Janet Jackson - Design of a Decade DVD

0ur opinion:

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The arc of Janet Jackson's career from the late 198Os to the late '9Os was a story of determined growth by an artist and woman. The extent to which Jackson served as a role model for many an adolescent girl during that decade (a phenomenon illuminated on another DVD, The Rhythm Nation Compilation) speaks to the formidable yet feminine image she presented via her music and music videos. Design of a Decade includes 16 of her videos from 1986 to 1996, taking us through Jackson's early, 'don't trifle with me' attitude in the 'What Have You Done for Me Lately' era, to her more rapturous, sensual makeover in 'Love Will Never Do (Without You).' 0f course, this video is also a record of some of the most ambitious music videos ever produced, including Julien Temple's elaborate 'When l Think of You,' Peter Smillie's 'Escapade,' and Marcus Nispel's ecstatic, fantastic 'Runaway.' --Tom Keogh

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Testimonials

Average Buyer Rating: out of 5 stars

Buyer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

- * Wow, this takes me back.... ...
The earlier videos were so dated but l enjoyed from Pleasure Principle on....The sound is a little low but maybe it is because the videos are old. Fun to see people who were in her videos...

Buyer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

- Early Janet, the BEST
W0W, l had forgotten how sexy some of these earlier videos were. Anytime, Anyplace is really hot. The dancing and music are fantastic. lf you like Janet, you will love this collection of videos.

Buyer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

- Love will never do without you
This is a fun DVD which captures Janet through 1986 where she broke out with her successful "Control" album through to 1996 with the successful song "Runaway". lt's quite amusing to see the clips from the 8O's with the strong focus on group dance movements. Also interesting to see Janet battle with weight issues through the years. ln some clips her face is so chubby! The songs from "Control" are very dated now, sounding very synethised and lacking what l would call a nice melody ... but they are still fun to listen to now and again. Janet's solo career really started to mature with "Rythmn Nation" where great songs like "Love will never do without you" and "Alright" were released. After that album, we got even more mature sounds with "That's the way love goes" and "Runaway".

l can't think of any videos that are missing except for perhaps "The Best Things in Life are Free" but l assume no video was available for it.

0verall, this is a DVD worth owning as it has some great clips. You'll probably laugh at the early videos from 1986 but trust me, back then those videos were considered pretty hot stuff.

Buyer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

- * Janet truly designed a decade ...
Janet Jackson is universally regarded as an innovator. Her music and the videos that accompany them showed the world that she was a budding talent with a beautiful (although faint) voice and astonishing dancing skills that many would come to assimilate. A plethora of her younger contemporaries have said that she inspired them because her career as a whole has been nothing short of groundbreaking. A great illustration of her creative works as an artist are her videos. "Design of a Decade" includes some of her dexterous videos to date.

ln 1986, Janet released her "Control" LP. Each single released from the album had a video. "What Have You Done for Me Lately" was the first. Janet is known for her coy, reserved disposition, but in this video, Janet exhibits another side: a Janet with attitude. This video includes choreography by Paula Abdul, and dances that would later become popular, like the Snake. Janet's big hair and colorful clothes make this video memorable. "Nasty", arguably Janet's signature song, is also featured on this DVD. "Nasty" is shot in and around a movie theatre, and again features Janet providing lots of attitude. Janet is a bit robust in "Nasty" (and most of the videos from this era), but she still dances with such vigor and energy. ln this video, Janet proclaims her distaste for nasty men by rolling her eyes and sashaying past them. "Control" is Janet's first live performance, and she stunned. She was a triple threat in this video: a dancer, singer and a superb performer! Definitely worth mentioning is the incredible "The Pleasure Principle." Janet lost a substantial amount of weight, flattened her hair, and grew a bit more mature when this video was filmed. She danced almost the entire video, alone. Although this video is pretty simple, it had just as much impact as some of her more costly, gaudy videos.

