White Diamond
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| White Diamond | |
|---|---|
 A Personal Portrait of Kylie Minogue |
|
| Directed by | William Baker |
| Produced by | Tom Colbourne Bill Lord, Terry Blamey (Executive Producers) |
| Starring | Kylie Minogue William Baker |
| Music by | Steve Anderson |
| Cinematography | Justin Murphy (as D.o.P.) |
| Editing by | Reg Wrench and Dan Swimer |
| Distributed by | EMI Records Ltd. |
| Release date(s) |  October 16, 2007 October 19 November 16 November 22 |
| Running time | 111 min (approx.) (Director's Cut) |
| Country | United Kingdom Australia |
| Language | English |
| [www.kylie.com Official website] | |
| IMDb profile | |
White Diamond: A Personal Portrait of Kylie Minogue is a 2007 documentary film directed and produced by William Baker. White Diamond was filmed between August 2006 and March 2007 in both Australia and the United Kingdom and follows Australian pop singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue on the road before and during her resurrected Showgirl - The Homecoming Tour, [1] originally abandoned halfway through its original 2005 run, in Sydney, when Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Intended as a document of Minogue's return to the stage following her treatment and recovery from cancer, the film also features on-stage and back-stage footage and interviews with a number of Minogue's tour crew, including Baker himself. Minogue's sister Dannii and U2 lead Bono also feature. "For most people, Neighbours, Michael Hutchence, gold hot pants and cancer equals Kylie," Baker suggests at the beginning of White Diamond. "I want to rip that surface away." [2]
White Diamond is eponymously named after a Minogue track written by Scissor Sisters, also the sole new song performed by her on the Showgirl - Homecoming tour. The film opens with a reworked ballad version of the song. Two new recorded tracks, "I'm Hip" and "You Are There", and a previously unheard 2002 Madonna track given to Minogue to record, "Alone Again", are also featured on the soundtrack to the documentary.
Contents |
[edit] Documentary
On 17th of May, 2005, Kylie Minogue was forced to cancel the Australian leg of her Showgirl tour after being diagnosed with breast cancer. This is the story of her homecoming. - Introductory pre-credits text from White Diamond.
White Diamond started out as Minogue's creative director and close friend William Baker filming her for a personal record, to be used as backstage bonus footage for the Showgirl Homecoming tour DVD. They had so much footage by the end of the tour, they decided it would be better suited to a feature-length documentary format. The original plan was to release it direct to DVD, but it was eventually given a single day cinema release in each territory it was released.
Minogue stated that White Diamond was "a good way to thank the fans for their support and see where all their good wishes went. This started as quite a humble little project, and in many ways it still is". [3] She had written on her website earlier in 2007: "I have to admit I was a little nervous to work on such a revealing project and I did pull the plug several times, but due to Willie's persistence it is now almost finished. It gives a great insight into the world of touring and the touring family". [4]
[edit] Cinema release
White Diamond premiered in the UK on October 16, 2007, at all VUE Cinema locations across the country in a one night only event. Minogue attended the premiere at the London Leicester Square VUE Cinema. Minogue, arriving in diamond studded dress and over $1,000,000 in jewellery [5], was joined by her sister Dannii and actor Rupert Everett. [3] Similarly, in Australia there was a one-night only premiere of the film at Village Cinemas on October 19 and in New Zealand at SKYCITY Cinemas on November 16. [6]
[edit] DVD release
White Diamond was released on DVD, with a 15 rating, on December 10, 2007, in the UK in a 2-Disc package backed with a two hour Showgirl - Homecoming Tour concert filmed Minogue's hometown of Melbourne, Australia on December 11, 2006. [1] The DVD also featured bonus footage of both Kylie and Dannii Minogue performing "Kids" in Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on December 16, 2006, and five extra songs filmed in London's Earls Court, on May 6, 2005 during the original Showgirl - Greatest Hits tour.[7] White Diamond premiered on UK television on November 25 upfront of its DVD release. [8] The DVD reached number three on the Mexican Top 10 Music DVD Charts, when it was released in February 2008.[9]
[edit] Critical response
Many critics reacted negatively to the documentary, many comparing it to Madonna's 1991 documentary Truth or Dare. The Evening Times felt that Baker was too close to his subject: "We never see Minogue cry, shout, bitch, get tipsy, or maudlin. Anything even remotely resembling a newsworthy moment has clearly been exorcised by either Baker, or Minogue herself." [10]
[edit] Music credits
| Song | Performer | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "White Diamond (Film version)" | Kylie Minogue | Minogue, Babydaddy, Jake Shears |
| "Finer Feelings" | Kylie Minogue | Mike Stock, Pete Waterman |
| "Sometime Samurai" | Towa Tei and Kylie Minogue | Towa Tei, Minogue |
| "Tears" | Kylie Minogue | Minogue, Dave Ball, Ingo Vauk |
| "I Believe In You" | Kylie Minogue | Minogue, S. Hoffman, J. Sellards |
| "Burning Up" | Kylie Minogue | Greg Fitzgerald, Tom Nicholls |
| "Vogue" | Kylie Minogue | Madonna, Pettibone |
| "Being Boring" | Pet Shop Boys | Tennant, Lowe |
| "Rent" | Liza Minelli | Tennant, Lowe |
| "Lovesong" | The Cure | Smith, Gallup, Thomson, Williams, Tolhurst, O'Donnell |
| "Made In Heaven (Film version)" | Kylie Minogue | Matt Aitken, Stock, Waterman |
| "Kids" | Kylie Minogue and Bono | Robbie Williams, Guy Chambers |
| "Losing My Mind" | Liza Minelli | Stephen Sondheim |
| "Try Your Wings" | Kylie Minogue | Michael Barr, Dion McGregor |
| "Je t'aime... moi non plus" | Kylie Minogue | Serge Gainsbourg |
| "Dreams" | Kylie Minogue | Minogue, Steve Anderson, David Seaman |
| "Can't Get You Out of My Head" | Kylie Minogue and José González | Cathy Dennis, Rob Davis |
| "You Are There" | Kylie Minogue and Steve Anderson | Dave Frishberg, Johnny Mandel |
| "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" | Kylie Minogue | Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg |
| "Come Into My World" | Kylie Minogue | Cathy Dennis, Rob Davis |
| "Alone Again" | Kylie Minogue | Madonna, Rick Nowels |
| "Light Years" | Kylie Minogue | Minogue, Julian Gallagher, Richard Stannard |
| "Turn It Into Love" | Kylie Minogue | Stock, Aitken, Waterman |
| "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" | Kylie Minogue | Leo Robin, Jule Styne |
[edit] Notes & References
- ^ a b "White Diamond in the shops!". Kylie.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ "Willim Baker, as quoted in White Diamond"
- ^ a b "Kylie thanks fans at film launch". News.BBC.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ "Kylie nervous about her documentary". Entertainment.OneIndia.In. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ "Kylie sparkles in White Diamond". News.Com.Au. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ "Kylie Minogue's White Diamond At Skycity Cinemas". Scoop.co.nz. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ "White Diamond DVD credits"
- ^ "Channel 4 music blog: Kylie White Diamond". Channel4.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
- ^ February 17th 2008
- ^ "Kylie Minogue’s White Diamond: A new Kylie documentary is unstinting in its bland adoration". Entertainment.Times.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
[edit] External links
- Kylie.com; official website
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