Customer Reviews

The Complete And Full Story - By: Martin A Hogan, 16 Dec 2002
This documentary is an amazing step back into an innocent period of musicin 1970's America. Told through various interviews & snippets of some of their greatest songs, one truly gets a feeling for who Karen & Richard Carpenter really were. The hair & the clothing styles are shockingly laughable (but what were you wearing then?) & 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 & not on the Carpenters themselves. Actually Karen was a true hip fun spirit who's first love was the drums with singing coming later - & 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 & 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 & thinner & 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 & the documentary leaves you wondering what incredible things would have been had she survived it all.

Richard Carpenter is shown to be a worthy & 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 & music; you'll enjoy it. Extras include several Japanese pop-commericals & a great segment on the Carpenters visiting the Nixon White House & performing there. That alone is worth the price!

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Outstanding DVD tells the whole Carpenters story. - By: , 05 Nov 2001
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 & many others.It features many TV performances & 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 & Karen's anorexia & eventual death.It does tell the whole story.
The DVD has some interesting stats on their records & music as well as some bonus songs.Well worth buying.

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F A N T A S T I C! A must for all fans! - By: j.evans@har.mrc.ac.uk, 17 Dec 2000
THE best of the Carpenters Videos to date. Goes through everything, & without being morbid even has rare funeral footage - had mein tears for ages. THE gift for all C's fans.