I have an old recording of the original Alan Parker film, brilliant but quite dour and depressing and certainly not for all occasions. It was whilst checking online for a DVD replacement that I stumbled across this gem.With the international line-up (you know who they are, by now!) how could I resist? I think at the time, it was quite expensive to buy on Amazon but I did find a cheaper, brand-new alternative, on a well known auction-style site...The staging is audacious and spectacular, with loads always going on, a feast for the eyes and a good imagining from the original. The (now) familiar music just spills out from it and into the night air and it must have been a real goose-bumped experience for anyone actually there, especially bearing in mind the significance of a big Wall in Berlin tumbling down, brick by brick (which it does!).Yes, it's a Korean release, with indecipherable writing on the case and it wants to play with English subtitles by default - but turn them off and it looks good, when considering it's a relative oldie and is in 4:3 ratio. Sound I found better when tweaked a bit, my oldish Panasonic DVD player having 2 'virtual surround sound' settings, engage the second one and it comes alive, adding a spatial bigness about it all, that helps match the total OTT'ness that you expect with any Pink Floyd/Walters live show.It is odd that I'd never heard of this Live version and I'm so glad I bought it - anyone who even remotely enjoyed the album, or original film will find this immensely enjoyable and more importantly, entertaining. Great Show!

The Wall is, indeed, one of the most awe-inspiring feats from the 70's rock scene. It may not be Pink Floyd's best work, but on the form of ambition it could rightly rank with (or some would argue above) Dark Side of the Moon. It's engaging (if a little obvious) with its messages on education, sex, the drainage of rock and roll, psychology, and the breakdown of society through fascism. It's more of a sensory experience than something traditional, like with the Who's rock operas. So here, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Roger Waters brought forth a worldwide broadcast of the wall, complete with a spectacle for millions to experience, and of course not alone. Here he is joined by such musicians as Bryan Adams, The Band (of Last Waltz 'Band' I mean), Cyndi Lauper, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and the Scorpions among others. On top of this is the complete stage-show of the Wall that made waves when first done in 1980.It's the kind of live concert one wishes was experiences in person as opposed to on the screen; like with the live show in other venues with the complete Pink Floyd, something is lost when experienced at home (the film is another matter, which is for my money one of the top 5 "expensive student films" ever made). On top of this there is also the factor of the special guests, and even the whole spectacle itself, getting in the way of what Waters does best. In fact, while he is usually singing the songs (there's a great bit when he's in part of the Wall right before, or after, the hotel-room smashing), the other acts sometimes steal the show, for better or worse. Mitchell is good, the Band does a terrific job, and the Scorpions are hit or miss depending on how much of a fan you are.But that this is such an ambitious show, with such a huge, overpowering audience, is enough to suffice. The Gerald Scarfe production design/animations are a wonder to behold for the fans, and there are a few other surprises as well. There is also an interesting, if not perfect, rendition of 'the Trial sequence' featuring a funny, scathing Tim Curry and judge played by Albert Finney. So, like other Pink Floyd or Waters endeavors, it's stretching the boundaries of what can be done, and more often than not it succeeded, in the wake of a triumphant fall of the real wall in Berlin.

One of the best shows ever done!!! With Ute Lemper on "The thin ice", Paul Carrack on "Hey you" and Van Morrison on "Comfortably Numb" makes this concert just fantastic!!! Even Cindy Lauper and Bryan Adams did a great show. The 60 feet tall wall, 150 long scene and nearly 400.000 people makes this concert just amazing! Every Pink Floyd/Roger Waters fan should see this fabulous show. Joni Michell does a fantastic job on "Goodbye Blue Sky" with her kind of dark voice. I think it is the best live show ever done! I can't give any less then 10 (exellent)l. I just can't! When "The Scorpions" drove in to the scene in a white limo, you feel the excitement. And when Roger appears on the scene on "The thin ice" with Ute Lemper, You feel you're getting warm inside! I have only one thing to say: ROGER, WE LOVE YOU 4 ever!!!

I see only one other report on this and can't disagree more. I was fortunate enough to see Floyd perform The Wall live at the LA Sports Arena in 1979. I'm told that, due to stage size requirements, they only "built" the full wall on stage in LA and NY. The performance in Berlin in 1990 is the closest one can get to what they might have seen in '79. The sound on the DVD is excellent and the cinematography was nothing short of outstanding. Having the variety of musicians and vocalists involved was terrific with the sole exception of Van Morrison, who gave an extremely weak performance for Comfortably Numb, which on the album is one of the highlight songs. This DVD is absolutely worth the price and can be enjoyed many times. For comparison, watch the theatrical version which delves deeply into the trauma of "Pink's" life, played wonderfully by Bob Geldorf of the Boomtown Rats.