mexluver05 The only reason I bought this film was to see Mr. Banderas in the singing role he was meant to play. I'm sick of hearing that he overly sang or his costume was not good enough. The only reason no one liked him is because he's a Latino, fair and square. He has the voice, looks and talent yet was denied the starring role in the film to an actor with no vocal talent whats so ever. Luckily anyone who can appreciate the great talent of this man can see how great of a singer he is. And another note it was great to see Glenn Close as Norma Desmond, The original Sunset Blvd is my favorite film and she comes off very well as the deranged character.

sexy_superstud If you are a die-hard Andrew Lloyd Webber fan like myself, this is an absolute must-have for the permanent collection. I loved every minute of it. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th Birthday Celebration was the night to remember.Sarah Brightman sang beautifully, as she soared into the stratosphere in the "Phantom of the Opera" duet with Antonio Banderas. Donny Osmond offered clean phrasing and vocalism in his selection from "Joseph and the Technicolored Amazing Dreamcoat." Glenn Close brought Hollywood style and charisma to her selections from "Sunset Boulevard." Julian Lloyd Webber brought technical mastery and pitch-perfect intonation to the "Varations for Cello and Orchestra" piece.And then, almost towards the very end, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber himself came out and personally introduced Dame Kiri Te Kanawa to the audience. Dame Kiri, a few moments later, sang the world premiere of his new song, "The Heart is Slow to Learn," intended for the sequel to his magnum opus, "The Phantom of the Opera." Well, it was in a word, stunning. Te Kanawa sang passionately, and with the sincerity a famous classical performer would bring to Wagner or Puccini. Absolutely breathtaking.And then, the entire cast came out to sing "Happy Birthday" to Sir Andrew, with Kiri Te Kanawa and Sarah Brightman soaring above the entire orchestra and chorus. There was no dry eye in the audience.An absolutely wonderful performance!

robinflamingo Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th birthday party was certainly something to behold...oh what a circus, oh what a show! Don't you get me wrong, it was absolutely stunning - from Donnie Osmond and his affectionate treatment of the children's chorus, to Antonio Banderas, and his star turns both as Che, and as the Phantom. Sarah Brightman, as always, just blows one away with her sheer beauty and presence, not to mention a dynamite set of pipes. I also was totally mesmerized by the staging, done on a giant ribbon of what looked like staff lines from sheet music, all in black and white. The cast, which was composed of singers and dancers ranging from 8 on up, was also adorned in black and white, making the whole staging visually stunning. The Hosanna set, from both Superstar and Requiem was moving and beautiful. Marcus Lovett struts his way through Superstar with tight black jeans, long flowing hair and muscle shirt.For me, the high point of the concert is when Michael Ball steps on stage to sing Love Changes Everything, which has become a standard in just a few short years. The entire cast joins him onstage for this one, which serves as sort of a grand finale, even though there's another song after it.I will always love anything that comes from Sir Andrew, and this DVD is no exception. It is beautifully sung and staged, and is a must have for any fan.

dc-43 When I watch a DVD I really like to watch it from start to end without skipping anything.With this presentation I felt like 1 hour was great, a half hour was ok, and another half hour was poor. I'm sure if I owned this DVD I'd always wish to skip by the poorer stuff.I really liked Donny Osmond, Elaine Page, Michael Ball and the various "Cats" songs and the song by Boy Zone.I was greatly irritated that they let Antonio Banderas sing the Phantom. He just does not have the voice for Phantom of the Opera. His Evita song was OK though.There were also a couple of songs by people that I did not recognize that had very bad unmusical voices.Sarah Brightman's voice is good but her facial expressions looked a bit odd.DVD lovers will find the Dolby 5.1 track on the DVD sounds very flat. It feels more like Dolby 2.0 or even Dolby mono at times.So overall I'd give it 7/10. Since the best parts can be found on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and on Cats (both of which I own already) I don't feel compelled to buy this DVD. It is worth watching. However, I'd only recommend buying it if you don't have any of the other Andrew Lloyd Weber DVDs.