Diamonds and Pearls Video Collection

[Post all your comments on the dvd here. Any other threads will be and directed here - luv4u]

Prince & The NPG - Diamonds & Pearls video collection VHS (1993)

© Warner Bros

Featuring the Videos:

Gett Off
Cream
Diamonds and Pearls
Call The Law
Willing and Able
Insatiable
Strollin'
Money Don't Matter 2 Night

Plus Live Concert Footage of:

Thunder
Dr. Feelgood
Jughead
Live 4 Love

Ah, damn, I forgot this was coming out too.
Now my ass is going back to walmart!

Haven't watched this yet, but I picked it up at lunchtime. My guess is I'll watch it once, and then it will sit on my shelf for years gathering dust.

thepope2the9s said:

TAKE YOUR ASS TO BEST BUY - THEY ARE CHEAPER!

mine's in the mail from amazon.com...i wish they woulda tacked the gett off video single on to this, but i guess that would have been asking too much. but really, doesn't 'clockin' the jizz' deserve to be saved for posterity?!?

this came out today?

shit, I guess I'd best get shopping....

Anx said:

mmmmm, clockin' tha jizz Actually I think that unitard bikini with rollerskates by the pool is even more reason to save for posterior posterity.

What stores are u guys finding this at? I've already been 2 a Best Buy and a Tower Records and neither one has it...

paisley2002 said:

I did 'em in the reverse order after work today. Same result, though.
[Edited 8/22/06 17:18pm]

Nothing on there makes me want this DVD.

I'm watching my new copy now...and I forgot how lavish, or large, a production the Gett Off and Cream (before the song) videos were. Nice to have this on DVD...I can't wait 4...a REAL SOTT, Three Chains of Gold...Hmmmmm...LiveSEXY...and maybe the Beautiful Experience?

Live 4 Love
KFUNK

Hobbitch said:

three words:

WILLING. AND. ABLE.

Was Money Doesn't Matter 2night written 2day?

Live 4 Love
KFUNK

FanSynceEyeWuz9 said:

Watch "WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price", then take your ass ANYWHERE else!

The long version of Cream was cute... Loved the 'do.

JUGHEAD LIVE?!? OMG, how could any REAL fan not have this?!?

LOL

Anx said:

I've seen that a thousand times.

This was out years ago.VHS They just put it to dvd. Where are the real fans??? lol

I watched it earlier and really enjoyed!

First time I'd seen all the videos together on the collection like that
and the quality was excellent.

Also, I gotta say I LOVE the music to Call the Law. Okay, the rapping sucks, but that is some NICE guitar playing!

My2Cents said:

all around here

Just, some of us were like 6 years old when it was released then

lol i got this somewherez. i remember tony m all "i step,step to the mic" lol

I Am Gonna Get Mine For My B-Day!Sept 7th!Peace O+>

Hobbitch said:

but not a million times.

Anx said:

ps, what happened?

When UltiPrince was supposed to come out the first time it was advertised everywhere. Last nite we checked out a Supertarget and Best Buy and neither store had D&P or UltiPrince. LAME.

Anx said:

I love that video. My only beef with it is the way the camera cuts in and out too much. I want full-body shots of him doing that cute-ass dancing.

I'm glad I bought the DVD. It was kinda lame in that the live footage isn't great and they left out "Violet the Organgrinder" (WTF??), but there was some stuff I hadn't seen, like the "Insatiable" video. Very nice.

Can anyone list some tech specs on here...is it 5.1 audio? What's the picture quality like?

Peace,

Matthew

Anx said:

YES!

I had this on VHS when it first came out. This version of willing and able is by far the best. The video is simple but still really cool. Something about the musical arrangment...! I played it so many freakin times.

All I could ever find on the internet was the introduction to Superbowl (? Redskins vs. Bills) where they played The Willing & Able video. Chopped up with football highlights. Can't wait to see it in it's entirety again!

mattmcbr said:

Yeah the video qulaity isn't very good, and no 5.1, just basic sound, like the dvd though since never seen any of it xcept 4 D&P, worth buying if u never seen the vids, just got ultimate prince with it 2

I've never been a huge fan of Prince's visual side - in general I find the images that he uses to go along with his music limits what I think of as going on (kind of like people who don't like movies of books), and in general I find his videos and movies to be incredible mysoginistic. In general, the only times I prefer the visuals to just the song are when he's playing guitar - I always love seeing him play!

