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Roger Waters The Wall

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    Mark Tolch
    Senior Member

  • Roger Waters The Wall



    Released By:
    Universal
    Released On: December 01, 2015.
    Director: Sean Evans, Roger Waters
    Cast: Roger Waters, Dave Kilminsters, Snowy White, G.E. Smith
    Year: 2014
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Film:

    It's been criticized and applauded, over-hyped and under-appreciated, but there can be no doubt; Pink Floyd's 1979 concept double album The Wall is one of the most important musical documents to be unleashed on the record-buying public...EVER...and its certified platinum status within months of release, combined with monstrous continued sales, somewhere in the neighbourhood of 20-30 million units, is further testament to its importance. It's been re-packaged in multiple forms, and continues to find new audiences decades after its release, most likely due to the talented musicianship on display and its universal themes of isolation. The concept is a simple one to grasp; Pink, a musician, having lost his father to the Germans during World War II, is raised in a sheltered environment by an over-protective mother, abused and manipulated by the school system, and grows to find himself unable to emotionally connect with his wife or his fans. In an attempt to isolate himself from the mental anguish he suffers, he abuses drugs and alcohol and puts up a metaphorical wall between himself and his audience, which is realized in a concert that mirrors a fascist rally with Pink presiding in judgement over his helpless and adoring fans.

    Considering the success of the album, a tour was inevitable, but the grandiose technical plans for the concert that would suitably represent the album were too much to carry out at the time, and the resulting live performances were limited to 31 shows performed in 5 different venues. A shattered dynamic between band members didn't help, with keyboardist Richard Wright fired from the band and hired back as a paid performer, and the other members essentially not talking to each other, their individual trailer doors backstage reputedly facing away from each other. A theatrical film, starring Bob Geldof as Pink emerged in 1982, but any notion of The Wall in concert faded into the background; even the live footage shot during the initial tour was confined to a vault, and still hasn't seen the light of day outside of bootleg videos.

    One further album (The Final Cut) followed, criticized by many for being made up of throwaways from The Wall sessions, and that was it for the world-famous Pink Floyd, though they would carry on without Waters in coming years. The Wall as a live presentation wouldn't see the light of day until 1990, when Waters dusted it off for a horrific assembly of guest stars commemorating the falling of the Berlin Wall, which yielded an almost un-listenable product. Ten years later, a live recording of the original presentation emerged on CD. Flash forward another 10 years, it's 2010...and Roger Waters is once again bringing The Wall to the masses.

    I was there. In June of 2012, I was there at Rogers Centre to see the show, previous doubts caused by the absence of guitarist David Gilmour and the memory of The Wall Live In Berlin brushed aside by glowing reviews from everyone who had seen it...and a relatively inexpensive ticket. This blu-ray captures it all, from the explosive opening of, "In The Flesh?" in all of its leather-trenchcoated, flag-waving jackbooted glory; the searchlights flying overhead, scanning the audience, a plane dive-bombing across the crowd before crashing into the wall, and The Wall itself, hundreds of feet long, a screen for hugely complex layers of digital projection, layers so deeply set that it's difficult to discern between reality and illusion. Multiple cameras take in the spectacle as a whole, then transport the viewer behind the bricks and next to The Surrogate Band and the creepiness of a stage-lit G.E. Smith, to the front of the stage with Roger, into the audience surging with approval and applause, providing a thorough viewing of the show that would be impossible from any seat in the house. And these are not static shots. The cameras dolly and pan across the floor and through the air with no hindrance. In a touching nod to the original production of The Wall, a projection of Roger from the original tour accompanies present-day Roger in singing, "Mother", the audience responding favourably to the words "No Fucking Way" projected in answer to the line, "Mother, Should I Trust The Government?".

    And The Government factors into this new Wall quite heavily; after all, who gives a shit that a millionaire rock star can't connect to his wife, or that his mom waited up until he got in? Waters, ever the political commentator, presents the new Wall as the one that government, the banks, the learning institutions, the media build between countries and their residents, that breed distrust and insecurity, that cause conflicts and war. Throughout the show, we see the names and faces of those who fell in battle in foreign wars, to terrorism, at the hands of the police...anti-government slogans, a bomber dropping Shell logos, film of returning vets reunited with their children powerful, moving stuff here. When, "Bring The Boys Back Home" comes blaring through the speakers, accompanied by a quote from Eisenhower, Waters' mission becomes clearer than ever, a successful transformation of the wall as an internal struggle to a much, much bigger picture.

