Madonna: The Confessions Tour (2006)

Touches You

A different way of telling a story

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Blistering performances.

I love post-Evita Madonna. From Ray Of Light and onward, she's been on a wonderfully intriguing musical path. Loving the Confessions album and its fabulous sleeve, I was excited to watch this live (but heavily visually-edited) recording of a London performance of the Confessions Tour. It was a tour that Madonna herself was openly intent on making the world into one big dance floor. But if this show was any indication, the dance stuff kind of takes a backseat for awhile.The first half of the show, and in particular how it opens, is very bizarre, almost off-putting. It begins with these clips of horses, and Madonna dressed like a very fancy jockey. This segues into the first performance, that of "Future Lovers", which has a theme of love taming people like those horses. Then it segues into very religious and/or humanitarian stuff (the infamous crucified Madonna), and it's quite off-putting. I know Madonna cares about meaning and such, but at times, the first half of the show is unbearably preachy (not counting the rather awesome dancers' confessions and the remix to "Sorry").Stick with the show, however, because halfway through is when things get really good. The preachy stuff is gone as Madonna emerges in full rock get-up and delivers a stunning rendition of "I Love New York", ending in a crazy guitar solo. Next comes a rocking version of "Ray of Light", and then she cuts loose. With "Let It Will Be", she goes totally crazy, with energy amazing for a then-48-year-old.The last quarter of the show is when the dance atmosphere is put into high gear, beginning with "Music Inferno", mixing Disco Inferno with Madonna's own hit "Music". Half of it is her dancers doing amazing rollerskating feats before emerging herself in full-on Saturday Night Fever get-up and truly taking her place as Queen of the Dance Floor. It segues then into a hauntingly beautiful new version of "Erotica", before striding on towards the thunderous finale.This is an excellent show, Madonna's reputation as a perfectionist shows and the second half is utterly brilliant. But it very much feels like two different shows, even visually. The first half of the show is very bizarre and off-puttingly religious and/or preachy, but the second half is bombastic, full of energy and passion. I wish the entire show had been like the second half.

I have to admit that when first saw Madonna performing Holiday on Top of the Pops many years ago I said to my wife "another American one hit wonder getting the whole thing wrong!!" Well she was wearing a fright wig and was appallingly dressed. I have never grown to love her the way my daughter does but I have to eat my words. I do like some of her stuff and sometimes enjoy her filmed concerts. This Confessions tour film is great,even if the music is not(and its not). I was impressed by the staging and concepts. Madonna's own performance was enhanced by the incredible dancers she chose to support her. My daughter was at the London gigs and was crazy about it. The lady (Madge) has proved my initial assessment of her so very wrong!!

This is a spectacular production! I have seen the show live twice in Chicago and my only problem with the production was the fact that I was able to perceive only fragments of what was going on. The stage consisted of three giant catwalks and the platform and as the action moves from one part of the stage to the next sometime you loose track of what is going on no matter where you are located. As always, this is a thought-provoking sensory overload, skillfully captured in high definition with 15 cameras! The footage was Masterfully edited, one of the best concert DVDs of all times in my opinion! I only hope and wish that they will release this on Blu-Ray of HD-DVD so that we can re-live this extravaganza over and over again.

As I watch Madonna on TV I'm shaking my head. The camera director must be on something. The cameras kept changing every few seconds. It was making me dizzy. Madonna's songs had that same beat. I liked her MTV videos a lot better. The scene was dark. In the beginning of her show, what's up with the horses? That's just the first hour. The special effects were redundant. It's all flashy. I just want to see Madonna sing her songs. I didn't know she could play the guitar. Or is she actually playing it. I have two more lines to write. That's the minimum. All I wanted to write is about the camera shots. Just saw the camera aimed at her gyrating hips, again. This is my tenth line. Excuse my ranting and raving.