcase
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, PCM Stereo Sound, and Monaural Sound (For
Volumes 1 & 2 Only)
Years
of Television Broadcasts: 1975-2000/DVD Release: 2003
Home
Video Distributor: NBC Home Entertainment & Lions Gate Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
From
1975 with Billy Joel singing “Only the Good Die Young” to 2000 with U2
performing “Elevation,” “Saturday Night Live” has been the premiere
showcase for live musical performances as well some of the best comedic
entertainers in the world. “Saturday
Night Live: 25 Years Of Music, Performances And Sketches” DVD box set is a
fantastic collection that shows not only the bands and musical guest performers
who have made history on SNL, but how they have changed in their own way the
landscape of comedy. It is hard to believe that “Saturday Night Live” just
might be the longest running musical comedy variety show to ever air on
television or at least one of the longest if the term “variety” is truly the
correct word to describe SNL. I tend to remember the cheesy variety shows of the
1970s and don’t want to lump SNL with those, but if “variety” is not the
right word to describe SNL then perhaps there is no word to describe the series,
which continues today and that might actually be appropriate. Executive Producer
Lorne Michaels describes the series as being initially highly influenced by the
1960s and since then it is easy to see that SNL has taken on a life of it’s
own.
There
are so many great musical and comedic performances in this five disc set that it
is truly impossible to describe them all in the context of a DVD review so I
will refer to some of each volume’s highlights. On volume 1 hosted by Chevy
Chase there are some terrific musical performances that include Cary Simon
singing “You’re So Vain,” The Grateful Dead performing “Casey Jones,”
Simon and Garfunkel singing “The Boxer,” and “Elvis Costello breaking
“Less Than Zero” a few seconds into his performance without warning live and
then singing “Radio Radio.”
Memorable
comedic sketches with musical overtones include the first ever appearance of
“The Blues Brothers” singing “Soul Man,” Belushi as Beethoven singing
“What I Say” as well as sharing the stage with Joe Cocker and imitating him
while Cocker sings “Feelin’ Alright,” Steve Martin performing “King Tut,”
Bill Murray playing lounge singer “Nick Winters” singing made-up words for
the theme from “Star Wars,” and the fantastic performance by Gilda Radner as
punk singer “Candy Slice.”
Volumes
2 and 3 cover the 1980s and feature noteworthy musical performances by Tina
Turner singing “Better Be Good To Me,” Queen performing “Crazy Little
Thing Called Love,” The Go-Go’s singing “We Got The Beat,” Rick James
singing “Super Freak,” The Talking Heads performing “Take Me To The
River,” Duran Duran performing “Hungry Like The Wolf,” The Bangles
performing “Hazy Shade Of Winter,” Roy Orbison singing “Pretty Woman,”
and “Sting” singing “We’ll Be Together.”
Eddie
Murphy has some of the best sketches on volume 2 that include “James Brown’s
Celebrity Hot Tub,” “Buckwheat Sings,” and “Ebony& Ivory” with Joe
Piscopo as “Frank Sinatra” and “Gumby’s Christmas Special.” Volume 3
features Jon Lovitz as “The Liar” as well as Aerosmith performing the
“Wayne’s World” theme song. Maybe I misunderstood the meaning, but in
terms of hosts, I thought All Franken’s jokes about the deaths of John Belushi,
Gilda Radner, and Chris Farley where he walks around the stage saying this is
where this one and that person died was in bad taste.
Volume
4 features the uncut performance from 1992 when Sinead O’Connor tore up a
picture of The Pope after singing “War” as well as marvelous performances by
R.E.M. performing “Losing My Religion,” “and En Vogue sizzling the stage
while singing “Free Your Mind.” Comedy sketches include Madonna on
“Wayne’s World” during the release of the then controversial music video
“Erotica.” The sad thing to note is the drastic drop in the quality of
musical performances that were made available on SNL in the last years of the
1990s though there are a few noteworthy exceptions like Beck performing “Where
It’s At.”
Each
DVD comes individually packaged in its own keep case with an insert detailing
the contents as well as an essay by TV Critic Rob Salem and the five volumes are
housed in a cardboard slipcase. The programs can be viewed with menu options
that emphasize either the music or the comedic sketches and all of the
interactive menus are very easy to navigate.
In
terms of picture quality, not all of the analogue broadcast video has aged very
well so do not expect a consistently clear image because some scenes have
deteriorated a bit from age. However at least they have been preserved on DVD so
that hopefully generations from now people can still appreciate the music and
the humor. The picture quality improves with each successive volume afterwards.
For both volumes 1 and two there are three soundtrack listening options that
include a restored two-channel PCM monaural soundtrack and newly mixed Dolby
Digital Stereo and 5.1 Surround Soundtrack options. For all five volumes the 5.1
mixes sound amazing, but the volume level is at least 10 decibels higher than
normal so those in apartments with thin walls may want to turn down the volume
on their home theater systems a bit before playing any of these discs. Volumes 3
through 5 feature PCM stereo and 5.1 sound options. All five discs feature
optional English Closed Captions for the hearing impaired too.
“Saturday
Night Live: 25 Years Of Music, Performances And Sketches” DVD box set is
available now at retailers on and offline from NBC Home Entertainment and Lions
Gate Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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