By 1989, we are introduced to a socially conscious Janet with "Rhythm Nation 1814." Most of the videos from this era are in black and white. The reason for this? Because it helped Janet to convey the point that there should be no "color lines." The videos for "Rhythm Nation" and "Miss You Much" both had incredible dance sequences. "Escapade" and "Alright" illustrated a very happy, playful, whimsical Janet (and also included dance sequences.) "Come Back to Me" has very sad lyrics, and Janet's facial expressions throughout the video are ones of a disheartened person. This video was shot in Paris and features her then boyfriend, Rene Elizondo. "Love Will Never Do (Without You) is the first video where Janet bared much skin and displayed a more provocative side. ln the video, she is intimately close to men and is just much more sexy than before. She continued her "sexy phase" with the "That's the Way Love Goes" video (from her 1993 "janet." LP. ln this video, Janet comes off as playful and light-hearted. "Whoops Now" (from "janet") and "Runaway" (from "Design of a Decade" are also light-hearted, colorful videos.

My criticisms for this compilation are: A lot of these videos are longer than what they give us on this DVD. For some unknown reason, some of these videos are truncated. Also, the only two videos from the "janet." album are "That's the Way Love Goes" and Whoops Now". This DVD is omitted some of Janet's most important videos like "lf" and "Again". Aside from that, this is a must-have for those who love the art of music video and, more importantly, the innovation that Janet Jackson has given the music video industry.

Buyer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

- A must have for any music fan
Design of a decade is really what the title describes. lt shows the rise of a true music lcon, someone who has helped pave the way for pop/R&B/Dance music. lf it werent for Janet and these hits beyonce, ciara, mya, rihanna, and any other up and coming pop diva out there wouldnt exsist. lf you are a music fan of funky and fun hits this is a must have DVD. lt showcases janet at some of her most edgy and classic musical experiments. Definatly worth the 5 stars i rated it.

Simon Schama's Power of Art

$34.49

Watching Simon Schama's Power of Art is like taking an Ivy League course in art appreciation, with the folksy but knowledgeable Schama as guide and interpreter. A collection of hour-long films on eight seminal artists and their groundbreaking works, which originally aired on British television, this boxed set is as entertaining as it is enlightening, with Schama doing for Western art what, say, Steve Irwin did for Australian natural history. Eight artists are featured--Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Rothko--and each portrait of the artist weaves biography and historical context to help explain the true power of his works.

The segment on Van Gogh is, as expected, emotional, yet Schama convincingly portrays Van Gogh as not consumed by madness, but fighting off the episodes with painting. Van Gogh painted one of his most evocative works, Wheat Field With Crows, which even his brother, Theo, recognized was about to put his brother on the artistic map. Yet, as Schama points out, within weeks, Van Gogh had killed himself. "Now why would he want to do that?" Schama muses--and then proceeds to narrate the tormented tale of the answer. Along the way, the viewer gains new appreciation for Van Gogh's signature works, including his famous sunflowers. "Technically, these are still lives," Schama says, "but there's nothing still about them... the sunflowers [seem to be] organisms landing violently from a burning sun." If the reenactments of the artists' lives are a bit overdone, it's forgivable, since the cumulative effect, in an hour, is a new appreciation of the work and the man.

Extras include frank and very funny commentaries by Schama and his co-producer, and lots of behind-the-scenes dish on how certain scenes were achieved. The teeming French opera scene in the "David" episode, for instance, was cast using just 20 French extras and then the rest created by CGI--"the scene works better, really, than [the film] King Kong," Schama says with delight. --A.T. Hurley

Power Yoga - Total Body Workout

$8.99

Power yoga "demands your attention," says instructor Rodney Yee. He leads a challenging, constantly progressing series of poses, one flowing into the next, integrating breath, movement, tension, and relaxation. The poses include Sun Salutation, standing poses, forward bends, back bends, twists, and arm balances. The first poses are fairly easy, and with each repetition of the series, Yee adds on more difficult movements, extending the series without pausing. You're encouraged to do as much of the series that fits your level, up to the entire 65-minute workout if you're an experienced yoga practitioner. Although you can begin at any level, some familiarity with yoga is recommended. The Hawaiian setting is gorgeous and inspiring. This is an excellent yoga workout that you can grow with, adding on more as you get stronger. --Joan Price

