Diana Ross Live In Cental Park DVD Review

Diana Ross in Central Park is one of my life's earliest memories. I remember watching and being very afraid and scared for Ross. 

I was only 6 and I knew that she was a big star and an unattainable star. 

She was also friends with Michael Jackson! WOW! 

I also remember hearing that she was not a nice lady.....actually mean as she was developing a reputation in NYC for being what I now know as a DIVA.

 Back then it was just bitch. 

At that age thunderstorms were very traumatic for me.
Extremely traumatic for me so the sight of Diana Ross not being afraid of the rain was mesmerizing and unforgettable.

One of the most unforgettable moments of my life!

For years I've wanted an official video and Cd release of the event but had to deal with the fan bootlegs. 

Finally this Ultimate Historic event in both Music and New York history is officially released on DVD.

The print is not restored but for both those who have the bootlegged version and those who have only seen clips on youtube it is clean and vibrant. 

The excitement and energy of day one is still evident and remains untouched and unparalleled thirty years later.

There really is no entertainer who has performed in the face of this type of crisis and chaos ever. The storm only fed the mythology and grandeur that Ross has tried to create for herself and she rose to the occasion and milked it for all its worth. She became a goddess and the world succumbed to all her glory eagerly.

Day two however was a different story. The show shot off with the same energy and maybe even double the excitement of day one, but very quickly it was evident this was a different crowd and an ego maniac Ross fueled by the previous nights glory.

Ross quickly became annoyed with the crowd. For the first time (because of the digital print) you can see the second shows crowd much more closely and they appear as a much wilder, dirtier, and lower class crowd. In His book Call Her Miss Ross author Randy Taraborrelli also blames the crowds rowdiness on the fact that it was a Friday which brought in an end of week happy hour crowd. If you read his book one can also assume Ross was glaring at the crowd and chastising them wondering why she brought in such a rowdy crowd.  One could say she was thinking “They didn’t act like this at Streisand’s concert…Is this what I attract?!” After Mirror Mirror  Day two’s show quickly became boring even for the most die-hard Ross fan.

However my one complaint is that though the DVD does claim it contains both days in its entirety it’s not. Pieces of Ice and I believe her rambling about her then new found religion was cut out. Not sure what the point of that was. Their absence does nothing to improve the tenor of day two and though it was not a big hit, some fans really love Pieces Of Ice.

The DVD is a must have for all Ross fans and well as libraries and classrooms around the world. Even the most casual Ross fan or Ross haters would be mesmerized by the spectacular day one event.