Arena

Artist: Duran Duran
Type: DVD
Release date: 2004
Run time: 58:35
My Rating: 9

Picture Ratio: 4:3
Extras: The Making of Arena, TV Ad, Interview, Trailer, Video Mix, Save a Prayer Live
Audio Options: Stereo (LPCM and PCM)

1. The Return of Duran Duran (4:28)
2. Is There Something I Should Know? (4:38)
3. Hungry Like The Wolf (4:08)
4. Union Of The Snake (4:14)
5. Save A Prayer (5:18)
6. The Wild Boys (7:59)
7. Planet Earth (4:41)
8. Careless Memories (4:10)
9. Girls on Film (6:02)
10. The Reflex (6:50)
11. Rio (5:57)

Comments

Arena is somewhat of an oddity. Rather than do a straight concert video, Duran Duran decided to do a movie of sorts. What we therefore get is concert footage interspersed with a plot involving the villian from the 1968 movie Barbarella (though he bears a closer resemblance to Krankor from Prince of Space) and his trio of short henchmen.

Mainly this makes it hard to enjoy the concert footage because Durand-Durand breaks in with some snarling comment just when you're trying to listen, but it did give us the pretty cool music video for "Wild Boys" (with windmill-dipping action!) which is here a lot longer than the standard video. But the plot-related parts are largely crack, such as the bit where Durand-Durand kidnaps some young women and forces them to roller skate in a circular set ALA Robbie William's "Rock DJ" video. When this doesn't achieve... whatever it is he was aiming for, he hangs them upside-down in kinky lingerie over tanks of putrid green water.

Then again, why not?

Once you get the hang of the balance they seem to be going for, this is quite fun. But still very very strange.