The Incredibles (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

$14.99

After creating the last great traditionally animated film of the 20th century, The Iron Giant, filmmaker Brad Bird joined top-drawer studio Pixar to create this exciting, completely entertaining computer-animated film. Bird gives us a family of "supers," a brood of five with special powers desperately trying to fit in with the 9-to-5 suburban lifestyle. Of course, in a more innocent world, Bob and Helen Parr were superheroes, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. But blasted lawsuits and public disapproval forced them and other supers to go incognito, making it even tougher for their school-age kids, the shy Violet and the aptly named Dash. When a stranger named Mirage (voiced by Elizabeth Pena) secretly recruits Bob for a potential mission, the old glory days spin in his head, even if his body is a bit too plump for his old super suit.

Bird has his cake and eats it, too. He and the Pixar wizards send up superhero and James Bond movies while delivering a thrilling, supercool action movie that rivals Spider-Man 2 for 2004's best onscreen thrills. While it's just as funny as the previous Pixar films, The Incredibles has a far wider-ranging emotional palette (it's Pixar's first PG film). Bird takes several jabs, including some juicy commentary on domestic life ("It's not graduation, he's moving from the fourth to fifth grade!").

The animated Parrs look and act a bit like the actors portraying them, Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter. Samuel L. Jackson and Jason Lee also have a grand old time as, respectively, superhero Frozone and bad guy Syndrome. Nearly stealing the show is Bird himself, voicing the eccentric designer of superhero outfits ("No capes!"), Edna Mode.

Nominated for four Oscars, The Incredibles won for Best Animated Film and, in an unprecedented win for non-live-action films, Sound Editing.

The Presentation
This two-disc set is (shall we say it?), incredible. The digital-to-digital transfer pops off the screen and the 5.1 Dolby sound will knock the socks off most systems. But like any superhero, it has an Achilles heel. This marks the first Pixar release that doesn't include both the widescreen and full-screen versions in the same DVD set, which was a great bargaining chip for those cinephiles who still want a full-frame presentation for other family members. With a 2.39:1 widescreen ratio (that's big black bars, folks, à la Dr. Zhivago), a few more viewers may decide to go with the full-frame presentation. Fortunately, Pixar reformats their full-frame presentation so the action remains in frame.

The Extras
The most-repeated segments will be the two animated shorts. Newly created for this DVD is the hilarious "Jack-Jack Attack," filling the gap in the film during which the Parr baby is left with the talkative babysitter, Kari. "Boundin'," which played in front of the film theatrically, was created by Pixar character designer Bud Luckey. This easygoing take on a dancing sheep gets better with multiple viewings (be sure to watch the featurette on the short).

Brad Bird still sounds like a bit of an outsider in his commentary track, recorded before the movie opened. Pixar captain John Lasseter brought him in to shake things up, to make sure the wildly successful studio would not get complacent. And while Bird is certainly likable, he does not exude Lasseter's teddy-bear persona. As one animator states, "He's like strong coffee; I happen to like strong coffee." Besides a resilient stance to be the best, Bird threw in an amazing number of challenges, most of which go unnoticed unless you delve into the 70 minutes of making-of features plus two commentary tracks (Bird with producer John Walker, the other from a dozen animators). We hear about the numerous sets, why you go to "the Spaniards" if you're dealing with animation physics, costume problems (there's a reason why previous Pixar films dealt with single- or uncostumed characters), and horror stories about all that animated hair. Bird's commentary throws out too many names of the animators even after he warns himself not to do so, but it's a lively enough time. The animator commentary is of greatest interest to those interested in the occupation.

