Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Overrated

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Iron Maiden have a true sense of how to really put on a SHOW (in caps), with their trademark metal brand going out to audience's the world over with the impact of a harrowing horror movie and the gusto of superb theater (perhaps there's a reason why the lead young girl in Persepolis, in Iran of all places, loved Maiden enough to get it off the black market). I was there for their 2003 tour, and comparatively, even at a much smaller venue to see them at, their appearance in Rio in 2000 is no more or less spectacular. They deliver hard-driving heavy metal tunes, some faster than others, with the energetic, awesome Bruce Dickinson belting out the tunes (pretty much, with some minor exceptions in belting out some complicated lyrics) with the same power and vocal range that he had on the original recordings.Now, the music here and there, while usually spot on, does depend on its being effective if you really like their 2000 album, Brave New World. In truth, I didn't think it was quite a Number of the Beast or Seventh Son of a Seventh Son; sometimes even repetitive and loaded with more thought to the words than the music, it's not one of their best, and those songs make up a good bunch that are on this tour. This being said, however (and what a however), when Maiden is dynamite, they are f***ing dynamite squared. They deliver some of their most acclaimed and loved 80s period Dickonson songs for screaming Brazilians all rocking their heads off in the stadium, and the buzz makes up for any of the faults in the actual performance. And, of course, what would a Maiden show be without Eddie! It's a damn hell of a good show, in more ways than one, and it should only be a disappointment to the most purist of Maiden fans (i.e. can only appreciate the 80s stuff).

To mark the release of their new (at the time) album "Brave New World", heavy metal group Iron Maiden took their show to approximately ¼ million people live in Rio de Janeiro. Now, I'm not a Maiden fan although I do know a couple of their bigger hits. Mainly a lot of metal sounds the same to me but the odd time I have been to a metal concert I have found that it works well for me in a crowd. So why did I watch this film then? Well partly out of interest – I knew it is so highly rated on this site because it had been viewed by fans and I was curious as a casual viewer.However my main reason for watching it was because earlier this week I watched Alice Cooper live in 1975 and enjoyed seeing the clichés that Spinal Tap spoofed being presented as real. However it did make me think about how stadium rock has grown from there to where it is now – and Iron Maiden are a fine example of what it means today. So where Cooper had people dressed in monster suits running over his stage, Maiden have a massive wicker man and hundreds or thousands of people in a state of the art show. Of course it helps to be a fan but if you do like metal even slightly then this gig is roundly good – you don't really need to specifically like Iron Maiden.For the casual viewer the gig is impressive anyway because of the scale of it but it did also give me enjoyment in seeing the modern rock clichés being played out (and I don't mean clichés in a negative way). So we get sweat, big hair, the wide-foot guitar playing stance and so on. It all suits the atmosphere of energy and friendly aggression from the crowd and I found the music more enjoyable than I probably would if I had just been listening to the studio album. The band themselves may be clichés but they do have great stage presence – Dickinson in particular runs the stage well and seems able to control a crowd this size.Overall then, understandably popular with fans but interesting enough for the casual viewer. The stadium rock clichés are in full effect and the heavy metal tracks all work well within the context of a massive crowd. I probably enjoyed it more due to the juxtaposition with the Alice Cooper concert but it is still an effect concert film.

you are correct Barry (manson21), the sound does go up and down, so it is not just you who has noticed this!!! The best concert i have ever seen on DVD, i wish i was there in person to get the real, full experience (one of the DVD extras being able to choose what quality sound you wish to hear the concert in, such as Dolby 5.1 surround etc. so all is not lost ;)). The passion each member puts into each of the 19 songs is unreal, especially Dickinson, the lead vocalist, he is never static for one moment!. If you ignore the brief ups and downs in sound,this is definitely worth a 10/10 in my opinion.BRAZIL, ROCK IN RIO... GOODNIGHT!!!

I love this Iron Maiden rock in rio it has just about got all my fave songs just name some of them Fear Of The Dark The Wicker Man Run To The Hills. I don't know if anyone notice but on the DVD the sound seem to go high and low like they made abit of a mess with the sound or mybe its just me. anyway makes me happy when i am watching Iron Maiden rock at its best. So giving this 9/10 UP THE IRONS