Fans of Chappelle will want to add this to their collections no matter what, but it's not as consistently funny or manic as his popular Killin' Them Softly show, in which his rants seem flights of fancy, not forced marches.
Stan Lathan directed this production, and it's worth mentioning because the photography and editing is quite good. Sometimes backlighting on stages can create a halo effect, but that doesn't happen here. Other times, the audience is darkened so that it creates a high-contrast cavernous effect, but again, that doesn't happen here. Sometimes the cuts are intrusive, where you feel as if you're watching a tennis match back and forth between the performer and audience. But the cuts here aren't quick and Lathan allows for lingering shots of the audience, so that we don't get motion sickness following his cameras. Likewise, close-ups of Chappelle are used judiciously, so that they're not as "in your face" as they could have been. The result is that we get more of a feel for what it would have been like to be in the audience that night at the Fillmore.
Be warned that the most controversial and in-bad-taste bits are those in which Chappelle goes for humor at the expense of the victims involved in the Kobe Bryant and Michael Jackson sexual assault trials, and talks about sex with a fifteen year old.
Video: The production values are quite good on this High Definition transfer, with the picture a 1.78:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen. Despite the difficult lighting conditions, the picture is sharp and the colors brilliant, with no foxing or haloing effects.
Audio: The audio too is excellent, a surprising Dolby Digital 5.1 with subtitles in English and French.
Extras: There's but one extra: a six-clip compilation of shots featuring Chappelle testing material from this show in a more intimate venue, holding a cigarette in his hand and doubling over with laughter himself from time to time. This is rough stuff—the quality is nowhere near as sharp and clear as the main feature—but it's interesting to witness a step in the comedic process that's all but impossible for the average person to experience otherwise.
Scene selections are grouped according to his bits: San Francisco, Held Hostage, Sex with a Monkey, Indians, Division in Our Foods, The Purple Stuff, Weed Conversation, Asians, Police, Celebrity, Greenbacks, Speaking Out, Locking Our Stars Up, Michael, Wrinkle-Free, Fifteen, Kidnapping and the Press, Smoking Indoors, Too Much Progress, and Kids.
Bottom Line: Fans of Chappelle will want to add this to their collections no matter what, but it's not as consistently funny or manic as his popular "Killin' Them Softly" show, in which his rants seem flights of fancy, not forced marches.
Be warned that the most controversial and in-bad-taste bits are those in which Chappelle goes for humor at the expense of the victims involved in the Kobe Bryant and Michael Jackson sexual assault trials, and talks about sex with a fifteen year old.
Video: The production values are quite good on this High Definition transfer, with the picture a 1.78:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen. Despite the difficult lighting conditions, the picture is sharp and the colors brilliant, with no foxing or haloing effects.
Audio: The audio too is excellent, a surprising Dolby Digital 5.1 with subtitles in English and French.
Extras: There's but one extra: a six-clip compilation of shots featuring Chappelle testing material from this show in a more intimate venue, holding a cigarette in his hand and doubling over with laughter himself from time to time. This is rough stuff—the quality is nowhere near as sharp and clear as the main feature—but it's interesting to witness a step in the comedic process that's all but impossible for the average person to experience otherwise.
Scene selections are grouped according to his bits: San Francisco, Held Hostage, Sex with a Monkey, Indians, Division in Our Foods, The Purple Stuff, Weed Conversation, Asians, Police, Celebrity, Greenbacks, Speaking Out, Locking Our Stars Up, Michael, Wrinkle-Free, Fifteen, Kidnapping and the Press, Smoking Indoors, Too Much Progress, and Kids.
Bottom Line: Fans of Chappelle will want to add this to their collections no matter what, but it's not as consistently funny or manic as his popular "Killin' Them Softly" show, in which his rants seem flights of fancy, not forced marches.
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[release]16790[/release]