Elton John: Someone Like Me

Another unauthorised waste of time dvd
The title of my review says it all but I will elaborate. This is totaly made up of interviews of music journalists. Not one interview of anyone involved in Elton's caree past or present. No interviews with Elton, (exepting very small clips of old film stock) Bernie, or members of the Elton John bands past or present. I watched the first eight minutes and knew this was a complete waste of time. To sum it up: Avoid this.

Obviously unauthorized and made on the cheap
There is more to be learned about Elton in a few pages of Philip Norman's biography of Elton than in this hour plus video. No actual Elton music is used or album covers shown. The minimal stock photos and video are disappointingly sparse, many used more than once. The graphics used to show album chart peak dates are cheesy and primitive. The journalists interviewed do include the aforementioned Philip Norman and Paul Gambaccini. They know a lot about Elton's life, but they apparently chose to participate in this project for personal financial gain. The "extras" on the DVD contain interview footage of the journalists not used in the actual documentary. The most interesting portions of this video are news archival snippets about health problems, court cases, and Princess Diana's death and funeral. Nothing much here to recommend. Get a copy of "Tantrums and Tiaras" for an entertaining and interesting look at the real Elton John.

A joke
Fortunately, I got this for very cheap. An Elton John documentary with not even one second of Elton John music in it... The background music is made of generic instrumental music, mostly guitar-based. And generic fake covers of Elton John records are used to illustrate releases. Apart from a couple of gossips and the funny characterization of present-day Elton John as a hybrid of Queen Mum and a penguin, not much to remember in there.

Click to Editorial Reviews