That said, here are my instant thoughts after watching this for the first time ever (my responses are to the film itself, not the DVD repackaging):

General:

Was this shown on TV at some point? I couldn't quite tell what the point of the whole thing was...
What was with his penchant for '30s-'40s style (and even '50s in Strollin') at the time?
They couldn't find any professional-looking concert material? The stuff that is included looks like Prince's own recording for him to review - certainly no better than the often-complained-about Aladdin show.
Was there supposed to be some kind of storyline? I couldn't tell (seriously - at points it seemed like there was, but at others, it was just skits and videos thrown together randomly).
Was the intention with Tommy Barbarella to make him out as an in-the-closet homosexual desperately trying to prove to the world that he's straight? I've always thought he was dressed and made-up as feminine as possible, and yet he always had women hanging all over him (even during his interview where he's talking about singing at church and in a gospel band). I swear Prince had a thing for Tommy and tried to cover it up.
Claiming Thunder and Dr. Feelgood were included was misleading - they're the briefest of clips.
Why use Gett Off remix clips over and over again in such random places, with seemingly no connection to whatever was happening in the 'story' at the time?
Who decided that Rosie should be dressed as a big busty Prince-lookalike during the whole thing?

Specifics:

Thunder - what a missed opportunity to include the full-length live version (again, referring to the original film, not the DVD re-release).
Gett Off - Prince's ultimate mysoginist video. I can't help wondering what was going on in Rosie's mind during the whole thing...
Cream - Love the understated guitar during the whole thing, but again, completely mysoginistic (can you tell I like using that word at the moment?).
There was a piece of music I didn't recognize right as Prince was running away from the photographers before D+P - it sounded like a Gett Off / Cream remix that never made it. Anyone know the piece I mean?
Diamonds And Pearls - mostly a very nice video, although I have to say I was worried when he and Rosie went into the kids' classroom... The verse they sang there stood out to me in a way it never has before, though - like a precursor to 7.
I can't believe I've been a fan for 13 years and no-one has ever warned me about the atrocious video for Call The Law! What a piece of crap! I have to admit I secretly love the song (that guitar playing is phenomenal), but the video was like the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air's opening sequence. What the hell were Tony, Damon and Kirk wearing? And why the hell was Tony wearing a shirt that said Pittsburgh while singing about "Northside Minny"? And what about those NPG hats? Oh, man... One huge disaster...
Willing And Able - OK, this makes up for everything else. This performance (minus Tony's surely-lipsynched rap) is the best thing on this video bar none. This is why you should all buy this (just don't say I didn't warn you about Call The Law).
Now I forget the order of the rest, but let's say Jughead was next. What, they have the audacity to put Jughead on at all, and yet they don't even use the live audio of it? It's totally just lipsynched over the studio version? This isn't how it was on the tour, was it? I've heard boots - I don't remember it being the studio version...
Insatiable - love the first part of the video. Very professional, stylish and sexy. But then it gets into Prince's fantasy world again. Oh dear...
Strollin' - nice idea for a video, but why on earth is it an edit, missing most of the song?
Money Don't Matter 2 Night - the Spike Lee version is better, but this is still good (apart from the cheap-looking neon font used for the lyrics). Presumably Tony had a sad, meaningful look on his face in the background because he knew he was about to get fired by Prince. Strangely for such a melancholy song, the only shot of Kirky J showed him grinning from ear-to-ear. Is that because he knew he had Prince wrapped around his finger for the next 8 years?
Live 4 Love - I thought this was the same version that NPGMC released back in 2002, but I remember that one saying "Sydney", and in this one Prince clearly says "London", so I was wrong. For a song that preaches living for love, I wonder how many fans here on the org loved that image of Tony M with a gun to his temple?

Anyway, all just some random thoughts. I'd love to read others' reactions to my reactions.
[Edited 8/23/06 18:03pm]

I Stopped At Best Buy(seattle) Dvd Was 13.99.Cd Was 16.99 On Sale Now! O+>