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Loz
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Post subject: Loz's review of the show. Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 8:13 pm |
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Martian War Lord |
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2005 10:00 pm Posts: 2870 Location: Liverpool, UK
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First off I must off got a couple of the worst seats in the house. Fairly close to the stage, but high up on stage right tier. I had almost a side view of the Richard Burton head, so I got none of the effect of that. Didn't even look like him as a result. Had I been facing, I'm sure it would have been excellent, but I wasn't and it was all lost on me. In fact, worst still it was rubbing my face in it. Part of the screen was also compromised by the speakers and was at an odd angle to my position. The animation was slow, and poor by today’s standards. The live footage just seemed very unreal and cheaply done.
With Jeff's version of War of the World's he tells it like the book, with the Journalist narrating the story. It's from his perspective. So having us see it from the Martian perspective at the beginning doesn't work. It’s basically the old computer game cut scene from the Martian perspective. The Martian high council are having a meeting, in which they discuss the need to invade and conquer planet Earth. This spoils the one persons view perspective and takes away the powerful beginning that is Richard Burton's execution of those humbling opening lines. It also takes away the mystery of the Martians.
Thank god for the best piece of music ever written that follows, performed flawlessly, with a phonically peerless production that reminded my ears what they were all about.
I was moved to tears by the magnificence of the sound, the melodies splashing in an out of each other. All the singers were excellent, Justin Hayward hitting all the old notes with all the old power and subtlety.
Chris Thomas amazing us with an even gruffer vocal on Thunder Child.
The Artillery Man's With just a handful of men line was unbelievable.
Russell Watson belted out Spirit of Man with a dash of overacting but what a voice. Beth was every bit a match for the album performance.
I've never heard anything better. So crisp. Burton's voice was like it was inside your skull. All the little bits you love so much were there. Little flourishes and effects.
The giant fighting machine was again mostly blocked from my view. But looked as though it was good. The eyes were green and had that compound eye look. And when it died at the end, they went red. A steel bridge with steps at either side came down for the Artillery Man to sing from. But it was pointless and seemed cheap to me.
So for me, it was great because, I love the music and story but music most of all and that was delivered to the highest quality. The visuals far from impressive.
However the new look of the Martians was really good.Very dark brown., with a load of different shaped tentacles protruding from the head. Not under the face but from all over the head. Very alien, very ugly.
Thanks for the music Jeff but sack however's handling the visual side of things. Got a nice t-shirt.
Bah bah black sheap April diamond spheres, Rigsby, Rigsby, Eight sided Pears.
Last edited by Loz on Wed May 03, 2006 9:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Lonesome Crow
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Post subject: Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 12:08 am |
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Martian War Lord |
Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2005 10:31 pm Posts: 3365 Location: N.Humberside.UK
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Loz
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Post subject: Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 7:40 pm |
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Martian War Lord |
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2005 10:00 pm Posts: 2870 Location: Liverpool, UK
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Don't get me wrong I still enjoyed it because it's my favourite music and it was performed incredibly well and sounded amazing. If i was blind I'd have no faults with it at all. But it was meant to be visual and this was the problem.
Bah bah black sheap April diamond spheres, Rigsby, Rigsby, Eight sided Pears.
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Evilnerfherder
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Post subject: Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 11:20 pm |
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Super Member |
Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2005 5:31 am Posts: 110 Location: An opium den in Limehouse.
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Actually, it's essentially meant to be a live concert of the album. But Jeff wanted to include visuals to enhance the experience. It's just a part of the whole.
The only trouble with this kind of thing is, you tell people that there will be CGI showing and people will instantly have raised expectations... which is quite natural. If you see the CGI on it's own (and I have seen some) it looks great.
I think they did pretty well considering they didn't have the sort of time and money that a Hollywood studio would to put it all together.
http://evilnerfherder.proboards78.com/index.cgi?
