Roger Waters-The Wall Live Film (w/ Russ' review)

[username]

Reviews are starting to surface and they're mostly positive. They're saying the documentary is cut in throughout the whole concert, every 3 songs or so. Sounds weird to me, but the reviews say it works. They also said that the show itself is taken from performances all around the world. That's good for me as I was worried it was going to be just one performance.

Either way, I've got my tickets for 09/29 and I'm super excited!

I'm guessing the DVD / Blu-ray versions will probably also have a concert only option.

[RussTCB]

Really, REALLY stoked to do see this tonight!

For those curious, I read yesterday that the blu-ray will be out on 12/01.

[username]

I'm assuming you'll give us a good review Russ! Have a great time!

[RussTCB]

I'm assuming you'll give us a good review Russ! Have a great time!

This might be more than everyone was looking for in the way of a review, but here goes:

We showed up extra early even though I didn't think it would sell out. The ticket taker said it was 80% sold out which surprised me to be honest, but at least we were there way before anyone else so we got to sit right where we wanted to.

Prior to the movie, there were a load of promos for other One Night Only Theater events, but then the screen changed to a solid brick wall that was scrolling right to left. Eventually some bricks were missing so I snapped a photo:

You could start to see some letters appear behind the bricks, so I snapped another one:

Finally, the whole message was revealed so I got a pic of that too:

I just thought that was a cool little thing to tack on the beginning.

The lights went down right at 8pm and the word "W E L C O M E" stretched across the whole screen. The screen lights up to an introduction from Liam Neeson. He's talking about having seen the original Wall Tour in London and what it made him feel. He then goes on about how the newer production is as good if not better and how it's far more universal, etc. He ends by telling the audience "You're in for a treat!"

English country-side scenes are shown next, with Roger driving in silence. Roger reaches one of the war memorials, takes a trumpet out of his packed bag and stands in the middle of the gravestones. He then plays Outside The Wall while the opening credits appear. Next thing you see/hear is the band walking backstage with Roger putting his arm around a member of the band and saying "...We came in?" That might not matter much to anyone else, but I thought it was an awesome touch and I knew the movie would loop back to that moment.

Roger gets in the waiting car and heads off with a police escort. When he makes it home, he begins packing up the car & bag we saw him driving in earlier. He drives out to a different war memorial, stands in the center of the gravestones, the camera pans up and a gigantic bomber flys towards the site getting louder and louder as it approaches. As soon as it's overhead..................... DUH DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH! We're back at the concert, fireworks are going off and In The Flesh is playing!

The next part of the review will be pretty succinct:

As far as the concert portion of the film goes, I was a little surprised by how many close shots were used. Roger and all the backing members get plenty of close ups and there are a LOT of shots above and behind The Wall as the show goes on. Having seen the show twice, I was just a little surprised by that because there's just SO much to see at a wider angle. You still get an idea of how amazing the show was, so it's not like you're really missing anything. I guess I was just wasn't expecting so many close ups.

The actual performance is top notch as expected. There's a few ad-libs here and there from those replacing Nick, Rick & Dave that some may not like, but I file it under "It is what it is". For the most part, these people have the music & vocals down. I might even venture to say that many, many people wouldn't even notice some of the changes. The biggest change in the music comes between ABitWpt2 and Mother. I won't spoil the surprise if you don't know about it or didn't see the second leg of the tour, but it's easily the biggest change.

The sound mix is exactly what you'd expect from this production. It was actually "too good" for the environment we were in. We had a great crowd with people clapping, singing and yelling along with the lyrics or background parts of the show. Many times throughout, I honestly couldn't tell if someone in the room with us with yelling something or if it was in the sound mix of the movie. So that's what I mean by "too good", when there's really no such that as that lol.

The rest of the documentary about Waters dealing with war in general and ultimately his fathers death is shown throughout the concert inbetween and some times in the middle of songs. It never got in the way IMO though, so that's good. There's a LOT to take in during the documentary and again, I don't want to spoil anything. Let's just say that it's every bit as emotional as you might expect. I went in expecting that and still got choked up here and there, so I was surprised by that. The documentary footage is visited one last time after The Trial with Waters playing Outside The Wall once more on the trumpt, which includes the climax of the documentary which I definitely don't want to spoil.

The solo version of Outside The Wall fades back into the concert version where Roger and the band leave the stage. They're seen backstage in the same area where the movie began. As they make they're making their way, small talk begins which results in Roger looking at his band mate saying "Isn't this where...". Black screen.........roll credits, which is exactly what I was expecting and again, I thought it was an awesome touch. One of the last things shown on the screen prior to the actual production credits is the quote "Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend. We were all equal in the end" which is one of my favorite Roger lyrics ever. During the production credits, the pictures and information about many people lost to war is shared on the screen.

Immediately after the flim, they showed "The Simple Facts, A Conversation Between Roger & Nick" which was really, really good. They were sitting at a table with a stack of fan questions between them. I'm assuming this will be on the blu-ray so I won't spoil any of it. I will say that there was a lot of good information in the answers but on top of that there was a LOT of good humor. The entire theater was roaring with laughter at many of the answers and/or the play between Roger & Nick.

Overall my rating would be 9.5/10 having removed a half point because of all the close up shots I wasn't expecting.

tl;dr-

If you like The Wall, you're going to shit yourself over this.

[ZoSoRose]

Awesome review!

[Becket]

I saw the concert in Toronto on opening night in 2012. Just saw the movie last night. The did an amazing job on the film. I rate it 10 out of 10.

The Blu-Ray and DVD will be out November 16th. Cant wait.

http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/latest/roger-waters-the-wall-dvd-blu-ray-2-disc-special-edition-and-cd.html

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[RussTCB]

I saw the concert in Toronto on opening night in 2012. Just saw the movie last night. The did an amazing job on the film. I rate it 10 out of 10.

The Blu-Ray and DVD will be out November 16th. Cant wait.

http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/latest/roger-waters-the-wall-dvd-blu-ray-2-disc-special-edition-and-cd.html

​

Saw that info at Brain Damage yesterday. Can't wait for the blu ray and I'm really hoping there's a vinyl release of the live album and not just CD.

[dalsh327]

In case you missed the announcement, they're doing another showing over the weekend, it looks like mostly matinee showings.

[ZoSoRose]

Finally got the bluray, so happy to have a great document of this extraordinary tour. All the Wall projections and special effects get their showcase, as does the band and audience even. Documentary was a nice touch, but sometimes the cuts were distracting. Glad David and Nick are on the bonus disc