Stars: The Carpenters

Summary: This special collection celebrates the Carpenters' 30th anniversary. The DVD features videos, live performances, studio and television recordings, and rare archival footage, including an excerpt of their first television performance. The release also contains a special encore section after the credits, where Burt Bacharach, Herb Alpert, and others share their memories of the duo. Tracks include: Close to You, We've Only Just Begun, Yesterday Once More, Goodbye to Love, Only Yesterday, Rainy Days and Mondays, For All We Know, Ticket to Ride, Dancing in the Street, and many more.

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When Karen Carpenter died on February 4, 1983 at the age of 32, more than one generation mourned. Karen and her brother, Richard, had achieved monumental success as purveyors of soft-rock soulfulness, aided by their wholesome, wistful looks. After all, these were the hard-rocking, disco-throbbing 1970s, yet with classics like "Close to You", "Rainy Days and Mondays" and "We've Only Just Begun", the pair blurred the lines of musical class. But no one knew--or at least talked about--Karen's debilitating bouts of bulimia and ongoing battle against the ravaging effects of anorexia. Close to You: Remembering the Carpentersis more a gracious memento than a documentary and presents a rather biased view, heavily influenced by Richard's opinion and commentary. Beginning with the duo's early major success, winning a Battle of the Bands at the Hollywood Bowl, it's a quick trip through the salad years including the first record deal with Herb Alpert's A&M Records. Alpert calls his initial listen to the Carpenters' demo tape "love at first hear". That appears to be true for everyone who came into contact with them, as band members, songwriters Burt Bacharach and Paul Williams, and singer Petula Clark readily testify. The hits and the TV specials are reviewed, too, but something feels missing from this glimpse, which barely scratches the surface. It's obvious to anyone watching the film that Karen, who really wanted to be known as a drummer who sang, not the other way around, was in immense pain and terribly conflicted. Yet by the final credits, we know little more about her than we did before. She remains an enigma and this peek at her life--and Richard's--feels too protective of her memory to tell the whole truth. --Paula Nechak, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	4:3 Full Frame
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Encore, Carpenters At The White House, TV Commercials, Radio Jungle, Photo Gallery
Year:	1999
Release Date:	April 25, 2005
Runtime:	95 minutes
Certification:	Exempt.
Catalogue Number:	2 N D V D 3002
Keywords:	Music, You, Close, Rock, Carpenters, Pop, Remembering, Anniversary, Performing, 30th, Arts, Popular
Genre:	Music/Performing Arts