The sound quality on this release is absolutely breathtaking. I cannot believe how much resolution has been tweaked out of these 26-year-old multi-track master tapes. This is by far the best audio quality I have ever heard of a music concert of this age. The sound quality can stand next to any sound quality of today. Yes, it is that stunning!!!

Honestly, I did not expect the audio quality to be as good as the audio quality from the 2004 DVD release of 'Queen On Fire - Live From The Bowl'. But this beats it, and the audio quality on that release is breathtaking as well. I had no idea that so much punch, bass, and kick could be lifted from a concert of this time.

The DTS 5.1 mix is unbelievable! It feels like I'm taken back in time and am right there in concert watching the show. The instruments are so crisp and clean! The music is not flat and lifeless. It is full, wide, and alive! These guys rock!

The picture is beautifully restored as well. In fact, it is hard for me to imagine that this concert was recorded in 1981. It simply does not show it's age, and now I understand why Queen Productions have taken technology further yet with Blu-Ray and HD DVD issues of this release as well. The picture is magnificent! No grain, lines, or darkness whatsoever! The picture glows and shines! Is it really this old? You won't believe it!

Since I do not own the original 'We Will Rock You' DVD release from a few years back I cannot do comparisons. All I know is that this is the best-sounding and best-looking Queen DVD concert in my collection. Overall, it is simply one of the best DVD releases in my collection.

The addition of the 'Live Aid' material on the second DVD is a nice treat for those fans who do not already own the material on the previously released 2004

DVD box. Even if one already owns this live set an interview with rehearsal footage is exclusive to this release. Furthermore, a 1982 news feature from US TV series PM Magazine is a bonus.

Queen has never sounded and looked better! These guys were incredible! Highly recommended!

What can I say?

The picture quality is better than any other concert I have seen on blu-ray.

Shooting on 35mm film was definately the right choice. There is something about film and the way it captures the lights. The colors are all highly saturated and the detail is amazing. You can see the dust and finger prints on the monitors, the uneven texture on the surface of Brian's guitar and all the little details in Roger's drum kit. I have never seen a more beautiful concert video; and to think this was shot 25 years ago.

The sound is excellent too. But I found myself switching back and fourth between surround and stereo a number of times. The surround soundtrack provided a very open and spacious sound; but it was a little too reverberant. I found the stereo soundtrack to be more clear and direct.

Musically the band is in great form. Freddie's vocal performance is top-notch. He is in full voice and clear as a bell.

The reason's I only gave this DVD 4 stars are minor. Even though Queen were at their peak in popularity when they filmed this performance, in my opinion this was not their artistic peak. If only they could have filmed a performance 5 or so years earlier during their Night at the Opera and Day at the Races period. Also, even though the band sounded great, it seemed like their performance was somewhat lackluster. Compared to some of their other concert videos, this outing was not quite up to par.

I've listened to the Rock Montreal concert and noticed how they cleaned up a few mistakes from the WWRY DTS version like the sour guitar note in Somebody to love during the "work till' I ache my bones" part etc. Also, the video seems to match the sound this time around(two nights were shot and often one video was substituted for the others sound and vice versa). I also noticed the overall mix on Rock Montreal has less midrange than the prior WWRY and sounds slightly more clean and less angry/raw which is a good and bad thing. It definitely sounds cleaned up though.

However certain things didn't sound as good, like the "thunderstorm intro". I always used to stick the prior WWRY disc in to show off my sound system to friends, and the new version lacks the intensity of the sound of the prior release. It sounds so much more intense on the WWRY DTS version because that mix cleverly makes much more use of the rear surrounds which create this *big* atmosphere/ambiance for the bands grand entrance. Instead, they chose to mix the crowd noise in the rear surrounds. Try to A/B both disc if you have them and you will see what I mean. I guess this was done to be more realistic from a concert seat standpoint(band- front speakers, crowd- rear speakers). I should mention that the sequences done with delay(or echo) do make use of the surrounds.

I believe the drums are mixed a little bit louder on the newer release and they sound very good. The guitar is low at points like on the lead on the fast version of WWRY, but the fading of the guitar volume up and down found on the prior release seems more cleaned up on Rock Montreal. Less of a swishing sound.

I liked the commentary by Roger and Brian as well. It's not overly entertaining, but it's quite informative at times. Queen fans will enjoy it, but the average person would probably find it boring due to a few gaps in commentary.

This probably is my favorite live dvd release though, especially since it lack the snyths found on the later releases, and doesn't have any additional players. I think more could have been done with the surround mix, but this is probably the best one out right now. If your looking to buy your first live Queen dvd, this one is probably the best. If you have WWRY DTS, this isn't all that different and might want to rent it first. If you have the original VHS or DVD(not DTS), you will enjoy this one much more. Plus this one has the bonuses of Brian/Roger commentary and Live Aid.

I rented this first since I already own the WWRY DTS, but the bonuses alone make this worth buying, not to mention the cleaned up audio.

When I first saw

, I knew no other concert film could be better. The circumstances, the performance, the music, and the cinematography conspired to create a work of art that cannot ever be topped. If Gimme Shelter was 5/5, everything else would be less. And sure enough, everything else was less. A few 1/5, many 2/5, and an occasional 3/5. As I waded through these many bad to mediocre concert films, a thought formed in my brain, "Once you've seen the best, what's the point of seeing anything more?" And so I gradually stopped watching concert films. Until this week when my wife insisted on seeing a movie of Queen in concert. It was this one or

. Being a high def addict, I voted for this and boy am I glad I did. The performance is electrifying. The music is better than the studio recordings. The cinematography is truly outstanding by every technical, artistic, and editorial measure. The blu ray transfer is excellent. I've always enjoyed Queen, but this concert footage gave me a new deeper appreciation for their talents and most especially for Freddy Mercury, consummate musician and performer. At the end of the concert, I cried that Freddy Mercury is no longer with us. No, it's not as good as Gimme Shelter, but it is outstanding on its own merits and richly deserves a 5/5.

This is a pretty great Queen live performance with some rare gems like Dragon Attack and Jailhouse rock, plus some incredible improvisations and solos by Brian May and Roger Taylor that can be found nowhere else. Taylor breaks into a 3 minute drum and tympani solo which leads to an incredible 5 minute guitar solo by Brian May, while everything else is silent. Queen like usual, is a very fun band to watch live because Freddie Mercury keeps the show exciting. He is constantly goofing around on stage and making weird body motions, while placing the microphone in awkward positions. Plus for a few songs, Freddie Mercury strips down to nothing but tight booty shorts and a scarf. This alone, is worth checking this performance out, its hilarious, especially how he goes right the the edge of the stage with all his fans starring at him. The songs Queen performs are all performed very well, and some songs even get improvised and have solos added to them that can't be found anywhere else. Some of the songs do feel a bit rushed, and some songs aren't as memorable as the studio version, and this performance is nowhere near as incredible as Wembley but So if you are a Queen fan, you will definitely want to check this out, as it includes some rare solos and versions of songs, but it isn't something you'll want to watch over and over, just something to take out once a year or so and get a few laughs out of Freddie's antics and fashion, plus its always fun to watch this around girls and older adults.