This DVD “illustrates” a performance of Gustav Holst's popular orchestral suite, 'The Planets.' The Holst suite features a tone poem for each of the solar system's planets known when he wrote it in 1918. The movements are listed below:
- Mars, the Bringer of War
- Venus, the Bringer of Peace
- Mercury, the Winged Messenger
- Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
- Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age
- Uranus, the Magician
- Neptune, the Mystic

The production shows the orchestra and individual musicians, but the stunning visual snippets from all over the world, the computer-generated graphics, and the animatronics are the real show. They are all mixed and matched in fascinating combinations that put you in the mood of each piece. For example, in “Mars, Bringer of War,” we get montages of armaments being manufactured, military aircraft, rocket launchers, and towards the end, the faces of victims of war. The hairs on your arms will be standing up by the end of the movement – it is very intense.
This DVD proves music can be dramatically presented on a DVD. I love this medium.

Bonus: In this performance by David Atherton and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales a newly written (2000) section, “Pluto, the Renewer,” written by Colin Matthews, is included as the last movement. Geesh... too bad they bounced Pluto out of the Planet Club last year.