Shaun de Waal
What the Americans call “sell-thru” video -videos for sale -is beginning to take off in South Africa in a big way. The rampaging success of Disney titles such as The Lion King and The Little Mermaid, which appear to be addictive to children, spearheaded the influx into South Africa of an ever- widening range of videos that can be bought at prices in the area of R150.
But the videos now available in bookshops, CD stores, stationers and supermarkets are not aimed purely at youngsters. Many, in fact, provide sophisticated entertainment for lovers of opera and classical music. Among the new Warner Music Vision titles, for instance, are documentaries on minimalist composer Steve Reich and violinist David Oistrakh (one in a series of three “filmed portraits” of major musicians which include extensive performance footage). Warner Music Vision also offers The Art of Singing: Golden Voices of the Century and Tango Among Friends, in which pianist-composer Daniel Barenboim revisits his hometown, Buenos Aires.
Not all the titles now out are so highbrow, however. Two titles that PolyGram will be pushing hard in the run-up to Christmas are Celebration, a Royal Albert Hall concert comemorating Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 50th birthday and featuring a range of stars singing his compositions, and The Three Tenors:Paris 1998, which needs no introduction. There is also a strong selection of rock and pop music videos becoming available.
The videos that tend to sell best in bookshops such as Exclusive Books are classic movies, wildlife videos and BBC series that are not otherwise available in South Africa. One bookseller reports a major rise in video sales in the last few months, with 270 titles sold in one particularly good week.
Beside movies and documentaries, British comedy series such as Absolutely Fabulous and Ben Elton’s hits The Thin Blue Line and Mr Bean have keen followers.