Audio and Video - DVD Menus
The audio on the Lichtspielhaus DVD is normal PCM stereo sound (no Dolby 5.1). The video image quality is good -- about as sharp as most good DVDs these days, and better than the band's earlier Live aus Berlin DVD. (Also see my review of the Live aus Berlin DVD.) Some of the music videos are crisper than others, but the overall sharpness is good.I found the DVD menu visually appealing but frustrating to use, especially on a computer. The lever gimmick gets a bit old after you try navigate to the extra features or songs by title.
Marching Ants, Riefenstahl, and Snow White
This Rammstein DVD offers over three hours of the band! Unlike Live aus Berlin, the Lichtspielhaus DVD is primarily a collection of the band's music videos -- which are very imaginative and tend to have high production values. Even if it is difficult to make any connection between the visuals and the music, Rammstein's videos usually offer as good a show as their live concerts, if in a very different way. "Sonne" offers an S&M version of the Snow White fairy tale, while "Ich will" shows us a bank robbery and crooks who crave attention. One of my favorites is the "Links 2-3-4" video with marching ants in what seems to be Metropolis meets Triumph of the Will. The Greek-themed video for the English-language "Stripped" has the most obvious connection between sight and sound, but the band drew criticism for its use of Leni Riefenstahl's groundbreaking footage of the 1936 Berlin "Nazi" Olympics.Unlike the Live aus Berlin DVD, this one offers subtitles (in English, French, German, Spanish, or Japanese) only for the "making-of" interviews and not for the songs.
Song Titles and Extras
Music video titles (12): Du riechst so gut (1995 and 1998), Seemann (1996), Du hast (1997), Rammstein (1997), Stripped (1998, in English), Engel (1997), Sonne (2001), Links 2-3-4 (2001), Ich will (2001), Mutter (2002), Feuer frei (2002).Live concert excerpts (6): Berlin 1996, Düsseldorf 1997, Rock am Ring 1998, Live aus Berlin 1998, Sydney 2001, Velodrom Berlin 2001
Extras: Filming-of interviews for several of the videos; commercials. The longest clip, "Achtung! Wir kommen," offers clips from MTV, Viva, and other television publicity from various countries and shows how Rammstein has become popular around the globe. The other commercial videos are short spots promoting the band's CD albums.
Bottom Line
The Lichtspielhaus DVD shows Rammstein in all its variety, in elaborate music videos and in live performances. It is a must-have for any true Rammstein fan.
Rammstein: Lichtspielhaus
Rating: Not rated
Audio: PCM stereo only
Video: Widescreen and 4:3 format
Length: 210 minutes
Content: Music videos (12) and live concert excerpts (6)
DVD Extras:
Song selection by title
Making-of segments
Commercials
Note: Some Rammstein CDs, singles, and music videos are available from iTunes.
