The Bottom Line: If you're a fan of New Order then Item should be on your list to buy. It is well organized and fascinating and definitely an important videography.
Item is the culmination of New Order’s twenty-five years in music. It not only collects all of their music videos (not to mention some in alternate forms) on one convenient DVD titled Collection, it also comes with the 1993 documentary New Order Story on a second disc. This is the first release of its kind for the dance-pop superstar band from Manchester, England. Fans of New Order should be pleased with this tidy boxed set.
As the opening of New Order Story states, it is impossible to speak about the history of New Order without first looking at Joy Division. It was out of the ashes of Joy Division that New Order was born and it was because of the hanging suicide of singer Ian Curtis that it was given a chance to live. The three remaining bandmates Bernard Sumner (guitar, vocals), Peter Hook (bass), Stephen Morris (drums), and keyboardist Gillian Gilbert their dreams of creatively free superstardom came to fruition. The rest is indeed history and those memories are concisely recorded on Item.
In all, there are twenty-nine videos and performances to impress viewers. The videos are arranged in chronological order with the bonuses and alternates tacked on to the end. This is a fabulous way to present the material and will certainly help to give folks a better idea of how they developed. Not everything here is outstanding, but the fact that everything is included makes up for that. From what I gather, there was a considerably less comprehensive VHS called Substance released in 1987—that release has now been rendered unimportant by Item. From a fan-girl music perspective, I couldn’t have wished for a more striking set. That said, there are several original videos that are for some unexplained reason missing--Ceremony, Everything’s Gone Green, and the original and 1994 versions of Blue Monday. This doesn’t particularly matter to me as I’m certainly impressed by what is included.
Before I continue on I really must admit something. I am a fan of New Order, but I am by no means an uber-fan. I own some of their albums, but mostly I’m content to pop in the 1994 greatest hits CD The Very Best of New Order. Item functions in much the same way. It is a DVD greatest hits compilation that works differently but still well for both big and modest fans of New Order. It is the kind of disc you ban pop into the player and enjoy from start to finish—with or without the television turned on. Of course, turning on the TV will reveal a world of video imagery that would otherwise go relatively unexplored.
I will admit that prior to seeing the Collection disc of Item, I’d only seen a handful of New Order videos. The one that has always appealed to me the most is also the band’s obviously strangest--True Faith. From what I gather, it is supposed to take place inside the protagonist’s mind. The three main characters are odd, bouncing creatures who run backwards, jump in sequence, wear strange striped outfits, and even occasionally partake in sign language. I’m unsure whether this was the first New Order video I saw, but what I am positive of is that it made the biggest impact in my young life. It was released in 1987.
New Order had been making videos for years prior to True Faith and had found success with singles including Confusion, The Perfect Kiss, Shellshock, State of the Nation and Bizarre Love Triangle. Video versions of each of these is included. The things that strikes me most about New Order’s vision is that they don’t really seem to care much for the whole “performance video.” Rather their videos have stories with protagonists and plots. The only real step into the realm of performance is with their 1983 video, Confusion. It hasn’t aged well and features grainy camerawork and vintage eighties garb. It’s a great song, but the story doesn’t translate nearly as well as many of the others.
Speaking of translating well, The Perfect Kiss (1985) directed by Jonathan Demme (yes, the fellow who did Silence of the Lambs) works wonderfully. The look is sharp, the sound is clear, and it is the original version—clocking in around 10 minutes rather than the hacked and slashed MTV version. The look is simple, but it only helps to further exemplify why New Order’s music is so uniquely outstanding and internationally appealing. Speaking of appealing, Bizarre Love Triangle is an incredibly kinetic and fascinating song. The attitude is outstanding and when paired with the various, seemingly unrelated clips elicit both sadness and freedom. This is a story driven by New Order’s music.
The band was never, ever afraid to make fun of themselves. They also were never afraid to chide trends. The most obvious example of this is with the HILARIOUS 1987 video Touched by the Hand of God which features the band dressed up in torn jeans, long wigs, and chains. They are spoofing hair metal of the late 1980s. It works nicely and like most of the other videos illuminates the excellence of their songs. Despite the unexpected hilarity of that video, I’m still even more drawn to Blue Monday '88 which is directed by William Wegman (the guy responsible for the famous and moving weimaraner dog photography) and Robert Breer. One of Wegman’s muses appears throughout the video and is juxtaposed with outrageously colorful and childish marker drawings/animation and other strange toys, foods, and imagery. The song remains one of my favorites from New Order and the video is striking in its considerable weirdness.
