She’s been a frickin’ diva for 40 frickin years’ – and it’s not easy. So says the lady herself right here, and who has reason to doubt her?

Having accomplished an incredibly unrelenting career encompassing music, television, theatre and movies, Cher eventually decided enough’ was enough and that it was time to bow out gracefully from the live scene – but not before a 150 show tour to say bye-bye. Never one to do things by halves, she’s certainly thrown out a challenge to those divas-in-waiting like the Britneys and Christinas of the world with this fabulously mind-befuddling show, captured here in Miami, Florida early in 2003.

With more costume changes than most of us manage in a lifetime, a bevy of dancers, costumes that make the casts of your average Baz Luhrmann epic look like underdressed yobbos and a collection of hits spanning from the ‘60s to now, the aim was to make this final hurrah fabulous and huge – and it succeeds in breathtaking, spectacular-on-steroids style.

Obviously the words “subtle� and “understatement� are missing from Cher’s personal dictionary, but who cares when a show’s this much over-the-top fun? Any of her hits you can name pops up in some form, many with elongated intros to allow for the elaborate costume changes; however there’s never a dull moment as there’s just so much going on wherever you look. The diva is in fine form throughout, delivering everything with gusto and an amazing reserve considering whatever her age actually is – after all, it doesn’t take a Stephen Hawking to calculate that a 40-year career means she’s got to be pushing the old six zero. Ah, the marvels of plastic surgery. Oh that we could all afford such luxuries…

Anyway, here’s the complete track listing…

The 1.78:1, anamorphically enhanced vision presented here is most suitably diva-like, delivering an incredibly sharp, bright and colourful concert extravaganza directly into our home cinemas.

Audio, too, continues the aptly diva-like theme, no matter which option is plumped for. Naturally the Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 mixes offer up much more bang-for-buck than the DD2.0, with added subwoofwoof oomph and surround usage, however even those with a modest setup will find much to be rapt with here, in a mix which can scarcely be faulted.

Diva-like is the order of the day extras-wise too, with a rather chunky collection of good, average and just plain WTF bonuses. First up we’re privy to three bonus songs severed from the main performance, all replete with the same choice of three audio options. Two documentaries follow, A 25-minute look at a day in the life of the Cher machine on tour, plus a shorter but quaint tribute to the crew, ranging from bus drivers to dancers and beyond. More excisions pop up next, in the form of two entertaining and rather self-deprecating monologues, straight from the drag queen piñata’s mouth to our screens. That old staple the gallery pops up next, rather short but offering up nine shots juxtaposing costume sketches and the real deals. A cut and paste job of the If I Could Turn Back Time music video featuring live audio is next on the menu, complete with all the big hair, fishnets, body stocking and cannon-straddling action present and accounted for. If that’s all not enough, an indescribably peculiar 13-minute condensed version of the classic musical West Side Story follows, with Cher playing each and every part. Rounding out things most nicely is the DVD cover, which is like those groovy little cards like you’d pluck from your Coco Pops where a tilt this way then a tilt that way would make the picture move.

If the thought of being privy to the Cheriest show on Earth gets your juices gushing, then this superbly presented release would be worth it at twice the price.