Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Lennart Kloppenburg There has been a handful of rock bands that decided to make a whole live album with a symphony orchestra, and Metallica is without much doubt the most heavy of them all to do so. I think that they made this album to support the release of their Load/Re-Load albums, which has obviously been a very great decision. The orchestra plays a very beautiful show and the cooperation between Michael Kamen and the 'Tallicaboys is terrific and one would be a fool to deny that Metal and Classical music have a lot in common. Hetfield, probably especially for this show, adapted a very warm and clean voice that neatly fit in between the riffs, drums, bass lines, but also the orchestra. The set list was obviously made with a lot of measuring in what would be good songs to combine with an orchestra, and which would not be. They have done an amazing job.The sound is simply perfect. The melancholic sound of the orchestra that plays beautiful music in the background hits the spot in combination with the raw and yet so musically rich sound of Metallica.This concert is the product of the coming together of two very different and yet similar musical worlds. And this concert, same as the Metallica's predecessors in this experimental thing, proves that it works. It is great for both fans of classical music as die hard heavy metal fans. There are several options on the DVD: You can either mute the orchestra, or the band, in 2.1 audio quality. But you can, and should, leave them both on and enjoy this eargasmical (excuse me) music fest in all its glory, for both Heavy Metal and Classical Music are eternal, so what would this concert be?10/10. Highly recommended to anyone that's into rock/metal/hard rock and/or classical music.

Phalanx666 I don't know who or what ever gave Metallica the idea to "rework" their songs with an orchestra. Needless to say the (arguably) greatest thrash band of all time lost whatever credibility they had left with this album. Mediocre songs like "Of wolf and man" get a new sound with the classical addition hardly doing the song any justice. I might be totally illiterate musically, but hardly anything added to the songs by the orchestra is even remotely interesting. In fact it seems the band and the orchestra are playing different songs altogether all the time. As an old fan of Metallica this hurts. I can't help to think the wrong songs got picked for this venture too. For instance "Fade to Black" or "Creeping Death" would sound a million times better than "Sad but true" with a classical arrangement. I can accept that Metallica isn't a thrash band anymore. I'm not stupid though. An album like this won't renew my interest in Metallica. While the whole setup and idea is laudable, it is altogether too poorly executed to be considered "great". I would go as far as to state it takes a lot of goodwill to like this effort. I've only read glowing reviews on this site. Maybe I'm the musical fool, but this stuff doesn't sound right. None of the additions do Metallica justice (no pun intended). I'm sorry, but as a thrash fan I can only frown on this effort as it reminds me of what Metallica was and could have been.

theonlyidleft The S&M DVD is possibly the best live work Metallica have done. Through sheer quantity Binge & Purge may be more highly regarded, but quality-wise I think S&M is better. Every track (barring Outlaw Torn) is just amazing, all benefiting from the extra dimensions a symphony gives - and the expert vision of Michael Kamen.We start off with The Ecstacy Of Gold, performed beautifully by the San Francisco Orchestra. The Call Of Ktulu, a much overlooked classic is the first Metallica song played and it sets the mood splendidly, it has power but also grace, 9/10.Master Of Puppets is next up, which as always, is amazing, 10/10 on this one.Of Wolf And Man is the first of many tracks on this DVD that are much improved with the aid of a symphony. I'm not a massive fan of the album version but I love the S&M version, 10/10.The Thing That Should Not Be is well done but i'm not the biggest fan of the song, 8/10.Fuel, always a crowd favourite, again benefits from the orchestra and earns it's 10/10.The Memory Remains is also well performed with good crowd interactions, 9/10.No Leaf Clover, a new song, is quite good, not heavy but likable all the same, 8/10.Hero Of The Day is next and possibly my favourite performance on this DVD. Not their best song but is the most improved with the symphony 10/10.Devil's Dance again, as above, not a great song but they manage to pull it off well, 8/10.Bleeding Me tends to close the first DVD as Ktulu opened it, an epic song well done, 8/10.The 2nd DVD starts off with Nothing Else Matters, a classic and was originally done with an orchestra, so is more than adaptable, 10/10 for sure on this one.Until It Sleeps is a good post-black album song and holds it's own here, not the best performance of the day but still good, 7.5/10.For Whom The Bell Tolls... Well, what can I say? They made a near perfect song another step closer to that title, 10/10.-Human is the 2nd new song. Heavier and the symphony help out this song, 8/10.Wherever I may Roam was next up and is my favourite track off the Black album, it's well done but not the outstanding performance on this DVD, 8/10.Outlaw Torn was next up and I just can't bring myself to like it. A fan of the song might think differently but I can't give this more than a 6/10.Sad But True is another great song which is performed well but i'm not overly convinced the symphony add too much to it, still a great performance though, 9/10.One - Possibly the best Metallica song ever and is expertly performed by both Metallica and the symphony, can't fault it: 10/10.Enter Sandman, a favourite of most was, like Wherever I May Roam, not an outstanding performance, in my opinion the symphony drowned out Kirk and James, and for a song like Enter Sandman that is not a good thing, 8.5/10.Battery closes this DVD and has a brilliant intro by the symphony, 9.5/10.Overall this is a brilliant performance to own, but musically and visually stunning. Any fan of Metallica would love this possibly even a few fans of classical music. A very solid 9/10 overall, with special mention to Hero Of The Day, Of Wolf And Man, Master Of Puppets and Nothing Else Matters.

AMLeeuw This video is really worth it. It starts of with a chilling version of Ennio Morricone's "Ecstasy of Gold" (Soundtrack The Good, The Bad and the Ugly). This is really nice to see, that Metal bands don't just limit themselves to guitars and drums, but really make an effort to be creative. And it works out really well. The version of Master of Puppets supersedes the original version by far, and most of the songs do. Two new songs are added, minus human and No leaf clover. Minus human is not that great but No Leaf Clover really rocks. This is not just a CD for Metal fans, but for any fan of good music.Most people say that Metallica lost their quality over the years, but I think they gained quite a lot of it. A More memorable sound, varying tunes and some less fast-paced music which makes it more attractive to people who don't really like Metal. It's not just the fast trash metal but stylish music with an eerie feel to it. Some people would say that this is not why they listen to Metallica, but limiting yourself to their trash metal would really be a shame. I've got Master of Puppets, And Justice For All, Black Album and Garage Inc. but this one is the greatest