3D Kraftwerk 3D The Catalog (2D Compatible) (1 Viewer)

[bigshot]

Yesterday I received the massive Kraftwerk 4 disc set in the mail from Amazon UK. It's pretty amazing. I've never been a huge Kraftwerk fan. Their music always seemed a little abstract to me. But in this context, it works perfectly. The videos consist of complete albums played live at art museums around the world with a whole multimedia show in 3D. It's been edited so the band becomes a part of the videos behind them. Hard to describe, but the graphics are very sophisticated- experimental computer animation. The sound quality is phenomenal. The bass goes all the way down to the basement, and sounds fly around and through the room. It's one of the best multichannel mixes I've ever heard. It's the first music blu-ray I know of released in 7.1 Atmos. My system is 5.1 and 2D, so I'm not getting the full experience, but it still blows me away.

The discs are region free. The first two are concert versions of eight Kraftwerk albums in their entirety... Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), Computer World (1981), Techno Pop(1986), The Mix (1991) and Tour De France (2003). The second two discs are the same thing, but just with the computer graphics alone- no concert footage. There is a huge book that has over 200 pages- the largest I've seen in a set like this. It's all pictures and photos in huge double page spreads. The printing is gorgeous with a glossy photo look. I only listened to Man-Machine last night, but I look forward to devouring the whole set.

I take back everything I ever said about Kraftwerk. They aren't just Devo with no sense of humor. They have a singular vision for what they're doing and this set presents it as clearly and forcefully as I can imagine. The price is steep, but there's a single disk version that is cheaper. However I would bet that most people who get the single disc one will end up buying the big box once they see what it is.

 

[CraigF]

I was wondering what this set was about, thanks for the info.

I too was never a Kraftwerk fan, but some of my friends were. Like Dylan using electric guitars, this "electronic music" was quite divisive when Kraftwerk were in their heyday, but they sure got a lot of airplay (here anyway). And then there was the 80s... This was always "sit down and just listen" to it stuff, like close your eyes and get immersed to get a proper sense of it. Videos...I'll take your word for it, if anybody could pull it off, probably it's Kraftwerk, "artists" making videos as opposed to marketing.

 

[Doug Otte]

Thanks for the review, Stephen. I decided to order the smaller set ($19.93 vs. $142.14!) not just because of the price, but because I really don't think I'd watch/listen to more than one disk. I might regret it, but we'll see. I do have a 3D TV, so I'm interested in checking it out once I receive it.

 

[StephenDH]

The kindest thing I can say about this is that it's consistent: the tedious, dreary and repetitive graphics are a perfect match for the tedious, dreary and repetitive music.
See the Lichtmond animation series for a lesson in how this sort of thing should be done.

* Experimental, adjective. A synonym for awful, particularly when applied to music, food, movies and literature.

 

[Alf S]

Due to this thread, I put the "Autobaun" song on via Spotify.

Totally brings back memories of listening to some of this stuff on tape in my 80's college era.


"Fun fun fun on the Autobaun..."

It does NOT hold up well.

 

[bigshot]

Those relaxation CGI animation videos serve an entirely different purpose. They're just pretty pictures cobbled together from stock images along with spacey music for dozing half awake to. Kraftwerk isn't "chill out music". It dryly comments on the relationship of technology and humanity, a subject that was very popular around the time they were recording their albums and perfectly suits the machine made sound of their music. The videos are available on the big box for viewing individually, but they were primarily conceived to be backdrops for the live performance, not self contained films.

I can totally understand if some people aren't entertained by this set. Kraftwerk was always deliberately off-putting and austere. But that doesn't mean that there isn't a level where some people can become engaged with these concerts. I was a lot less enthusiastic about their albums myself. They seemed to meander and the scale of the music seemed too extended. But with the added visual element of the concert footage and background films, it was a lot more engaging, and the music and visuals are perfectly suited to each other.

By the way StephenDH, I'm guessing you don't have the blu-ray, you're probably judging by the concert videos on YouTube. Those are quite different than the concert videos on the blu-ray.

 

[Interdimensional]

The videos are available on the big box for viewing individually, but they were primarily conceived to be backdrops for the live performance, not self contained films.

Is this additional content not available on the blu-ray/dvd package?

I used to buy a lot of big glossy art books, but these days I tend to consider them more in terms whether I can justify the amount of shelf-space they will occupy. I'm more inclined to browse art online anyway, where I can easily adjust viewing size and needn't worry about cracking the spine or getting fingerprints on glossy pages.

 

[Interdimensional]

* Experimental, adjective. A synonym for awful, particularly when applied to music, food, movies and literature.

Experimental work is incredibly important for any medium to progress, although on occasion I have felt that artists should experiment on their own time, and get back to me when they have something that works.

(I have never felt this way about Kraftwerk)

 

[Powell&Pressburger]

I own the U.S. edition of the 4 Disc Massive Book Blu-Ray box set. Yes it is expensive but I didn't get to see them live so I appreciate being able to have the option of seeing snd hearing as much of this tour as possible. I also love the fact the audience noise etc is missing on the audio. I think their music demands to let it just wash over you.

The Atmos audio mix IMO is very exciting and made the purchase worth every penny. 3D is also really nice. It isn't always the most pop out 3D... but it has some nice layering to it. I also watched it in 2D on my bedroom tv listening to the "3D headphone" mix version and then after about a week of seeing a lot of sequences in 2D then watching it again in 3D made me love the 3D even more.

Really nice release. For sure for avid Kraftwerk fans ... I only became fans of theirs in last couple of years but as soon as this set was announced I was in.

Have yet to see any reviews of the full 2 Discs regarding the Dolby True 7.1 Atmos mix. (Disk says 5.1 but my Denon plays it and shows it as a 7.1 core.

 

[bigshot]

Is this additional content not available on the blu-ray/dvd package?

The single disc collection is just excerpts from the eight concerts. The box set contains four discs, two with all eight concerts complete, and two with the projections from all eight shows as a separate program. The book is nice, but the real reason to buy the box is the eight concerts. Every one is different. They play a complete album in each one.

Has anyone watched this in 3D yet? I'm betting it's pretty amazing. It almost looks 3D in 2D.