My forum that takes in TWoTW, Sci Fi, Horror and anything else.
http://www.myspace.com/playingwithpylons -the new music project!
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Loz
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Post subject: Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 9:16 pm |
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Martian War Lord |
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2005 10:00 pm Posts: 2870 Location: Liverpool, UK
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I disagree with that. A 1977 Pink Floyd concert would blow this one away.
If your going to have visuals then they are going to have to be good to impress a concert goer. If not just give us a damned good light show, a few mechanical props and lasers.
I also found the pace of the footage slow and repetative.
The Journalist is booming out that the Tripods where striding over trees and smashing them, while we see these very slow moving, clumsy machines.
The Handling Machine visual was just the camera panning round it as it flexed it's claws and waddled along. It was like watching early the early test footage we have seen, where the animator is mearly demonstrating the model.
I think Jeff should have had new machines devised. I love the old ones. They look great in the paintings. But they don't work once brought to life. The support struts really hamper them.
In many ways I'd have rather it had just been the music and a great light show. Because like I say the music moves me incredibly, and my imagination has always done the rest.
Bah bah black sheap April diamond spheres, Rigsby, Rigsby, Eight sided Pears.
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Horsell_Common
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Post subject: Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 8:49 pm |
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Tripod King |
Joined: Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:30 am Posts: 300
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Only one man can pull off a light show and thats Jean Michel Jarre . .
Unfortunately I was unable to see any of the live shows, but from what I have read about the net, reviews from others who have been and from photographs kindly sent to me over the last couple of weeks, the stage could have had more thought put into it.
The first thing that strikes me is the Fighting Machine. I can understand were they were going, sadly they did not get there. The machine is too big and dominates the stage blocking out the screen behind it. Ideal for those up close, not for those with less better seating. It would have been better if 2 machines of a slightly smaller scale were bulit and placed either side of the screen. Or the screen lengthed and instead of a 3D Richard Burton head as a seperate, have the head projected onto the screen. To me, the screen and the Fighting Machine do not work together and there was too much for the eye to concentrate on, moving from the band, to Jeff, to the orchestra, to the stage, to the screen, to the head . . . . . damn, its giving me a headache just thinking about it.
Someone said to me yesterday the show looked cheap, on a budget, and Im begining to think they may have a point.
H_C
Forum Moderator to: www.waroftheworldsonline.com - Your Source For The Martian Invasion Since 2002
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POD1
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Post subject: Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 7:34 pm |
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Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 7:26 pm Posts: 5
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The live show of the war of the world's was very good, not cheap in look's or sound quality in any way.
Mars, better red than dead.
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Loz
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Post subject: Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 9:25 pm |
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Martian War Lord |
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2005 10:00 pm Posts: 2870 Location: Liverpool, UK
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POD1 wrote: The live show of the war of the world's was very good, not cheap in look's or sound quality in any way.
You're suposed to give a considered argument to back up your belief.
Bah bah black sheap April diamond spheres, Rigsby, Rigsby, Eight sided Pears.
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POD1
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Post subject: Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 5:41 pm |
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Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 7:26 pm Posts: 5
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what's the point, I did'nt come on here to argue.
Mars, better red than dead.
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Lonesome Crow
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Post subject: Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 9:20 pm |
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Martian War Lord |
Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2005 10:31 pm Posts: 3365 Location: N.Humberside.UK
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Loz
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Post subject: Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 12:20 pm |
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Martian War Lord |
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2005 10:00 pm Posts: 2870 Location: Liverpool, UK
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POD1 wrote: what's the point, I did'nt come on here to argue.
An inteligent argument, as in debate.
We come here to discuss, to reason, to inteligently put forward our views.
If you disagree with something I say, I want to hear you back it up with reason.
Or we'll have a very uniteresting forum where people just write. It was Brilliant. No it wasn't. Yes it was. No it wasn't, etc.....
Bah bah black sheap April diamond spheres, Rigsby, Rigsby, Eight sided Pears.
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