    Almost second to the visual picture painted across hundreds of feet of bricks are the musicians themselves, in top form throughout. Nary a missed cue or wrong note to be heard, this version of the backing band are tight and well-rehearsed, sticking closely to the notation provided on the original album...Floyd fans will be overjoyed to see Snowy White present on guitar. Thankfully, a horrid slide guitar solo during the performance of, "Mother", played at most shows courtesy of TV's G.E. Smith is absent here; only when Waters finishes up, "Another Brick in the Wall Part II" does he deviate from the formula, adding an acoustic piece to honour Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian man gunned down by London police after being mistaken for a terrorist fugitive. All in all, the only eyebrow-raising bit of cheesiness to be found in an otherwise deadly serious performance is the inclusion of the kids, students from local schools in each city, who have a choreographed dance routine that involves a lot of yelling and pointing at the teacher marionette while wearing oversized t-shirts.

    Not content to create a straight-ahead concert film, Waters and co-Director Sean Evans have seen fit to provide the film with a bit more dimension. And this is where, depending on the viewer, the film falters. The goal was lofty enough, to show Waters on a road trip through Europe, traveling from cemetery to cenotaph to play his trumpet and honour the dead, sometimes joined in conversation by fellow travelers and family members; the journey a representation of Waters' need to confront his past and his own mortality, culminating in his arrival at Anzio, Italy, where his father was killed. These segments have received their fair share of criticism for being contrived or self-aggrandizing, and I'd be lying if there weren't a few moments where I thought, "Oh, what the HELL, Roger?". But there are so many parts of these moments that are emotionally powerful, that add something wonderful to the film, and it's these pieces that make The Wall much more than a concert movie.

    As I said, I was there. I saw the show. I've been to a fair number of concerts that have made their way on to DVD and Blu-ray after the fact, and none of them have fully captured the spectacle of the show. Roger Waters The Wall does that, and it does it brilliantly.

    Video/Audio/Extras:

    Universal brings Roger Waters The Wall to Blu-ray in a shockingly amazing 2.40:1 AVC-encoded transfer that redefines the standard for the quality of concert films. Simply put, the detail here is absolutely stunning, capturing every detail of the show with a clarity that has to be seen to be believed. The black levels and range of colour are outstanding, and the clips of the road trip take full advantage of the tones provided by the landscape Waters and company travel through. There are certainly no visual issues to be found.

    There are two audio tracks provided as well. The one that I'm not going to talk about is the PCM 2.0 stereo track that will suit those with a stereo setup. For the rest, the Dolby ATMOS 7.1 audio track is the way to go. And what a track it is. You definitely don't need an ATMOS setup to enjoy it, and anyone with a surround setup will be instantly transported into the concert, in an immersive audio experience that will blow your freakin' mind. The dynamic range of this track is massive and flawless, with every, and I mean EVERY aspect of the soundtrack fully represented and realized. Thumping bass, a moving constantly moving soundstage, room ambience and audience participation put the viewer directly into the crowd, with absolutely zero complaints. I've watched quite a few live concert discs in my time, and this track bests every single one of them.

    Extensive subtitle menus with multiple languages are available in multiple places throughout the feature and the supplements.

    First up for extras, located on Disc One, is A Visit To Frank Thompson (4:58) which finds Roger paying tribute to Major Frank Thompson at his grave in Bulgaria, telling the story of how Thompson was executed by the Nazis after a mock trial and remained steadfast in his belief in the Allied Cause to the end.

    Two "Time Lapses" are also provided, one for Athens (6:26) and one for Buenos Aires (4:14) which involve multiple days of time-lapse photography showcasing the building of the wall, the presentation, and filming of the event. Unfortunately, showing the separate filming of the show without a crowd, takes away some of the mystery of the film, but hey, points for honesty.

    A second Blu-ray covers the rest of the extras; first up is Driving (6:38) which contains more scenes from the road, and conversations in the car.

    One of the better supplements on the disc is Facebook Films (57:54), a presentation of a whopping 30+ films that were used for promotion on Facebook, presented here in 1080p with lossless 2.0 audio. Everything from technical secrets, a look at the puppets, choreography of the students, and Waters' commentary on various social issues is present in HD, providing a more in-depth look at the show.

    Comfortably Numb with David Gilmour is an extra I (and most fans) was most interested in, featuring Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's guest performance on top of the wall at London's O2 arena for one of the most recognizable guitar solos in rock music history. Seemingly nervous, Gilmour flubs some lines and a few notes, but the audience reaction when he shows up is indicative of how momentous this occasion is. The audio for this supplement is provided in PCM 2.0.

    Outside The Wall With David Gilmour and Nick Mason is the final song from the same show, which finds Gilmour accompanying the rest of the band, as well as Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason. The audio for this supplement is provided in PCM 2.0.

    With all of these extras, how could one possibly complain? Well, it would've been nice to have the supplement that followed the theatrical presentation of this show, Q&A with Roger and Nick, in which the two Floydians randomly answer questions submitted by viewers. Still, there's plenty in the supplements to love, and it's a small exclusion.

    The Final Word:

    Pink Floyd fans, Roger Waters fans, music fans, fans of well-done concert films....unite. This performance of The Wall must be seen to be believed; it blows past previous performances, previous concert films, and so on, and so forth. This is an essential purchase that you will not regret. Amazing.


    Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!































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