Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration
Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration
NR | 06 June 1998 (USA)
Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration Trailers

British superstar composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is feted in this 50th birthday benefit gala produced by Lloyd Webber's own theatrical company at London's historic Royal Albert Hall. The tribute includes highlights from Lloyd Webber's blockbuster stage hits, including The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita, and Sunset Boulevard. An eclectic performing cast filmed live during the event features Tina Arena, Michael Ball, Antonio Banderas, Boyzone, Sarah Brightman, Glenn Close, Julian Lloyd Webber, Marcus Lovett, Lottie Mayor, Dennis O'Neill, Donny Osmond, Elaine Paige, Ray Shell, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Bonnie Tyler

Reviews
Rijndri Load of rubbish!!
Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
Helllins It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
mexluver05 The only reason I bought this film was to see Mr. Banderas in the singing role he was meant to play. I'm sick of hearing that he overly sang or his costume was not good enough. The only reason no one liked him is because he's a Latino, fair and square. He has the voice, looks and talent yet was denied the starring role in the film to an actor with no vocal talent whats so ever. Luckily anyone who can appreciate the great talent of this man can see how great of a singer he is. And another note it was great to see Glenn Close as Norma Desmond, The original Sunset Blvd is my favorite film and she comes off very well as the deranged character.
sexy_superstud If you are a die-hard Andrew Lloyd Webber fan like myself, this is an absolute must-have for the permanent collection. I loved every minute of it. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th Birthday Celebration was the night to remember.Sarah Brightman sang beautifully, as she soared into the stratosphere in the "Phantom of the Opera" duet with Antonio Banderas. Donny Osmond offered clean phrasing and vocalism in his selection from "Joseph and the Technicolored Amazing Dreamcoat." Glenn Close brought Hollywood style and charisma to her selections from "Sunset Boulevard." Julian Lloyd Webber brought technical mastery and pitch-perfect intonation to the "Varations for Cello and Orchestra" piece.And then, almost towards the very end, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber himself came out and personally introduced Dame Kiri Te Kanawa to the audience. Dame Kiri, a few moments later, sang the world premiere of his new song, "The Heart is Slow to Learn," intended for the sequel to his magnum opus, "The Phantom of the Opera." Well, it was in a word, stunning. Te Kanawa sang passionately, and with the sincerity a famous classical performer would bring to Wagner or Puccini. Absolutely breathtaking.And then, the entire cast came out to sing "Happy Birthday" to Sir Andrew, with Kiri Te Kanawa and Sarah Brightman soaring above the entire orchestra and chorus. There was no dry eye in the audience.An absolutely wonderful performance!
fredinclayton There has never been a more deserving musical production to be produced in a Widescreen video version than this electrifying Andrew Lloyd Webber presentation. Viewed on a regular 4:3 full screen TV, it's deserving of it's thousands of accolades. But viewed on a Widescreen TV, it becomes a mutilated disaster. I have both types of TV's in my home, so I know whereof I speak. Heads are clipped, and the stupendous choreography is shattered. Oh, Universal Studios, I join with Argentina in crying for a Widescreen version! Even so, the entire presentation merits a resounding 5 STARS, and the astonishing performance of Glenn Close 5+ STARS!!!
dc-43 When I watch a DVD I really like to watch it from start to end without skipping anything.With this presentation I felt like 1 hour was great, a half hour was ok, and another half hour was poor. I'm sure if I owned this DVD I'd always wish to skip by the poorer stuff.I really liked Donny Osmond, Elaine Page, Michael Ball and the various "Cats" songs and the song by Boy Zone.I was greatly irritated that they let Antonio Banderas sing the Phantom. He just does not have the voice for Phantom of the Opera. His Evita song was OK though.There were also a couple of songs by people that I did not recognize that had very bad unmusical voices.Sarah Brightman's voice is good but her facial expressions looked a bit odd.DVD lovers will find the Dolby 5.1 track on the DVD sounds very flat. It feels more like Dolby 2.0 or even Dolby mono at times.So overall I'd give it 7/10. Since the best parts can be found on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and on Cats (both of which I own already) I don't feel compelled to buy this DVD. It is worth watching. However, I'd only recommend buying it if you don't have any of the other Andrew Lloyd Weber DVDs.