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Dream Theater: Live At Budokan (2004)
Front Cover Actor
Dream Theater
James Labrie Himself
John Myung Himself
John Petrucci Himself
Mike Portnoy Himself
Jordan Rudess Himself
Movie Details
Genre Music
Director Mike Portnoy; Luis Lopez
Producer Ethan Mesmer
Studio Rhino
Language English
Audience Rating NR (Not Rated)
Running Time 180 mins
Country USA
Color Color
Plot
A treasure-trove for Dream Theater fans, Live at Budokan presents an entire three-hour performance at Tokyo's famed Budokan arena on April 26, 2004, along with a bonus disc rich in supplementary material. Disc 1 finds the metallic progressive-rock quintet at its awe-inspiring best, plowing through its catalog of dramatic epics and jack-hammer instrumentals, including five of the seven songs from 2003's Train of Thought. Disc 2 features an extended drum solo from percussionist extraordinaire Mike Portnoy; gear tours from guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess (fascinating for lay people and downright revelatory for musicians); and a half-hour documentary on DT's 2004 stint in Japan punctuated by tantalizing snippets of band rehearsals. The shooting and editing for the concert are a music lover's dream, with lengthy shots that linger on the performances of individual band members. Disc 2 takes this even further with a multi-angle sequence of the 12-minute "Instrumedley."

Production values are extremely high: it's a widescreen presentation shot on high-def video and nicely mixed for multichannel Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound (with a thinner, collapsed version of the same for Dolby 2.0). It must be noted, however, that the center, subwoofer, and surround channels get jumbled right at 1:35:30 on disc 1. The front left/right channels remain in place, but the signals for the other four speakers play non-musical chairs. People listening in 2.0 will experience a brief dropout at that point. --Michael Mikesell

Personal Details
Seen It No
Collection Status In Collection
Purchase Price $24.98
Links Amazon US
Dream Theater: Live At Budokan at Movie Collector Connect
Amazon US
Edition Details
Format DVD
Region Region 1
Screen Ratio Fullscreen (4:3)
Layers Single Side, Single Layer
Barcode 603497036622
Release Date 10/5/2004
Subtitles English; French; German; Spanish; Italian
Packaging Keep Case
Audio Tracks Dolby Digital Stereo [English]
Nr of Disks/Tapes 2
Extra Features
Riding The Train Of Thought Japanese Tour Documentary John Petrucci Guitar World Jordan Rudess Keyboard World Mike Portnoy Drum Solo The Dream Theater Chronicles 2004 Tour Opening Video "Instrumedley" Multiangle Bonus