Search - Enigma - MCMXC a. D. - The Complete Album DVD on DVD

"The principles of lust are easy to understand..."

Scott Promish | 12/11/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD release is a video version of the double-platinum classical/dance hybrid album that brought Gregorian chant to the mainstream. The video consists of montages of medieval scenes, quasi-religious and mystical imagery, and vocalist Sandra Cretu. The visuals are pleasant but the music is so evocative on its own that the additional visual element almost seems trite.



The music is presented in surround (your choice of PCM, DTS or Dolby 5.1) which sounds fantastic. Since that's one advantage the DVD has over the traditional album release, I recommend playing the DVD with eyes closed for the best experience. Actually, that's probably the best way to listen to any of their music.



In the extras there are four music videos which are almost superfluous. They are the single versions but except for some minor editing (most noticeably the addition of a haunted house organ intro to "Back to the Rivers of Belief") they are identical to what you get in the main feature.



There is a fifteen-minute interview with Michael Cretu regarding the Enigma project and its third album in particular. It includes the video for "Morphing Thru Time."



Though this isn't a terrible release, I can't really recommend it for its primary feature. The sound is better than a CD, but I can't see myself sitting through and watching the whole thing again. It might be good for ambiance at a chillout party, but beyond that it's difficult to justify its existence. Unless you think the better sound is worth a few extra dollars and the trade-off of limited playability, just get the CD album. Five stars for that."