Jimi Hendrix Video:

		List Price: $14.98		Label: Mca Salesrank: 22379 Released: September 16, 2003
		Our Price: $7.97
		Used Price: $3.15
		MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
Studio: Uni Dist Corp (music) Release Date: 10/03/2006

Description of Jimi Plays Berkeley:
There is no denying it: Jimi Plays Berkeley ain't The Last Waltz. Visually, Peter Pilafian's direction and camerawork look like a student film compared to Scorsese's rock masterpiece. Instead of thanking fans and formally saying farewell to the road, Hendrix's manager Michael Jeffery created an exploitation film to simply squeeze as much cash he could out of the overworked guitarist. Despite the cheesy documentary footage, clips of silly protesters, butchered songs ("Hear My Train A Comin'" is literally chopped in half!), and the continuously shaky head shots, Jimi Plays Berkeley is great. Why? Because of Hendrix's flawless performance with Mitch Mitchell on drums and Billy Cox on bass. The band never sounded better live, and Eddie Kramer's 5.1 surround remix on the DVD really lifts the sound to a new level. In addition, the DVD includes the entire audio recording of Jimi Plays Berkeley: 2nd Set, arguably Hendrix's best live performance ever recorded. It's just perfect. --Rob Bracco

Jimi Plays Berkeley Reviews:
Great for deep and casual fans
2009-05-23 - Yeah, I wish there were more songs and the camera was more stationary. But let's remember that is exactly what we get today - though alot smoother and from more varied angles.
JH delivers the best "Johnny B. Goode" next to CB's original single. That's saying something. His intensity and technique is so amazing he could sway a Doo-Wop lover. Small problem (throughout) is that his voice sounds a little worn, as he struggles to stay on top on most of the songs.
"Voodoo Child", in my book, is semsational, and a clip absolutely destined for that imagined R & R time-capsule. His genius is obvious - a great composition, perfectly executed. Here he is the Rock equivalent to Miles Davis, but on this track showing more virtuosity.
Can't agree about the closeups - maybe there's an overuse of them, but I come back to....intensity....written all over him.
Another point missed by the very well-educated reviewers above is that the slightly erratic camera does manage to capture the ecstatic visages of the girls in the front row. Sexist? Probably. But, baby that is rock and roll.
[Footage of "demonstrations" captures that time and reminds us who followed current events at the time that a concert had many layers of meaning. The out of control aspect of the counter-culture is brought home by clips of hippies protesting the admission fee for the movie "Woodstock" - they say they were also stars, so why should they pay? Didn't see any ticket stubs, though............].

Great Concert....OK filmed
2009-01-06 - Jimi in May 1970, what can be better?
Jimi was peaking in 1970, a new recordking studio he owned was about complete, tons of new material for his next album which was about finished (never to be released in his lifetime).

The Berekely concerts were great, but the film lacks a ton! The camera men "shaked" the cameras for some cheap visual effects, the songs are often incomplete (they said they did this to save film), then there is inserted some Hippy Protest about the Woodstock movie, totaly unrealated, put in just to fill some time.
The total running time is 50 mins.

But hey, it is Jimi and the sound has been remastered to 5.1



Annoying to watch / Great to listen
2008-11-23 - What was going on back around this time with the cameramen / directors? Most of the concert footage can be characterized by the low angle shot of the front musician as the zoom crawls into the adenoids and nasal passages in the most graphic - and horrible - detail. I just saw this approach in an otherwise excellent FESTIVAL EXPRESS with Janis. Her song consisted of nothing but a close up of her from the shoulders up: a dermatologist's bonanza! Who was in her excellent Full Tilt Boogie Band? We'll never know. This film is no exception. Out of the entire 56 minutes, the cutaways to Billy and Mitch can be calibrated in mere seconds. Crowd shots are less than fleeting. If you enjoy see Jimi play his guitar, you'll still be frustrated because there's very little here of even that. Instead we're left with these marathon close ups of his impassioned face ... just one piece of the puzzle.

Get ready for the worst camera man EVER.!
2008-11-10 - The music is great, but whoever filmed this was obviously high on crack or something. Shaky camera, zooming in way to close on Jimi's face.
I found myself getting very frustrated when Jimi was playing one of his cool riffs an the friggin camera man was zoomed in on amplifiers and other equipment, or was 3 inches from Jimi's face.
If the cameraman would of just zoomed out a little and just left it the heck alone, it would of been a great DVD. Instead it's just a frustrating DVD to watch.

FANTASTIC !
2008-10-30 - This DVD really shows Jimi as a player & showman ! He pulls out all the stops - playing behind his back, with his teeth, on the floor, etc. The mix is great & Billy Cox really holds down the bottom & Mitch Mitchell shows what a great drummer he is ! Jams on tunes that later showed up on other discs as finished works (Hey, Baby, Freedom, etc.) Camera spends most of the time focused on Jimi.
Great concert ! I was lucky enough to see Jimi in concert 6 times & I wish I could have seen this show in its small venue. Lucky enough to hear this version of the band in Honolulu a few months later.
Having the tunes on the DVD without the movie is great too.
I still would suggest buying the separate CD - demonstrates the continuity of the show without the visuals.
Buy this DVD !