Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12463 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-04-25
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 95 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
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 Carpenters is 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

Special Features
4:3 Full Frame
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital English
Dolby Digital
Interactive Menu
Bonus Footage
Chapter Search

Synopsis
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.

Customer Reviews

Outstanding DVD tells the whole Carpenters story.
This is a great DVD for those curious about the Carpenters history as well as their music.
It has interviews with Richard Carpenter,Herb Alpert,Burt Bacharach,Les Paul,Petula Clark and many others.It features many TV performances and even a live at the Whitehouse concert as a bonus.
It tells the whole story,from their early struggles to being signed by Herb Alpert's A & M records after being rejected by all the others.It tells of their chart success,the recording sessions,Karen's solo album,the tours and Karen's anorexia and eventual death.It does tell the whole story.
The DVD has some interesting stats on their records and music as well as some bonus songs.Well worth buying.

The Complete And Full Story
This documentary is an amazing step back into an innocent period of music in 1970's America. Told through various interviews and snippets of some of their greatest songs, one truly gets a feeling for who Karen and Richard Carpenter really were. The hair and the clothing styles are shockingly laughable (but what were you wearing then?) and the wholesomeness is just too much. However, the film is quick to point out that these visuals were a product of bad marketing on A&M's account and not on the Carpenters themselves. Actually Karen was a true hip fun spirit who's first love was the drums with singing coming later - and what a voice it was!
Starting with Richard's early 60's bands, the film goes on to explain how Karen got into the picture and turned the group into the biggest selling American group of the period. Over 100 million records were sold!

Sure, there are those progressive scenes where Karen gets thinner and thinner and it can be tough to watch, but the whole idea is to understand that Karen Carpenter was the first celebrity to put a face on anorexia. It was a terrible lesson and the documentary leaves you wondering what incredible things would have been had she survived it all.

Richard Carpenter is shown to be a worthy and talented arranger, but his pomposity can be grating, leaving the viewer wishing for more of Karen, but alas, there are no vocal interviews with her here.

A moving film filled with great anecdotes, history and music; you'll enjoy it. Extras include several Japanese pop-commericals and a great segment on the Carpenters visiting the Nixon White House and performing there. That alone is worth the price!

F A N T A S T I C! A must for all fans!
THE best of the Carpenters Videos to date. Goes through everything, and without being morbid even has rare funeral footage - had me in tears for ages. THE gift for all C's fans.