Tuesday, December 1, 2015

'Roger Waters The Wall' BD: Shows '70s Rocker Still in the Pink

Product Details
The Universal Home Entertainment 2-disc Blu-ray edition, which is being released on December 1 2015, of the 2015 concert film "Roger Waters The Wall" being mind-blowing is an apt regaridng that performance of that wonderfully psychedelic and surreal 1979 Pink Floyd album of the same name. A desire to watch the film under black light is only partially joking. However, a household rule that requires eating meat before enjoying pudding is now strictly enforced.

The stunning visuals, which include dazzling pyrotechnics and a ginormous video display that makes anything that U2 has devised look like a 13-inch black-and-white set with a coat-hanger antenna, validate the decision to film the concerts in the titular 2010-13 world tour in 4K and buying the end-product in Blu-ray. The images truly are crystal-clear and the sound is incredibly sharp; you will almost feel as if you are part of the crowds.

The following YouTube clip of the very good "Wall" trailer provides an incomplete sense of the awesome sensory overload of the film.


The film intersperses wonderful footage of Waters respectively paying homage to his grandfather and father through visits to France and Italy. These trips allow the audience to see the extent to which Waters' grandfather dying during a World War I battle and Waters' father being a fatality of the World War II battle in Anzio influence "The Wall." They further nicely show Waters as an ordinary bloke with whom one would enjoy sitting down for a pint.

Further insight comes in the form of a scene in which Waters listens to a friend tell of a hasty retreat from Hungary during WWII and of the eerie discovery on returning after the war.

The press release for "Wall" the film artfully describes it as "an immersive and undeniably epic concert experience of the classic Pink Floyd album, a road movie of Waters' reckoning with the past and an anti-war protest film." This release of a few months ago understandably omits that the world events of the past several weeks illustrate the universal and timeless nature of the themes in the album.

Of course, a performance of the "Another Brick in the Wall" trilogy, complete with a children's chorus is a highlight of both the concert and the film. The performance of "Comfortably Numb" is equally spectacular and has some of the most intense visual images in the event. Waters provides old school Floyd fans a real treat in having 21st century Waters sing a duet of the classic "Mother" with film of Waters singing the song in a 70s-era London club.

The following YouTube clip of "Brick" provides a good taste of the above.



The concert audiences mostly consisting of 20-somethings who seem to know the messages as well as the lyrics is an encouraging indication that the kids are alright.

The plethora of extras in the BD EXCLUSIVE bonus disc include Hi-Def versions of the episodes that document the monumental staging of the "Wall" tour, a video of Waters performing "Comfortably Numb" at the O2 Arena in London, and outtakes from waht can be considered Waters' "European Vacation."

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