Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Sights and Sounds: Freddie Mercury tribute coming to DVD & Blu-ray; The Beatles 'Help' comes to iTunes

Here are some exciting announcements for a Tuesday!

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert coming to DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Video on September 3, 2013

Release features Queen, David Bowie, Roger Daltrey, Def Leppard, Elton John, George Michael, Robert Plant and more

On September 3 2013, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert on a triple DVD set, as an SD Blu-ray – with upscaled standard definition original material with uncompressed stereo and DTS-HD surround sound for the best possible quality - and digital formats. This release boasts newly remastered sound across both sections of the concert and represents the first time the opening acts' performances have been made available on DVD or Blu-Ray.


On April 20th 1992, Roger Taylor, Brian May and John Deacon, the surviving members of Queen, took to the stage at Wembley Stadium for the start of one of the biggest events in rock history, which the band had organized to pay tribute to their former colleague – the incomparable Freddie Mercury. Queen were joined by some of the greatest musical talent in the world to celebrate Freddie’s life and work and to increase public awareness of AIDS, the disease that had prematurely ended his life the previous year.

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert features many Queen classics in unique performances including: “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Hammer To Fall”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, “Radio Ga Ga”, “I Want To Break Free”, “Under Pressure”, “Somebody To Love”, “We Will Rock You”, “We Are The Champions” and many more. Special guests include David Bowie, Gary Cherone, Roger Daltrey, Def Leppard, Joe Elliott, Extreme, Bob Geldof, Guns ‘n’ Roses, James Hetfield, Ian Hunter, Tony Iommi, Elton John, Annie Lennox, Metallica, George Michael, Liza Minnelli, Robert Plant, Mick Ronson, Axl Rose, Seal, Slash, Lisa Stansfield, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Young & Zucchero.

As well as being great entertainment, the concert raised a huge and still growing sum of money for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, a charity formed at the time by Roger Taylor, Brian May and Queen’s longtime manager Jim Beach whose charter is the relief of suffering from AIDS throughout the world. Profits from this release will be donated by the Mercury Phoenix Trust to AIDS charities around the globe.

OPENING ACTS*


1) Intro 2) Brian May / Roger Taylor / John Deacon Introduction 3) Metallica – Enter Sandman 4) Metallica – Sad But True 5) Metallica – Nothing Else Matters 6) Freddie Montage (Insert) 7) Extreme – Queen Medley including: Mustapha / Bohemian Rhapsody / Keep Yourself Alive / I Want To Break Free / Fat Bottomed Girls / Bicycle Race / Another One Bites The Dust / Stone Cold Crazy / Radio Ga Ga

8) Freddie Montage (Insert) 9) Def Leppard & Brian May – Now I’m Here 10) Queen – I’m Going Slightly Mad video (Insert) 11) Bob Geldof – Too Late God 12) Guns ‘n’ Roses – Paradise City 13) Guns ‘n’ Roses – Knocking On Heavens Door 14) Elizabeth Taylor Speech

MAIN QUEEN + SET

1) Joe Elliott, Slash & Queen – Tie Your Mother Down 2) Roger Daltrey, Tony Iommi & Queen – I Want It All 3) Zucchero & Queen – Las Palabras De Amor 4) Gary Cherone, Tony Iommi & Queen – Hammer To Fall 5) James Hetfield, Tony Iommi & Queen – Stone Cold Crazy 6) Robert Plant & Queen – Crazy Little Thing Called Love 7) Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You 8) Paul Young & Queen – Radio Ga Ga 9) Seal & Queen – Who Wants To Live Forever 10) Lisa Stansfield & Queen – I Want To Break Free 11) David Bowie, Annie Lennox & Queen – Under Pressure 12) Ian Hunter, David Bowie, Mick Ronson & Queen – All The Young Dudes 13) David Bowie, Mick Ronson & Queen – Heroes 14) George Michael & Queen –’39 15) George Michael, Lisa Stansfield & Queen – These Are The Days Of Our Lives 16) George Michael, London Gospel Choir & Queen – Somebody To Love 17) Elton John, Axl Rose & Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody 18) Elton John, Tony Iommi & Queen – The Show Must Go On 19) Axl Rose & Queen – We Will Rock You 20) Liza Minnelli & Ensemble – We Are The Champions

BONUS MATERIAL


1) Rehearsal performances of Queen +:

David Bowie and Annie Lennox ‘Under Pressure’

George Michael and Lisa Stansfield ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives

George Michael ‘Somebody To Love’


2) 10th Anniversary Documentary

3) Photo Galleries


4) Mercury Phoenix Trust Facts




* Each section features on one DVD disc, all sections feature on the single Blu-ray discs

For more information on the Mercury Phoenix Trust, go to www.mercuryphoenixtrust.com


Follow Eagle Rock Entertainment at:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/EagleRockEnt

Twitter: www.twitter.com/EagleRockNews


YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/eaglerocktv

 

Photo credit © Subafilms Ltd / Bruce A Karsh

THE BEATLES' HELP! IS ON iTUNES!



