THE EPIX SPECIAL: Post-broadcast questions!

[Guest Lum]

Now that most have watched it. Answer the questions!

And now, comparing your answer to this poll, did the song you most looked forward to = your favorite? Did you hate the one you were most looking forward to?

[Nonoka]

I was most looking forward to Gang Bang and it turned out amazing - just as I expected. However, I didn't expect Like A Virgin and Love Spent to work so well! I'm mesmerized by it and I love the approach of including still shots, I think it makes the performance even more intimidate!

Hung Up is very close to my favorite as well, they captured the vibe of the Transgression segment the best with this performance IMO.

[Pera]

Overall it was good but not great. I hated that slide show during LAV and LS, really weird choice... and some of the footage looked fan made (I guess it was suppose to)... It was much better than S&S but not as good as CT

[Mensch]

I feel that she missed the mark on the editing. Too many slo-mo shots when there's movement going on. Too many close-ups when the screens are engaging, too many pan outs when there's intricate choreography going on...it's almost like she DIDN'T edit it (considering her passion for synchronizing movement to the beat)...the stills during Love Spent bothered me first time around but I'm fine with it now. Idk, I was disappointed (but didn't show it) at the screening but I think I've come to terms with the edit. I know, for myself, how magical the show was and what I saw when it was happening and I feel like she didn't articulate on any of those things visually. It's her vision and not the one I thought was so obvious to me.

Everything still looks wonderful, the substance in the show still holds up past any edit, but I just wish she would've fixed that GGW camera jump, focused on the fun baton twirl during the second verse of EY, focused on each dancer's entrance at the beginning of Vogue, did a more cohesive edit of Nobody Knows Me and really given that OOOMPHH of the 3D Celebration screens (which blew me away live), which weren't even focused on in the final edit...

Notice that I didn't mention the continuity issue, which, to me, doesn't really matter at all. Too many fan shots, maybe but it wasn't a big deal. The interludes were edited better than some of the performances which made me enjoy them even more (BF/H and JML) and I thoroughly enjoyed the Transgression section visually, the audio of the Basque section, and the overall grandness of the show! She looked incredibly joyful throughout the show! I love the MDNA era and I'm sad it's come to a close!

[TheHunter]

My favorite song from the DVD is I'm a Sinner. There's a simplicity and serenity to it that I enjoy.

[Paparazzo]

My favorite song from the DVD is I'm a Sinner. There's a simplicity and serenity to it that I enjoy.

Me too, they really did a great job with it.

[joe]

Hung Up was my favorite! The audio was amazing, better than the original at the show and the angles and shot lengths were amazing, just right.

[ROCKERITO_MX]

OVerall it was good! Im glad no mouse vocals like the previews.. Only thing i wouldve liked is for the backdrop screens to show a bit more of what was going on during GGW especially during the MG bit towards the end. The DvD captures the overall excitement of actually being there. Good Job!

[kingvirtue]

I haven't seen the video, but I listened to a bit of the audio. There is a LOT of the audience noise. I know it's supposed to be a concert, but I prefer a little less audience (so I can listen to it in the car, hehe)!

[madonna_fan1988]

God...that last minute for Gang Bang...how great is that?!

And I'm Addicted? Perfect!

This DVD even made me like one song: I'm A Sinner! And THAT i was not counting on! xD

Most of the choreography is shown in a perfect way! Sometimes many great things are missing on the DVD but here that didn't happen so i'm glad!

[LCD]

God...that last minute for Gang Bang...how great is that?!

And I'm Addicted? Perfect!

This DVD even made me like one song: I'm A Sinner! And THAT i was not counting on! xD

Most of the choreography is shown in a perfect way! Sometimes many great things are missing on the DVD but here that didn't happen so i'm glad!

Same thing for me, re: I'm a Sinner! Liked it way more this time around. The ending of Gang Bang was fucking awesome. She looks so good in that Transgression segment. Hawt bitch. Candy Shop and Human Nature into LAV / LS was incredible, still my favorite stretch of the show. LAP always slaying the crowd, obvi. And then the energy of Celebration. The lady surely puts on a show like no other.

[Real_Madonna]

It was mostly perfect, the only thing i didn't like was the Girl gone wild break down. They turned down the Give it 2 me sample which for me made it!

