Search - Chico Baurque: E As Cidedes on DVD

Totally misleading description

John Downie | London, UK | 01/01/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD is totally misdescribed.

1) It is stated to be in English. It is not. It is in Portuguese, and there isn't even an option for subtitles.

2) It is stated to be a DVD of some concerts in Brazil and elsewhere. It is not. It is a film about Chico Buarque. (Note that the title of the DVD is "Chico e as cidades", not "As Cidades Ao Vivo".) The film consists mainly of Chico Buarque and others talking in Portuguese. It includes some musical performances, but they are often treated as film music, being faded in and out according to the requirements of the film, not of the music. While some of the performances are in concert, others are (e.g.) of Chico and Maria Bethania singing out on a terrace somewhere, or Chico and his friends from the Mangueira samba school performing informally in a café. In all there are 18 musical items, which include only 4 of the numbers on the As Cidades CD.



In addition there is something wrong with the sound. Sometimes it is ok, but at other times the very same passages are severely distorted. Since this does not happen with any other DVDs of mine, I conclude this must be a fault either of the pressing or of the original digitisation.

I have given this DVD one star in its described capacity as a concert DVD. As a film about Chico Buarque it may be worth more than one star, but my Portuguese is too limited for me to judge that. Anybody buying this DVD on the basis of the present Amazon description would certainly be entitled to a full refund.

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