Paul McCartney in Red Square
August 2005 Reviewed by: Joseph Taylor Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

At 63, Paul McCartney looks boyish and he can still hit the high notes, even if they sometimes sound slightly frayed at the edges. In May 2003, McCartney visited the former Soviet Union to play a concert in Red Square. It was the first time any Beatle had played in Russia. He brought a film crew with him and the result, a documentary about the visit and the show, was televised here in the US on A&E. The DVD adds 20 minutes to that feature, as well as a 50-minute bonus feature of McCartney’s appearance a year later in St. Petersburg.

Paul McCartney in Red Square takes great pains to show us that for young people in the Soviet Union, even more than for the rest of us, the Beatles represented freedom. Each song is interspersed with lengthy comments by Soviet musicians, writers, and intellectuals who recount how difficult it was to obtain the band’s records and how listening to them was a true act of rebellion against the Soviet government, which had banned Western pop music. One musician holds up an old photo and tells us that for years it was all he and his friends knew of the Beatles’ appearance and that it was a long time before they identified each band member.

The film probably overemphasizes the role of the Beatles in the collapse of the Soviet Union. At the very least, it fails to place it in a larger context (skip the much too telescoped parallel history of the USSR and the band, included with the bonus material). The interviews chop up the flow of the concert, but at least the camera remains still during those portions of the program. The concert footage is filled with quick shots, constant shifts in camera angles, and fast-moving crane shots. The director, Mark Haefeli, seems to be trying to create excitement with a lot of empty camera work, when the music is strong enough on its own. On the other hand, with all the images whizzing past, we don’t have time to linger too long on guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray, good players who mug shamelessly.

The St. Petersburg section of the DVD forgoes commentary, except for a brief intro, and the direction is less hectic. McCartney and his band play well throughout both shows, and the song choices include a few surprises (e.g., "Every Little Thing" from Beatles for Sale). The sound on Paul McCartney in Red Square is acceptable, though not as vibrant as it should be.

Paul McCartney in Red Square is most revealing when its subject meets with fans and with such dignitaries as Vladimir Putin and Mikhail Gorbachev. After all these years, even after having been an icon of the ‘60s, Sir Paul has about him an air of old show-biz forced sincerity. At heart, he’s a song-and-dance man, not the voice of a generation. Nothing wrong with that -- in some ways it’s refreshing. During the performances on the DVD he delivers. Too bad the director lets him down.

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