Customer Rating: 
Summary: Simply Pop: A Pet Shop Boys Tale
Comment: A Life in Pop details the life of our reluctant 80s Brit-pop duo, the Pet Shop Boys. From their now-infamous chance meeting at a local record store in the early 1980s, the Boys in their infancy managed to survive the stigma of being labeled a "one-hit wonder" with the likes of their breakout radio hit single "West End Girls", churning out a chain of hits including their now-groundbreaking "It's a Sin" and "Rent". Starting in their respective home towns in the north of England, singer Neil Tennant and enigmatic sidekick Chris Lowe retrace their remarkable 20-year journey in their own words. The film features some previously unseen live performances, rare television appearances (including their first ever from Belgium in 1984), and interviews with famous fans, collaborators and colleagues including Robbie Williams, Brandon Flowers, Tim Rice-Oxley, Jake Shears and Bruce Weber. Featuring 140 minutes of documentary as well as 8 bonus music videos, the disc includes their first ever TV performance and "What Have I Done to Deserve This" Brit Awards performance with the legendary Dusty Springfield. Overall, A Life in Pop is a fascinating in-depth documentary film chronicling the Pet Shop Boys' enduring and endearing success.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive and carefully considered
Comment: This rich documentary, Pet Shop Boys: Life in Pop (2006), begins with Chris Lowe playing a Wurlitzer organ at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. From this auspicious and somewhat whimsical beginning, we hear about the duo that would eventually become the Pet Shop Boys. Alternating between Chris Lowe's suburban English childhood in Blackpool to Neil Tennant's early adventures in Newcastle, Tennant dreamt of rushing off to London all the while reading and gallivanting with friends at the local Literary and Philosophical Society. Running 140 minutes, this documentary, directed by George Scott, never meanders into pointless discussion.
Scott arranges carefully, the lengthy and ongoing career of these two highly talented pop musicians who would make history with their seminal hit, West End Girls. We are treated to anecdotes concerning their academic aspirations which influenced both of them, their careful and specific focus on their image, and the history behind their wide-ranging songs. Most of all, we get a sense of their enormous creative talent which distinguished them from other musicians because they never ceased "re-inventing" themselves in new ways. As a result, some of their work would be dismissed by critics only to be heralded in hindsight.
In addition to Tennant and Lowe, various interviews include: Brandon Flowers (The Killers), Los Angeles disc-jockey, Richard Blade, Robbie Williams (Take That), and other musicians and critics. There is footage of PSB working closely with Liza Minnelli and some thoughtful reflections from photographer, Bruce Weber, who would eventually direct two of PSB's videos, (e.g. Being Boring). The DVD includes a generous heaping of extras including a complete music clip of "What Have I Done to Deserve This" in concert with the unflappable Dusty Springfield performing with Tennant and Lowe. Life in Pop, given its nearly comprehensive treatment of its subject matter, may be of greater viewing advantage to seasoned Pet Shop Boys fans.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Completey informative and interesting
Comment: Watched it three times in the course of the first week I owned it. What can I say? We follow Neil and Chris through their childhoods, into the period when they met each other, and follow them through each album.
Inciteful and fun, we see the concepts behind each PSB release, including projects they did for other artists like Liza MInnelli and Dusty Springfield.
The film takes us right through their musical "Closer to heaven", the performance of "Battleship Potemkin", and their latest album "Fundamental"... right up to today basically!
Includes commentary by Liza Minnelli, Brandon Flowers of the Killers, Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters, Bruce Weber, and of course, a lengthy interview with both Boys.
Fabulous for any Petheads collection.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and sincere documentary
Comment: Usually I have no patience for documenaries but I enjoyed watching this one, maybe because the content is so relevant - the band, after all, is still making fantastic music. As if to prove that, the DVD bonus features include recent videos along some old rare TV perfomances. One can think the Pet Shop Boys have issued enough DVDs and interviews, but this is actually their first complete biographic documentary which traces their career from school days to Potemkin's premiere.
The narration goes through candid interviews or rather edited monologues of Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant filmed together and separately (watch Lowe walking on the gloomy beach in his hometown, Tennant's silhouette as London is fading away in the twilight behind the window). It's quite intriguing to see them talk about the essence of their distinctive image, music and career nuances. The timeline is supported, throughout the film, by extracts of their videos and various TV footage. Plus, as usually, you have a little variety of guests: Brandon Flowers of The Killers, Robbie Williams, Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters, Trevor Horn and others.
The only inconsistency I find is that after the Behaviour era the documentary speeds up its pace and Bilingual, Nighlife (especially) and Release periods are covered quite superficially.
In a way the DVD audiovisually duplicates 'Pet Shop Boys Catalogue', a massive book by Chris Heath.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Trully Fantastic!!
Comment: Yes, I AM a Huge Pethead, well fan that is not [FAT]. These guys rise to the top - Every Single Time - EST. The fact that I absolutely find their music, lyrics
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