Romantic Warriors II - Special Features DVD

A great film about a style of music that very few are even aware of, but for anyone curious about the most adventurous music of the 70's , this is a great introduction to that scene and it is very well made. Rock in Opposition was initially just an umbrella term for a very disparate set of bands from across Europe who played music which was off the map in their own countries but had little in common with the other bands other than the fact they were all 'outsiders' and could benefit from making contacts in other countries. In this way they were able to put on concerts together and as time went by, the musicians played on each others records and a style of sorts known as 'RIO' came about and still exists to this day, often from musicians who were not around in the 70's. The opposition part comes from their opposition to the musical norms of their countries at the time and to the commercial music world. None of these bands stood much of a chance of making a living out of this music, but none of them took their music in a more commercial direction to survive. In a way these are the purists of the progressive/underground/art rock era who didn't compromise in their musical vision. Its interesting that the UKs Henry Cow were fiercely political in the left wing sense, while Sweden's Samla Mannas Manna sang in a made up language in silly high pitched voices in opposition to the prevailing fashion for left wing folky protest singers in their country. This film shows brief snippets of all these bands and talks to the surviving musicians. It also moves on to the younger bands such as Guapo and Aranis playing in a similar style (think rock and classical instruments combined, difficult time signatures, long compositions with improvised sections and a bit of mad singing and you're somewhere in the right area). For me it spends a bit too much time on Magma (who I never did like) and skips over the more eccentric musics of Debile Menthol, Albert Marcoeur and Nimal, but considering just how much ground they had to cover in one film, everyone who likes this style would pick different bands they felt were left out. Conveniently for the timing of this film, a group going under the name of 'Once Upon a Time in Belgium' was rehearsing for a major concert, This work features the combined efforts of two 70's bands Univers Zero (heavy dark chamber rock with bass, drums and bassoon, violin etc) with Present (a more electric form of the same with guitars) and Aranis ( a modern more acoustic chamber group). Thus we get to see musicians from a wide age range actively working on some new pieces for a huge chamber-rock ensemble, and it brings the film to a satisfying conclusion. There's just enough musical footage here to get an idea of the sort of bands they were and sadly for most of them these snippets are all that survive as they are not the sort of bands who would have appeared on TV. The film is professionally made by enthusiasts and is of a quality that could transfer straight to TV if anyone took them up on it. Amazing that this ever got made, but do support them by buying it as this is worth watching and is an important documentary capturing as it does, a little known movement that would otherwise go unnoticed except by the few died hard fans who have followed it for decades.

Content good as are the other 2 I have but this is a Blue DVD-R. The others I have are digipac but this is not.Does not say this is DVD-r in the Item details. Rip off.

I don't know the technical limitations of what can be made to fit on a DVD - I believe it's quite a lot. To pay top dollar for a 90-minute documentary and then be expected to pay the same (or more) for a second disc of supplementary material seems more than a little greedy. Furthermore the disc is a blue-back which in my experience means it is not very durable. The content of the documentary is the redeeming feature, although some of the commentators are talking over Skype which compromises the quality quite a bit. Some of the footage also seems to be from compressed files from the web. There is a cheapness and a meanness there that makes it difficult for me to recommend this; but if you're as desperate as I was for more info on, and footage of, Thinking Plague, Univers Zero et. al., there's really nowhere else to go.

okay

Great music from the REAL underground....a nice companion to RW II

Unique documentary about trailblazing "avant garde punk rock jazz folk noise free improvisation vaudeville musical comedy" etc etc, collective Rock In Opposition. Founded in the late seventies and still vital after all these years. The music of these bands has not aged. It's still able to command attention, excitement and admiration, and just sounds new with every listen. The name of the bands are familiar to the initiated, but just in case: Etron Fou Leloublan, Henry Cow, Univers Zero, Von Zamla, Stormy six, Art Zoyd. Not to mention their "musical offspring" like Skeleton Crew, Massacre, Present, The Muffins etc etc. Many lump this music within the progressive rock barrel, but that term is a misnomer as far as I'm concerned. RIO and kin are esthetically operating in a different realm from (admirable and great) bands like King Crimson, Yes or Gentle Giant. Unfortunately the "great masses" have yet to discover their existence. The documentary shows interesting concert footage interspersed with talking heads expounding the history and virtues of the RIO collective.

I was a Henry Cow fan and had some familiarity with Present and Universe Zero but this documentary really sold me on the RIO genre and sent me on a buying spree. Really enjoying Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Hamster Theatre now. The DVD features excellent concert footage, nicely recorded, and illuminating interviews. Steve Feigenbaum of Cuneiform makes an appearance. Very cool.

This was a very interesting DVD of groups creating outside the bOx of arrangements. Recommended.for those who loved groups like; Henry Cow Art, Bears, and others of this genre.