Cirque du Soleil: Solstrom

The five-DVD set Cirque du Soleil: Solstrom, compiling all 13 episodes of Cirque du Soleil's titular TV series, features acts drawn from the 20-year-old world famous troupe's stage shows--with acrobats, jugglers, contortionists, clowns, dancers, and tightrope-walkers--as well as occasional guest stars (such as Milla Jovovich, Deepak Chopra, Christopher Lambert, and Naomi Campbell). The show's unifying concept (of sorts) finds the mysterious Solar Wind transforming ordinary folk into extraordinary athletes in a variety of locales and drawing on diverse themes (one, set in an Italian town square, deals with romance; another, located in a Caribbean prison, focuses on freedom). But it's all just uneven window dressing for the individual acts, which are mostly incredible feats of physical dexterity, imaginatively staged in vibrant colors (the connective material, on the other hand, is much less interesting, and the figure of goofy astronomer Fogus Punch, who introduces each segment, is a real irritant). For the most part, however, the acts are striking enough to make up for the weak spots, though this remains a set better dipped into than watched in a single sitting. A pristine-looking Superbit release, backed by DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, DVD extras here include a “making-of” featurette and a photo gallery. Sure to be appreciated by Cirque fans, Solstrom lacks the organic tightness of the troupe's filmed stage shows such as Dralion (VL-3/01), La Nouba (VL-1/05), or Varekai (VL-1/04), but should also be considered a strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (F. Swietek)