DVD Review: "Scorpions: Forever and A Day"

Scorpions: Forever and A Day doesn’t just chronicle the five decade-plus history of one of the world’s most seminal rock bands, all the way through their worldwide ‘farewell’ tour, the DVD shows the tolls and rigors the music industry can have on a band and its members. Some of the highlights of Scorpions: Forever and A Day include the band members at clearly their most vulnerable – from Klaus Meine discussing his marriage to Pawel Maciwoda opening up about the loss of his mother. And that’s exactly what you want from a documentary such as Scorpions: Forever and A Day – it’s damn real and often gritty, just as the music industry can often be. The fact that the film is in German with English subtitles subtracts a bit from the overall picture as does the fact that it doesn’t follow a succinct chronological timeline (not to mention the lack of any real bonus content). Still, there’s more to like than naught here on Scorpions: Forever and A Day. Director Katja von Garnier does a great job of capturing the pure essence of the bands’ 2010 ‘Sting In the Tail’ tour, including loads of nice behind-the-scenes and live footage, as well as interviews with Michail Gorbatschow, Michael Schenker and Don Dokken, among others, including KISS’s Paul Stanley. All in all, Scorpions: Forever and A Day is pretty easy viewing (it’s only 100 minutes), one that fans of the band and fans of rock music in general really, should flock to.

Grade: B