Adele Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2011 Video) User Reviews

A treat for the senses! A must see!

[Lv_lover_01 · 10/10 · 25 December 2011]

No only is this a visual feast with a real amount of thought put into the lighting , and the shots , but the stunning visuals are then coupled with the outstanding voice of one of today's best singers.

This performance instantly becomes a favorite from the very first opening sequence, with a stunning dramatic entrance from Adele the show immediately feels intimate and cozy, it is like you are seeing her live.

The visuals are put together in such a way that you are literally able to feel emotion through it, you begin to feel excited with the right songs and the camera is portaging that beautifully with amazing shots. Then you are able at other times to just sit still and listen to the amazing songs that are being preformed and again this is reflected through the cameras movements. You are able to tell instantly that this performance and it's visuals have been well thought out, well put together and well delivered to an audience though this outstanding DVD!

But the visuals aren't all this has to offer, you are able to intimately experience a one of a kind performance from one of the most amazing singers out today.

I would recommend this to anybody to watch and to own.

True Emotion - A True Performer

[Whidele · 10/10 · 21 December 2011]

Let me start by saying I signed up here just so I'd be able to review this DVD. I've been an IMDb fan for a long time, but Adele was my trigger for actually registering.

She is one of the most popular artists today and, if you ask me, it's rightfully so. This concert would probably mark the pinnacle of her career (at least when it gets to performing live). I mean, it's the Royal Albert Hall, y'all! I liked it a lot. In fact, I was left with a huge smile on my face and such warmth around my heart. Such emotion, such delivery. As always, she stays true to herself and all she needs is a mike, a stool and her band (although I have no doubts she'd do well without them). So, when it comes to her, it's a pure 10/10, no question about it.

I did have a little problem concentrating because of the fast switching between cameras in some up-beat songs. There were some moments when I wished to see Adele's face and her expression, but was left staring at her drummer or a random person in the audience. Luckily, there were just a few of those moments and they didn't manage to ruin the overall positive impression.

I just can't help it, I have to give it a 10/10. It is very rare these days to witness such stage presence, emotion, ability and vulnerability all at the same time. I highly recommend it, even to those who are not Adele fans. Whether you like her or not, you cannot deny the fact that this was one amazing concert.

Almost forgot to mention her great sense of humor, she is so funny! Enjoy!

BTW (SPOILERS AHEAD!)

The Amy Winehouse tribute was wonderful, with all those lights in the audience and the disco ball - I almost cried there.

And then she got to Someone Like You and I couldn't hold my tears back. I think it has a lot to do with the fact she talks about almost every song before she performs it and you get to see the story behind it. Plus the fact that she writes her songs and they all have a real deep meaning to her. So, when that audience started to sing, when she kept trying to keep it together (and managed till the end of the song) and when she finally broke down at the end - I just lost it. She was so genuine, pure and open to everybody at that moment.

So, once again, don't miss it!

The music, the band, Adele's vocals and humor combines with the fantastic camera direction to give the experience of a lifetime.

[usama_lali · 10/10 · 30 December 2011]

Of all the concerts in the present music industry, this one was by far the simplest and that is indeed the highlight of it. The band was brilliant and the orchestra worked beautifully. Needless to say, Adele's voice sounded expectantly top-notch but her humor was something of a treat for the audience. It seemed less like a singer singing for the audience and more like a bunch of friends singing together and having a great time.

Talking about the much vexed topic of the camera direction: Although the footage was prune to frequent change of camera angles, it did not bother me much. In fact, for me, it worked more then just fine. I found myself fully realizing the augustness of the setting, audience, music and the moments that made this concert such an amazing experience. Every shot of Adele was nothing but gorgeous, graceful and well cute. The audience looked very involved and connected with whatever was happening up on the stage.

The two concluding numbers stole the show. Someone like you just made you shed uncontrollable tears while rolling in the deep made the audience sing their souls out! The sheer emotions of these moments just makes this DVD an actual ticket to Royal Albert Hall where you can experience the entire beautiful night on your screen.

So, all in all a pretty well directed concert footage which truly captures the heart of this act both visually and musically. So don't miss this one, sit back and let Adele do what she does best: Make you cry and laugh at the same time.

Rating 9/10

Review by: Usama Lali

Someone Like You!

[Sylviastel · 10/10 · 15 March 2018]

You can see why Adele is so popular and well-received worldwide. She is a talented singer who sings her heart out to audiences. She can be down-to-earth and humbled by singing at the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington, London, England. She knows she has made it when you make Royal Albert Hall. Her singing is stellar, strong and passionate. The best part of the concert is when the audience sang "Somebody Like You" to Adele. She had tears in her eyes.

Arguably Adele is the top contemporary performer

[lenwfl · 8/10 · 13 January 2012]

A wonderful performance showcasing Adele's truly awesome vocal and song writing talents. Clearly the audience was in love with Adele, and her with them - a love fest. The emotion was palpable at times. Adele's beautifully lusty vocal cords, always filled with emotion, establish her as the best contemporary musician IMO. The blu-ray video was truly a treat for all the senses.

