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Amos Lassen wrote on 12/03/2008:

“Elton John: Tantrums and Tiaras”

Elton Superstar

Amos Lassen

Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Elton John is a superstar. He is larger than life but even with that, we know little about his personal life.” Tantrums and Tiaras” gives us a different Elton John and we get to see some of his personal moments. He is a complex person in his private life as he is as a composer and performer. This film was made by his partner, David Furnish and it takes us on a personal tour of the artist named Elton as he is on the road and at home, with his family, with is partner and with his band. We get to see his sensitive side alongside his moody side. The one thing that stands out in this documentary is how much money Elton John spends and wastes. However, this does effect how I feel about him as a talent.
The film takes us to both Sir Elton’s personal and professional life and it looks at 1995, a year that was special for John—he won an Oscar, several British awards, he released a new album and went on a tremendous world tour. The film opens with the video that was made for the song “Believe” and then goes on to cover the British promotional tour that followed. As we move through the film, we see a very touching scene of John and his grandmother and there is a wonderful scene when the singer goes on about flower arranging. We go to the Academy Wards and then to South America to watch the tour.
A new commentary has just been included on this new release of the 1997 film. The film includes some of the jewels in Elton John’s crown---interviews, deleted footage from his tour and candid scenes of John being b***hy. We get to see the singer’s dry wit and his moments of insight as well as scenes of him hamming it up in front of the camera.
I have read some negative reviews that condemn the transfer to DVD but that can be overlooked. It’s too bad we do not have a quality transfer but what we have is better than not having anything at all. The commentary is fascinating.