There is a 30-minute segment on deleted scenes with temporary vocals and crude drawings, including a new opening (thankfully dropped). The "secret files" contain a "lost" animated short from the superheroes' glory days. This fake cartoon (Frozone and Mr. Incredible are teamed with a pink bunny) wears thin, but play it with the commentary track by the two superheroes and it's another sharp comedy sketch. There are also NSA "files" on the other superheroes alluded to in the film with dossiers and curiously fun sound bits. "Vowellet" is the only footage about the well-known cast (there aren't even any obligatory shots of the cast recording their lines). Author/cast member Sarah Vowell (NPR's This American Life) talks about her first foray into movie voice-overs--daughter Violet--and the unlikelihood of her being a superhero. The feature is unlike anything we've seen on a Disney or Pixar DVD extra, but who else would consider Abe Lincoln an action figure? --Doug Thomas

More Incredibles at Amazon.com

The Incredibles Toy Store	CD Soundtrack	The Art of The Incredibles Book
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The Pixar Feature Films

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Toy Story 2, 1999

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The Incredibles, 2004

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We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes

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On their debut album, 1999's Something About Airplanes, Death Cab for Cutie proved there's a reason why Northwest music critics continue to sing their praises. The foursome combined the emo sounds of Modest Mouse and 764-Hero with an inventive, and often sly, sentimentality. It worked wonders, but still sounded a little too lo-fi. Luckily, on We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes the group has figured out all the production nuances that flawed that auspicious debut. The opening "Title Track" begins by sounding both crappy and shallow, but the band is merely pulling your leg; two minutes later, the tune expands into a gorgeous, well-produced masterpiece. The album never looks back. Ben Gibbard's songwriting continues to evolve--"Company Calls" segues into, what else, the slower "Company Calls Epilogue"--while the simple lyrics of "For What Reason" and "405" tell infectious stories that demand repeated listenings. Proof positive the Northwest is still churning out great music. --Jason Verlinde

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The first Black Box Recorder album, 1998's England Made Me, was originally conceived by Auteurs and Baader Meinhof frontman Luke Haines as a typically baleful response to the cultural and political hysteria--respectively, Britpop and Tony Blair--then gripping Britain. Recorded with the help of former Jesus & Mary Chain drummer John Moore and singer Sarah Nixey, it did for Britpop roughly what the film Carrie did for the senior prom. The Facts of Life, the follow-up, maintains the withering glare but fixes it this time on the personal. The songs here obsess with unnerving clarity and mordant wit on the banal, cruel details of human relationships and are narrated perfectly by Nixey. Where her perfectly English-accented whisper infused England Made Me with the air of a bored aristocrat finding contemptuous amusement in the misery of others, on The Facts of Life she has located an edge of taunting viciousness all the more diabolical for being so understated. The tunes, as ever, are sweet and insidious, perhaps best thought of as Saint Etienne turned feral. Highlights on an album full of them are "English Motorway" and "The Art of Driving"--BBR triumphantly reclaiming the American rock & roll prerogative of the road song for their damp, claustrophobic homeland. The Facts of Life is a masterpiece. --Andrew Mueller

The Facts of Life

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DVD : Janet Jackson - Design of a Decade

DVD : Janet Jackson - Design of a Decade

Janet Jackson - Design of a Decade

starring: Janet Jackson, Tyrin Turner, Antonio Sabato Jr., Shawnette Heard, Cyd Charisse
directed by: Wayne Isham, Julien Temple, Piers Ashworth, Rene Elizondo, Peter Smillie

Decade a of Design - Jackson Janet

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DVD : Janet Jackson - Design of a Decade

DVD : Janet Jackson - Design of a Decade

Janet Jackson - Design of a Decade

starring: Janet Jackson, Tyrin Turner, Antonio Sabato Jr., Shawnette Heard, Cyd Charissedirected by: Wayne Isham, Julien Temple, Piers Ashworth, Rene Elizondo, Peter Smillie

Decade a of Design - Jackson Janet

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starring: Janet Jackson, Tyrin Turner, Antonio Sabato Jr., Shawnette Heard, Cyd Charisse
directed by: Wayne Isham, Julien Temple, Piers Ashworth, Rene Elizondo, Peter Smillie