The only criticism of the performance was some of the camera work which moved around far too often, the average sound quality (Dolby Digital), and Adele's failure to acknowledge some of the other band members. Particularly Miles Robertson at the keyboard who IMO anchored her performance and added a beautiful musical depth.

perfection

[idawidowicz · 8/10 · 22 January 2012]

As I expected, Adele's performance was nothing short of amazing. Vocally and visually, she is stunning. The musical arrangements, instrumentals/vocal backing and atmosphere was a joy to behold. I would have rated this DVD a perfect 10 except for the dizzying and confusing editing/direction. While I realize a certain artistry and visual interest is needed to make any video enjoyable to watch, in this case it was so over the top, that it detracted from Adele's unique talent, that being vocally as well as her easy repartee with the audience. The camera stayed on Adele for no longer than 5 seconds at a time while she performed. And sometimes even less. Switching from Adele to shots of the audience, the architecture, the stage decor, the musicians, and for some ridiculous reason, the chandeliers, with a dizzying speed that made my head spin. Rather than adding visual interest for the viewer, to me, it created nothing short of an irritation which lasted over 100 minutes. During a concert where Adele is the star, and her amazing voice and personality are on showcase, it amazes me that the director sought fit to focus the cameras on almost everything but Adele's beautiful face. Fortunately, the CD was included in the pack, which will be much more often listened to than the DVD. This is heartbreaking for me, because visually, Adele is wonderful to look at - but alas, this DVD direction and editing did not use her beauty and stage presence to best advantage,but rather focused more on the surroundings and decor of the theatre, rather than its amazing star performer.

Musically Excellent but Visually Awful

[joewill1947 · 6/10 · 9 December 2011]

I was really expecting to like this because I like Adele's music. Indeed, the musical part was excellent with the exception of a few shrill notes, presumably due to the medical problem with her vocal chords that required surgery recently. I would rate the music a 9 or 10.

Unfortunately, the visuals were totally overproduced. It seemed like they had cameras everywhere producing some very interesting shots. Apparently the director felt constrained to use every camera frequently. As a result, the visuals came across as though it had been directed by a hyperactive ten year old. There was a new camera angle every few seconds. Early on, I found myself silently counting: one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi and BANG, like clockwork a new camera shot appeared on the screen, usually totally unrelated to the last shot. The only shots lasting more than four seconds were taken using cameras that were in motion or zooming in or out.

At heart this was a simple show - a woman seated on a stool or standing at a microphone with an orchestra and backup singers behind her. Adele sings intelligent thoughtful songs. There were no dancers or big production numbers ala Lady Gaga, Beyonce or Britney Spears. If I had been there in person, I believe that I would have been focusing most of my attention on Adele and only occasionally looking all over the place. I wish the director could have done it simply and lingered with shots of Adele for at least ten seconds so but perhaps he felt he needed to manufacture some excitement. I feel that the direction was a disservice to the viewing and disrespectful to Adele and her artistry.

Personally, I found myself paying more attention to the constant camera shifting than to Adele and the music. I found the direction so distracting that I gave up after about 15 minutes and listened, rather than watched, looking only occasionally at the screen to see if the camera lingered on any shots of Adele. Needless to say, they did not

I gave this a 6 overall - 10 for the music but 1 for the visual. I would have been better off buying the CD.

Not bad, but this one is for the hard core fans.

[eaglestar-305-805341 · 6/10 · 11 December 2018]

I liked the bluray version but the problem I have with it is that you can only enjoy it the first to fourth time you watch it, after that it becomes evident that out of a 100 minute concert, she talks 40% of the time... so the first time it's new stuff it's interesting the things she says but by the third time the jokes and stories are boring... so you'll go back to the songs on youtube instead or will be forced to listen to the same old dialogue again. It would be nice if the bluray came with a "concert only" feature that would skip her complementing her friends in the audience and her stories about how she wrote a song, etc. I had rated it 7 but after writing this I actually downgraded it to a six.

Boring concert

[kennethbrdk · 6/10 · 20 December 2019]

I bought this bluray because I think Adele has a good voice. But after watching the concert I have to say the concert is quite boring. I think you have to be a fanatic fan to give this concert 9-10. Actually in the two last songs I felt she gave more of herself and that's why I ended on 6 and not 5 stars. She seems to have a great personality and is quite funny which is why I'd rather share a beer/drink with her than attending another concert.

Some of the songs were just terrible or barely and marginally okay

[MovieIQTest · 19 July 2019]

The first two songs were just terrible, then some of the songs later were okay or not bad, but most of the songs were just not interesting enough, some songs seemed to rant the relationship between two people (definitely male and female, not odd couples) turned sour and estrange. But one thing could not denied, Adele is a very talented singer and artist. I also found she was smart enough to speak and talk to the audiences between songs, that actually could relax her throat a bit, because talking would loose the vocal mechanism in the throat, the neck, the heartbeats. But, there's a big drawback of Adele's concert(s): She couldn't help not implementing the F*** word, again and again, on and on. This habit only showed her root, not well educated, maybe even came from a poor family, not quite happy childhood with bad memories. Her weight, weak legs, bad spine and bad back waist forced her to sit down to sing, she could only periodically stand on her two legs to sing couple of songs. Her trademark stiff cardboard like hairstyle is like Donald Trump's that might be remained the same in the place during a hurricane. The constant using the F*** word, although showed her true down-to-earth common citizen root, but it also downgraded the meanings of her songs: Between the romantic and passionate songs, she inserted lot of F*** words one after another, that just didn't feel all right. Lot of the songs she sang were just boring or with terrible melody. A very good singer, a very gifted natural talented middle aged MammaSan.