DVD: Lou Reed's Berlin (12A)

Schnabel follows The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly with a multimedia concert film of Lou Reed performing his 1973 album Berlin in a Brooklyn warehouse.

Berlin flopped; its themes of promiscuity, drugs, loss, jealousy, violence and slashed wrists were too glum. Arranged for seven-piece orchestra and youth chorus, played by a tight band of veterans, the Velvet Underground-meets-Kurt Weill songs emerge strongly, especially "Lady Day" and "How Do You Think It Feels?" Schnabel's footage isn't inspired, but the real problem is Reed's voice; flat, prosaic and inappropriately camp. Extras offer print biogs and an off-putting trailer.