Round and Round is the next really striking set of images. It collects naturally moving, coy, and beautiful women looking straight into the camera. Each is shot in black and white and from the shoulders and up. Directed by Paula Greif (she also did Notorious from Duran Duran, How Soon is Now? from The Smiths, and Tomorrow People from Ziggy Marley) the simple and gorgeous idea is simply put one of the best if not BEST thought out of the album. The song itself is part of the artistic whole. It’s the kind of thing that is impossible not to love. Toward the end of Collection, there is an alternate US version. I personally am more drawn to the original.
New Order really stepped into the 1990s with their lovely Regret shot by Peter Care (who also worked with R.E.M. a number of times in addition to many others). The song (culled from the album Republic) is also much more modern with a smoother, more highly produced sound. One of the more hilarious moments of this DVD comes in the bonus version of this song—the Baywatch bonus version which features the song alongside backstage shots of the cheesy American TV show. Who knew that David Hasselhoff would make an appearance? I certainly didn’t expect it.
The videos shot in the 1990s all have a sharpness than the 1980s versions are lacking. World (1993) is one of these. The outstanding song is brought to life with a one-shot black and white video that follows an older lady in her beachwear and at odd moments breaks off into other people. It works nicely and is easily one of the most timeless sets of imagery. Spooky and 1963 are also rightly included though they don’t draw me in as completely as some of the other songs brought to life.
Crystal is shown in both its original version (director Johan Rench) and Gina Bersch’s version set to the club mix. In the same vein as Touched by the Hand of God, Rench does a beautiful job of making fun of big-budget and flashy pop/rock videos of the new millennium. The band’s members are portrayed by young, bratty folks who lip-sync to the energetic and outstanding newer song. Also included here the newer videos for songs including Here to Stay, Krafty, Jetstream (that’s the colorful Ana Matronic from the fabulous Scissor Sisters featured throughout), and Waiting for the Siren’s Call.
Collection is an outstanding assembly of New Order videos. It shows the band’s best videos alongside their worst. Even better is the fact that some alternate versions of videos, newer interpretations of songs (Temptation and Ceremony most notably), and finally a live performance of Temptation from 316. In any case, I can’t help but enjoy everything of this DVD and I can only imagine that any level of New Order fan should feel similarly.
Of course there is one more tidbit to know about Item. That is that the second DVD in the set is actually the 1993 documentary New Order Story is also included. Kevin Hewitt directed the film and Jenny Seagrove provided the narration (by the way, she also narrated the Boogeymen horror film compilation in 2001). The real treasure here is that the original release was cut to fit on a VHS. Here, it’s been restored to its original length and includes multiple interviews, much story, and many performances in various settings over the years. This version was only previously available on the now archaic laserdisc-only release.
As viewers we see New Order evolve out of Joy Division. It is a curious experience to come to know the four members through somebody’s (and who is to say who that somebody is) biased eyes. It’s a fine enough documentary I suppose and is certainly a treasure on some level, but it is not a great documentary in any sense of the word. It lacks direction, energy, and overall I’m not particularly impressed by it. That said, there is substantial value in hearing what somebody’s perception of New Order once was.
So far as Item goes, New Order Story is merely a bonus. The real treasure here is that nearly 100% of the videos are available in uncut version. If you love New Order, this release is certainly already on your to-buy list. If you know what’s good for you, you already have it.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
01. Confusion
02. The Perfect Kiss
03. Shellshock
04. State of the Nation
05. Bizarre Love Triangle
06. True Faith
07. Touched by the Hand of God
08. Blue Monday '88
09. Fine Time
10. Round & Round
11. Run
12. World in Motion
13. Regret
14. Ruined in a Day
15. World
16. Spooky
17. 1963
18. Crystal
19. 60 Miles an Hour
20. Here to Stay
21. Krafty
22. Jetstream
23. Waiting for the Sirens’ Call
24. Round & Round [alternate]
25. Regret [alternate]
26. Crystal [alternate]
27. Ceremony
28. Temptation
29. Temptation from 316 (live)
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.