[Guest Rachelle of London]

I never "hated" a thing!

[FreeMySoul]

everything this is epic!

i will have nothing on my tv but this concert from now on

i don't re-watch Madonna concerts and videos often but this is truly the most amazing show she has ever done

[Real_Madonna]

Can I ask why she is running to her car at the end? It's like someone is running after her with a knife or something! Is she just trying to beat the crowd/traffic?

[Carta]

Audience noise bothers me even at a concert (I know I'm amongst the minority here, but I can't stand it when there are people around me screaming the lyrics so loudly that I can't even hear the artist's own voice....! I'm there to hear Madonna, not screaming fans! ).

[Guest Rachelle of London]

Can I ask why she is running to her car at the end? It's like someone is running after her with a knife or something! Is she just trying to beat the crowd/traffic?

the artist needs to get out before the audiece leave the venue, get out before the madness

[Mat.Guy]

I cant decide which one is more perfect.

Good is not on my book. Thats right, I said everything is PERFECT!

[Carta]

I just did a search for reviews and this is the first one that comes up - it's absolutely pathetic....!!

http://www.examiner.com/review/madonna-mdna-tour-impresses-but-she-is-no-lady-gaga

[Jazzy Jan]

I just did a search for reviews and this is the first one that comes up - it's absolutely pathetic....!!

http://www.examiner....is-no-lady-gaga

That review has to be a parady doesn't it ? Surely, this Angela idiot is not serious. If she is, all I can say is she must be stupid, blind, deaf and simple.

[whyme?]

Why didn't they show more of the backdrop video in girl gone wild? The church scene should have been shown more along with those Illuminati symbols (whatever they were) after she says 'forgive me'

The editing focused too much on showing Madonna and not enough on the great work moment factory did...

[moe]

Over all it was good. Thought her vocals were ruff/horse in parts which surprised me since they took an eternity to edit it! Some of the editing was too much. But over pretty good.

[madonna_fan1988]

I just did a search for reviews and this is the first one that comes up - it's absolutely pathetic....!!

http://www.examiner....is-no-lady-gaga

wtf did i just read?! o_O

[Jumpb4uthink]

Examiner

Arts & Entertainment

Review by Subrina O'Connor

June 22,2013

Rating:

4 Stars

This week, Epix is airing Madonna The MDNA Tour all weekend and on their website. The controversial concert was filmed using most footage in Miami and sparkled with footage from some other locations. If you can make it past the first section of the show, you are in for a real treat.

The first part is very dark. Even though Madonna planned this before the shootings in Colorado and Sandy Hook, it feels a little disturbing. Madonna said this part of the show symbolizes overcoming demons and darkness. The choreography and visual effects are still impressive.

After about twenty minutes, we get to the fun part with Madonna singing "Express Yourself" and singing bits of "Born This Way" in between to show how the songs are almost exactly alike. The results are absolutely hilarious. Then, she goes into full cheerleader mode with "Give Me All Your Luvin'" and does some impressive dance moves.

Those who say Madonna can't sing need to hear "Masterpiece" and "Open Your Heart," in which Madonna sings beautifully. It makes you wish Madonna would do an all acoustic concert. Her voice is definitely up for it.

Madonna brings back classics such as "Vogue" and "Human Nature" with an updated feeling. In "Vogue," her cone bra costume is updated and the fans love it. In "Human Nature" she puts mirrors in front of the audience to symbolize why people should look at themselves before criticizing others.

In one section, Madonna takes off almost all her clothes and sings a slow impressive version "Like a Virgin" followed by a new song called "Love Spent." Once again, her vocals are very impressive -- far more impressive than most people give her credit for.

The best part of the show is when Madonna sings "Like a Prayer" with the entire audience on their feet. The performance is awe inspiring and summarizes why Madonna is still the hottest pop star in the music world after 30 years. To celebrate her success, she ends the show with "Celebration" and "Give it to Me," recent hit songs from later in her career.

It's no wonder why Madonna said she cried due to exhaustion on the MDNA Tour. Besides being extremely impressed, we were exhausted after watching it. How does Madonna do it?

[Nonoka]

Nice that they gave it 4 stars, but sorry, the whole article sounds like an elementary student wrote it. "The first part is very dark. The visuals are impressive." - I mean, seriously, what level of language is this?

