Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14171 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-06-20
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: German, English, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 160 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Although Sir Paul McCartney had never actually set foot on Russian soil before, his history-making open air show in Moscow's Red Square in May 2003 in front of 100,000 people seemed like a triumphal homecoming. And in a manner of speaking it was. Dismissed as "cacophonous rubbish" in the 1960s by then Soviet leader and aspiring rock critic Nikita Krushchev and generally viewed as subversive alien propaganda by other mean-spirited senior Communist killjoys, The Beatles were an underground religion in the old USSR with dissidents aplenty - many of them reminiscing in fascinating detail on this DVD - tuning in to Beatlemania courtesy of Russian blackmarketeers who covertly duplicated copies of the bands' albums on discarded hospital X-Ray plates. Here then, finally, was a Beatles legend and songwriter in skin and bone, playing Beatles classics aplenty - a rapturously received "Back In The USSR", "Hey Jude" an enchanting mass singalong, "Two Of Us" and "She's Leaving Home" given a long overdue airing - in the shadow of St Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's mausoleum and The Kremlin. Kruschev - presumably more of a Stones man - would have been appalled. Not so Putin and Gorbachev who pop-up to press McCartney's flesh, teach Macca some lingo and express their admiration. In addition to the Red Square gig, there's generous footage of Paul's attendant private visit to St Petersburg plus more live action from the following year when Macca did his stuff during another stop-over in Peter The Great's "Window On The West". McCartney murdered Marxism? There's enough evidence here to give Mr Thumbs Aloft a pretty good shout. --Kevin Maidment

DVD Description
- YESTERDAY - WE CAN WORK IT OUT - FOOL ON THE HILL - I’VE JUST SEEN A FACE - TWO OF US - HEY JUDE - MAYBE I’M AMAZED - SHE’S LEAVING HOME - CAN’T BUY ME LOVE - BIRTHDAY - LIVE & LET DIE - BAND ON THE RUN - GETTING BETTER - HEY JUDE - GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE - SGT. PEPPERS LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND - I SAW HER STANDING THERE - FLAMING PIE - DRIVE MY CAR - PENNY LANE - JET - LET IT BE - GET BACK - BACK IN THE USSR - I’VE GOT A FEELING - HELTER SKETLER

Special Features
• Bonus concert from Paul’s Second Trip to Russia – St. Petersburg • Never Before Seen Behind-the scenes footage • Learning Centre – an Interactive Guide • Song Selection…and more!

Customer Reviews

Great performances - shame about some parts of production
The DVD is well worth buying, particularly for the Red Square concert.
Like the USA one, it concentrates almost as much on the audience as it does on the band,
and so makes a statement about that particular performance.

However, although the St Petersburg concert looks just as good musically, the producers
of this section of the DVD have ruined it by switching camera shots far too frequently.
Generally, each shot lasts no more than ONE SECOND, and there are some sections
where there are 2 or 3 shots per second. It makes it completely unwatchable for me.
Worth buying it for the Red Square alone though.

Back in the USSR
I loved this DVD. It put me in a great mood to hear (and sing along to) so many of Paul's classic songs. Paul's voice is amazing and he is backed by such a talented band who recreate perfectly the soundtack to the 1960s. Having seen Paul and his band live in London, I can say that this DVD is the next best thing to being in attendance. The documentary footage is fascinating and at times moving. Moscow and St. Peterburg are shown to be beautiful cities that know how to rock!

Doesn't get much better... better all the time
Being a musician myself, I often wondered why the song "I've got a feeling" was left out of the spotlight- To me, that song is a Beatles ROCK masterpiece and Paul and his band play it just like it dreamed it could be done! - The DVD is worth buying for this song alone (well.. at least for me it was!) If you have the "Back in the US" DVD, I have to say that there are only a few songs that are added on but The band is awesome, Paul is as always..."THE LEGEND" - and the music ... well It doesn't get much better.