THE BEATLES’ RESTORED 1965 FEATURE FILM RELEASED DIGITALLY WORLDWIDE, EXCLUSIVELY ON THE ITUNES STORE


“Absurd, delightful and exuberantly messy, Help! is a pure pleasure to watch.” – The New York Times


London – June 25, 2013 – The Beatles’ second feature film, 1965’s Help!, makes its worldwide digital release debut today, exclusively on the iTunes Store (www.iTunes.com/TheBeatles). The digitally restored film and 5.1 soundtrack features iTunes Extras including a 30-minute documentary about the making of the film, memories of the cast and crew, an in-depth look at the restoration process, an outtake scene, original theatrical trailers and radio spots, and detailed art, including a companion piece with an introduction by the film’s director, Richard Lester, and an appreciation by Martin Scorsese.


Help!’s debut on the iTunes Store and Blu-ray follows the 2012 release of The Beatles’ digitally restored Yellow Submarine and Magical Mystery Tour feature films on iTunes, Blu-ray and DVD with extensive extras. Help!’s restoration for its 2007 DVD debut wowed viewers, earning five-times platinum sales in the U.S. and praise from a broad range of top media outlets around the world, including USA Today heralding the DVD as “a grand re-release,” The Guardian’s appreciation of the film’s director, Richard Lester, saying “Lester matches The Beatles’ ‘star’ power with smart, colourful visuals and casual surrealism,” The Los Angeles Times’ restoration rave: “With dynamic compression that was standard in the 1960s lifted for the digital age, the full range of the group’s musicality comes through – it’s like several coats of dust have been cleaned off an old master’s painting,” and four-star reviews from Rolling Stone and MOJO with the latter saying, “They really don't make them like this anymore.”


Directed by Richard Lester, who also directed the band’s debut feature film, 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night, Help! follows The Beatles as they become passive recipients of an outside plot that revolves around Ringo's possession of a sacrificial ring, which he cannot remove from his finger. As a result, he and his bandmates John, Paul and George are chased from London to the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas by religious cult members, a mad scientist and the London police.


In addition to starring The Beatles, Help! boasts a witty script, a great cast of British character actors, and classic Beatles songs “Help!,” “You're Going To Lose That Girl,” “You've Got To Hide Your Love Away,” “Ticket To Ride,” “I Need You,” “The Night Before,” and “Another Girl.”

Help!’s iTunes digital download pairs the digitally restored original film with these iTunes Extras:

• “The Beatles in Help!” – a 30-minute documentary about the making of the film with Richard Lester, the cast and crew, including exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of The Beatles on-set.

• “A Missing Scene” – a film outtake, featuring Wendy Richard


• “The Restoration of Help!” – an in-depth look at the restoration process

• “Memories of Help!” – the cast and crew reminisce



• 1965 Theatrical Trailers – two original U.S. trailers and one original Spanish trailer



• 1965 U.S. Radio Spots (hidden in menus)



www.thebeatles.com

Photo credit © Subafilms Ltd / Bruce A Karsh

CAST

The Beatles:



John………..………………………………………………………...John Lennon

Paul………………………………………………………………Paul McCartney

George……….…………………………………………………George Harrison

Ringo……….…………………………………………………………...Ringo Starr

Clang………………………………………………………………….Leo McKern

Ahme…………………………………………………………………Eleanor Bron

Foot…………….........................................................................Victor Spinetti

Algernon…………........................................................................Roy Kinnear

Superintendent........................................................................Patrick Cargill

Bhuta………………......................................................................John Bluthal

Jeweller……………………………………………………………...Peter Copley

Doorman…………………………………………………………………Alfie Bass

Abdul…………………………………………………………..…Warren Mitchell

Lawnmower………………………………………………………...Bruce Lacey



Cross channel swimmer……………………………………………...Mal Evans

Women in street……………………Dandy Nichols and Gretchen Franklin



PRODUCTION

Director ……………………………………………………………Richard Lester

Producer ………………………………………………………...Walter Shenson

Screenplay…………………………………..Marc Behm and Charles Wood

Story by………………………………………………………………..Marc Behm

Director of Photography…………………………………………David Watkin

Production Manager……………………………………………….John Pellatt

Art Director………………………………………………………Raymond Simm

Colour Consultant and Titles………………………………...Robert Freeman

Costume Designer…………………………………………………….Julie Harris

Musical Director………………………………………………………Ken Thorne

Songs composed by…John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and George Harrison

Songs performed by………………………………………………...The Beatles

Songs produced by……………………………………………..George Martin



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