In 1983, in the wake of the release of Wild Things Run Fast, Joni Mitchell did a national tour that resulted in the full-length conceptual/concert video seen here. Derived from live performances but also built visually on inserted archival and symbolic footage, {=Refuge of the Roads} is a compelling hybrid, capturing Mitchell and her band at their best on-stage, intercut on some songs with material intended to highlight some aspect of the meaning behind the song. Whether Mitchell -- who also directed this film and edited it with Norm Levy -- is performing "straight" or trying to convey some meaning to viewers, she is a compelling presence on the screen; unlike most singer/songwriters of her generation, she has a sense of visual style and the dramatic, which colors not only her choice of footage but also the way she carries herself on-stage before the cameras -- on "Woodstock," she's practically slow-dancing with her guitar on top playing it well and aggressively, and it is a compellingly sexy vision of an artist who hasn't usually evoked that kind of response. She has a good sense of rhythm in her editing as well, and irony too, and a clear vision that allows her to range across subjects -- clips of {#Dream of the Wild Horses} (on "Wild Things Run Fast"), the Charles Mingus bio {#Mingus} (on "God Must Be a Boogie Man"), clips from {#Woodstock} and Mitchell performing "Both Sides Now" on television, and the feature films {#Koyaanisqatsi} and Luis Buñuel's {#Viridiana}, as well as home movies shot on the road. The classic footage makes one hope for a Joni Mitchell video encompassing material like that along with more recent performances, but for the moment, {=Refuge of the Roads} provides the broadest look at her work over time. On a technical level, the DVD is just fine, with loud crisp volume and a chapter marker for each song, and 5.1 Surround Sound available for those who can use it. The programming is slightly annoying, as it opens with a somewhat irritating promo clip for Mitchell's {=Shadows and Light} concert DVD that can't be skipped, but there's also an array of behind-the-scenes photos from the film and the tour that can be accessed manually or viewed at a preset speed set to music. The image is mastered full-frame (1.33 to 1). ~ Bruce Eder & William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide