Stars: David Bowie, Billy Crystal, Bon Jovi, Mark Wahlberg, Jay Z, The Goo Goo Dolls, Susan Sarandon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Billy Joel, Destiny's Child, Harrison Ford, Eric Clapton, Adam Sandler

Summary: Recorded on the 20th October 2001, Madison Square Garden, New York, Proceeds from the sale of this DVD will benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund providing aid to New Yorkers victimised by the attack on September 11th 2001.

Performed at New York's Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2001, this historic concert was performed to benefit the victims and heroes of the horrendous terrorist attacks of September 11th. An inspiring and uplifting tribute to a great city and its resilient inhabitants, THE CONCERT FOR NEW YORK CITY contains performances by legendary rockers including Paul McCartney, the Who, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, and Elton John. In between all of this rock 'n' roll action are speeches by celebrities and politicians like John Cusack, Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Harrison Ford, Susan Sarandon, Howard Stern, Robert DeNiro, Bill Clinton, and countless others.

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The Concert for New York Citytook place at New York's Madison Square Gardens six weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. As presented here, with about five hours of musical performances and celebrity cameos, it was a frequently awkward affair: the traditional fatuous jollity of American show business ceremonies is not, perhaps, the ideal medium for articulating the feelings engendered by the kind of tragedy America had just suffered.

It is often evident--and actually quite endearingly so--that the film and television stars who appear here feel somewhat foolish accepting applause while standing alongside the members of New York's Police and Fire departments who take the stage to offer brief tributes to fallen comrades (it would be nice, but naïve, to believe that September 11 caused our celebrity-obsessed culture to redraft its parameters of heroism).

The performances captured here are mostly pretty good, though David Bowie's opening, with an eerie and affecting take on Paul Simon's "America", followed by a rumbustious "Heroes", sets a standard not subsequently matched. The short films by New York directors are also worth seeing, especially Kevin Smith's daringly funny New Jersey perspective (the concert's only other overt attempts at humour misfire woefully--especially the toe-curling George W Bush impersonator).

However, the concert is principally of interest as a document of a moment in history, rather than as a musical artefact. All of what America felt, for better and for worse, in the immediate wake of September 11, is on view here: sorrow, defiance, pride and, as Richard Gere famously discovered when he suggested that perhaps there were more constructive responses than carpet-bombing Third World basket-cases, anger.

On the DVD:The Concert for New York Cityhas a viewing option which screens out everything except the musical performances. Sound is available in Dolby 5.1 Surround and PCM Stereo. --Andrew Mueller

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 0
Year:	2001
Release Date:	April 22, 2002
Runtime:	300 minutes
Certification:	Exempt.
Catalogue Number:	542059
Keywords:	Music, New, City, Rock, Two, York, Concert, Pop, Various, Artists, Performing, Discs, Arts, Popular
Genre:	Music/Performing Arts