Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Katy Perry: Part of Me

September 16, 2012

Katy Perry: Part of Me - Buy from Amazon: DVD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 3D Combo Pack

Katy Perry: Part of Me is the latest mixture of concert film and documentary. I have reviewed several of these films in the past. How does this one compare? Does the concert / documentary combination work better than before?

The Movie

The film starts with interviews with several fans talking about how Katy Perry's music changed their lives, before we watch behind-the-scenes preparation for her largest concert tour. There's a quite a bit of music in this movie, but more time is spent on other things. Like the aforementioned behind-the-scenes of her concerts, including introducing a lot of the people who help put together the concert (manager, stylists, etc.). We also spend a lot of time with Katy Perry's fans, including hearing how Katy's music affected them, as well as Katy Perry's actual interactions with them.

However, a lot of the movie deals with Katy Perry's personal life. We hear about her childhood. She was one of three kids raised by parents, who are Pentecostal Christians traveling preachers and she was sheltered for most of her life. She started her music career in gospel music, but the switch to pop was a major change. It also wasn't a change that led to immediate success and she struggled to find support from labels.

Of course, when she found success, she had to deal with other problems.

I think this film is most similar to Justin Bieber: Never Say Never in the ratio of concert to documentary. If anything, there's more documentary here. This is not as big a problem as in the other such films I reviewed, because her life is a lot more interesting. Hell, Katy Perry as a personality is far more interesting than Justin Bieber or The Jonas Brothers are. She has the charisma to carry a movie and the more personal aspects of the film help make the movie more engaging. Also, her road to stardom was a lot more complicated than Justin Bieber's was, and I am interested in the behind-the-scenes of the music industry.

As for the music, simply put, there's not enough of it. She's very energetic on stage and her enthusiasm will draw in most people. Some of her songs are a little too cotton candy, but for the most part, she has a lot of talent.

The Extras

Extras on the DVD include a couple of full concert performances. I really like that they included some full concert performances, but they really needed more than just two. There are also short bits, one with her grandmother, one behind-the-scenes at the Grammys. And finally there are six behind-the-scenes bits of preparation for her tour. There is also a Golden Ticket, which is a chance to win a meeting with Katy Perry.

There are no additional extras on the Blu-ray, but the video and audio quality are as good as you can expect from a film like this. The concert footage is bright and colorful with great details. The blacks are deep, the contrast is strong. There's no compression issues or digital artifacts. However, there's also a lot of archival footage that is obviously going to be a lot lower in quality. Likewise, the audio from the concert footage is good with excellent clarity and good ambient sounds, and very solid bass. It doesn't have the same dynamics as some concert releases I've reviewed, but it is still good. On the other hand, there are times when the audio was recorded on a cell phone, so obviously that's going to be much weaker. Or times when it is being recorded in an environment where they can't control the audio quality as much.

I don't have the 3D Blu-ray to review, but I'll see if I can get a copy.

The DVD costs just $13 while the Blu-ray costs just $17. Both of those are excellent deals. The 3-D Blu-ray costs $25, which is a bit much over the regular Blu-ray. I'd really need to see the 3-D effects to judge if it is worth it.

The Verdict

Katy Perry: Part of Me is more documentary than concert film, which is a shame if you really like her music. However, her life and career are interesting enough to carry the film. The DVD is worth picking up, but the Blu-ray Combo Pack is the better deal. Without seeing the 3-D effect, I can't judget the 3D Combo Pack.


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