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Review: Killers - Documents 1999-2004
Killers
www.killers.fr
Documents 1999-2004

Label: Brennus Music
Year released: 2004
Duration: 120 min.

Rating: 4/5

Review online: September 2, 2007
Reviewed by: Michel Renaud
Readers Rating
for:
Documents 1999-2004

Rated 4/5 (80%) (6 Votes)
Review

"Documents 1999-2004" showcases official Killers live footage for the first time. The title could lead to confusion, since it could lead some to believe the band has been around only since 1999 (the correct answer being 1984.) The DVD is, as far as I can tell, only available in PAL format, so North Americans who want this should ensure their DVD player can read that format. The dialogues are all in French and I couldn't find any subtitles in English, so you may also want to dust off your French-English dictionary.

Alright, let's get to the meat. The DVD kicks off with a 21:29 segment named "Wacken 1999" and, much to my surprise, it is not actual footage of the band playing at Wacken (there's a little bit of that, not much), but is actually home video footage of their road trip, including some goofing around on the Wacken grounds. There are some funny moments and the segment doesn't feel too long.

"Vidéo HM 2002" is simply the videoclip for the 2002 remake of their song "Heavy Metal". Nothing fancy, it's the band playing (I usually prefer that to videoclips where bands and/or directors try to get too artistic and fail miserably.)

"Le Cöté Live!" is the main feature at 46:20 in length. Their 2003 live CD release "Le Cöté Live" is based on this, but with more songs than on the DVD. I was surprised to see how "sober" the show was - a rather small, but decently-sized stage, and next to no lighting effects, and not that much interaction with the crowd (maybe this was cut off to shorten the length on the DVD, I don't know.) The show kicks off with a medley, followed by full-length songs. Pretty cool overall. Of course there's a few of my favourites that I would have liked to hear but that's always a problem with bands with such a lengthy discography.

"Trophées Hard Rock 2002" (23:20) was filmed at a festival organized by the French magazine "Hard Rock" and we can see Killers vocalist/guitarist (and sole original member) Bruno Dolheguy receiving a trophy in recognition of his career in metal (18 years at the time.) The band then goes on to play a few songs, much to the delight of some energetic and enthusiastic fans in attendance. Here there is a lot more interaction with the crowd and also some lighting effects that do add a little something to the performance.

"Wacken 1999 (Bonus)" (14:50) is more home video footage to complement the first one mentioned earlier - same type of stuff. "Graines 2001" (9:46) shows the band members introducing themselves and chatting a little - call it a short interview.

Overall a good DVD. I would have liked the main feature to include all the songs off the live album, but paired with "Trophées Hard Rock 2002" we still get about 65 minutes of live material, which is pretty good. Killers fans outside France might want to get a hold of this, since chances are they're not heading for a world tour any time soon (but crappy bands do... Go figure.) Good stuff.


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