[peter]

Why didn't they show more of the backdrop video in girl gone wild? The church scene should have been shown more along with those Illuminati symbols (whatever they were) after she says 'forgive me'

The editing focused too much on showing Madonna and not enough on the great work moment factory did...

Well, one can hope they might include some extras on the DVD which might feature the behind-the-scenes from Moment Factory (which show more of the process of making the backdrops, and thus showcase them a little more than the action on stage), as well as the MDNA Workshop segment... And while I'm fantasizing, perhaps I can delude myself enough to believe that we might FINALLY get the interlude backdrop videos this time...?! JML and NKM would be lovely to see on the DVD/Blu-ray (even though they are readily available on YouTube).

Actually ... my impression this time around is that the screens from the two major M interludes (JML and NKM) were integrated well. You can see the interaction of the dancers with the video images well. (Unlike some in the past which have shown just the screen or just the dancers... for example, the DWT DVD didn't show the dancers during the anime WIFL4AG video interlude, though they were filmed and included on the HBO special. Paradise got more video time, but then the dancers were very cool -- with their ceiling entrance -- so I'm glad they included the dancers there -- was just disappointed we missed the FULL video since it was such a beauty and very artistic.) But still ... it would be nice to get the videos for once. It was disappointing that when she finally made the jump to Blu-ray, we didn't get any additional content.

[Nikki]

you think it's too late to just request it on masse? (to put main video backdrops on the dvd / blu ray?) I mean they have it so.. why not..

[Nonoka]

I don't actually have any issues with the way they edited the video, but with the sound! That's the only thing that bothers me.

So many songs have a great sound quality and are well-mixed - Revolver, I'm Addicted, Hung Up (so many new details!), the entire third segment and Celebration/Give It 2 Me comes to my mind. Open Your Heart and Masterpiece have her vocals well mixed as well. But then there are songs which sound totally poor in comparison - GGW sounds so tiny! It's better than in the EPIX preview clip for sure, but still, the center channel only features her voice and the music is drowned out by her voice. As opposed to Hung Up, much less details are heard. Then there's, for example, Express Yourself which is relatively tiny mixed as well with the audience noise too much in the foreground. The same goes to the Best Friend Interlude, it's too quiet in comparison to the other songs too.

In my opinion, the sound quality of the concert is clearly varying and that's annoying me. Maybe it's just the broadcast/web stream, but especially GGW - the song I was looking forward hearing the most, as I loved how good the tour version sounded in comparison to the lifeless album version - is sounding quite disappointing.

[jonski43]

Wow. I've just finished it having only seen the show once and a few bits of video. It has to be said, that is one spectacular show. I mean, there's no one else around who produces shows like this! Even Michael Jackson never did a show like this!

The video itself is very good but yes, I agree the sound on some of the tracks is very 'thin' inc GGW but also I'm Addicted. Sometimes, it didn't seem live but more of staged pop video. I loved the B&W section especially Human Nature. In a way, that seemed the most live part of the show. I do wish it felt more live and each performance seemed to have a different film style but I've watched it in segments so it may seem different in one go.

I still think Express Yourself / GMAYL are out of place in the show. It's this massive light, bright section in the middle of the darker part of the show. I think it would have worked better towards the end. But the fact that I sat and watched the whole thing through which is rare for me means that it must be a 10/10 overall. Whereas Confessions flagged in the middle, S&S didn't really gel, this seemed to work all the way through.

[tomwiggz]

"Open Your Heart" was surprisingly my favorite, I thought it would be "Gang Bang" because that was amazing when I saw it live (still is). I can't remember if she even did OYH at my show, but she probably did lol. It was just very warm and uplifting in a different way than the original track is. My favorite interlude is still my favorite from when I originally saw the show and that's "Best Friend/Heartbeat". There's almost some kind of supernatural/robotic/zombie vibe to it that I love.

All in all it was good, the visual effects in the intro were way over-done and beyond annoying but luckily they toned down once she began with "Girl Gone Wild". Sometimes I felt like the music was down too low or something and her vocals were unnaturally loud, but maybe that's just me. I also found the lighting/filter effects rather harsh at some points too. She looks like a cartoon character for most of "Vogue". We'll see if the DVD is any different! Confessions is still my favorite though

Edited June 25, 2013 by tomwiggz