Welcome to the world’s first review of Roger Waters The Wall movie. It is only fitting it comes from T-Mak World – we loved the concert so can the movie meet our high expectations?
September 6 2014 – The date was September 15 2010 and as the Stuka bombers came crashing into The Wall and the audience felt the heat of the stage spewing flames everyone knew that this concert was going to be something extraordinary. Toronto’s Air Canada Center was the opening night for a 3 year tour with 219 stops and box office sales of close to half a billion dollars. This was not just the old geezer from Pink Floyd trying to make a few retirement bucks but a genius that in the course of three years gave over 4 million people an experience of a lifetime. One year after that tour ended we have a movie to capture the magnificence that is Roger Waters – The Wall Live.
This review of Roger Waters The Wall Movie is not from a professional movie critic so I won’t be able to throw mind numbing analogies or metaphors. This review is from a major Pink Floyd fan that puts out a music and movies website with his friends as a hobby and who wrote this about The Wall concert in our review from Austin, TX – “We are declaring this show not the best concert of the year, decade, or millennium but the best concert ever. Period. The Wall is a musical masterpiece (not necessarily the individual songs – but the entire album consumed in its entirety from the first note to the end) and will be enjoyed for many generations to come. Add in massive visuals and theatrics to play out the album and you have something so unique and refreshing that it will stay with you for the rest of your life. Seeing it’s creator on stage performing it as he intended is quite the experience.”
I personally saw The Wall Live in concert 10 times in 4 different countries. I was left breathless on the opening night in Toronto. Tears swelled at the second of six shows in London, England where the David on top of the wall was not Kilminster but Gilmour (and Nick Mason joined David Gilmour and Roger Waters on stage at the end of the show). Needless to say, the excitement my crew and I had to be at the world premiere of the movie at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with Roger Waters in attendance was off the scales. In summary it turned out to be an incredible concert film with a secondary story interspersed.
Below is the introduction of Roger Waters The Wall Movie by the legend himself.
Roger Waters who was celebrating his 71st birthday tonight not only introduced the movie, but also took part in a Question and Answer (Q&A) session upon the film’s completion. As is usual for movies that premiere at TIFF they are being shopped around for a distributor and that was the case tonight. The film gets shown to a bunch of industry folks who presumably get into a bidding war for the rights to distribute it.
Executive Producer is Mark Fenwick who also served the same role for Waters In The Flesh DVD from 2000 and Pink Floyd’s Live In Pompeii film from 1972. Waters directed the film along with Sean Evans (who is the creative director of the concert itself). When Waters was asked when people can expect to buy the DVD/Blu-Ray he had no answer as it all depends on whomever gets distribution rights. We hope that happens very quickly because this film needs to be in the hands of the masses ASAP.
So seriously, how does one capture the best concert tour of all time and do it justice? The challenge is great but this film does that and more. The crystal clear cinematography is top-notch, and the sound is the best I have ever heard of any concert film ever. It felt almost as good as being at the show. This film needs to be seen in a top notch digital movie cinema with massive surround speakers cranked up.
The movie starts with Waters walking off what appears to be a stage and into a car where we get taken to Water’s house. While inside this house, a camera zooms in to the document on the wall which reveals Waters father death certificate (from World War II). Water then gets in his car and drives off through the English countryside. The death of Waters father plays the central theme of the movie which proceeds to show The Wall concert interspersed with Waters travel to his fathers’ grave in Italy.
Waters drives to a War cemetery and pulls out his trumpet and begins to play Outside The Wall which then ties into the beginning of the concert with explosions and the flying Stuka. What a powerful way to start the movie.
A couple of songs in the concert during the slow instrumental part of Another Brick In The Wall Part 1 – we are transported to the car once again in which Waters with tears in his eyes is reading his father’s death letter the army sent his mother. As the car drives off we are transported again to the concert in which Another Brick In The Wall Part 2 kicks off.
Filmed in Quebec City, London, Athens and Buenos Aires, the locations are easily some of the main highlights of the tour. As an aside, T-Mak World was at, and reviewed shows in Quebec City (read here), London (read here) and Athens (read here). Mother begins with Waters reading the French intro to the song (from Quebec City). After the song is over Waters is back in the car, this time with a passenger who he is talking about war again – this time about his grandfather’s death in World War I. Waters visits his grandfather’s grave, reads some passages from a book, and then Water’s three real-life children magically appear beside their father in an emotional scene.
As we get transported back and forth from the concert to the “quest for Roger’s father burial site” we notice that the concert scenes are magnificent. They let the viewer absorb the scene before moving off to a different angle (and is nothing like the Led Zeppelin reunion DVD with its MTV like multi-camera changes). The driving scenes are also magnificent and when Waters is in France (on his way to Italy) we get to hear Roger and his friend reminisce about being 17 and climbing Mount Olympus (in yet another ode to Greece). The quest scenes have various people appear magically beside Waters which indicate they are dream (or daydream) sequences.
Vera and Bring The Boys Back Home remind us of the power and anti-war theme of the concert and will leave you emotionally charged. Very powerful stuff that the concert portrayed and are now captured on film. However the biggest (and only) disappointment of the movie happens at Comfortably Numb – we were fully expecting to see David Gilmour up on the wall playing and singing the song as he did one night of the tour in London. That was not to be the case though. Instead Comfortably Numb shows a ton of audience shots with all the emotion of fans singing along or with hands in the air in euphoric bliss with David Kilminster up on top of the wall. Kilminster most certainly deserves to be on the wall doing the solos but I can’t help to think how cool it would be if even for a few seconds the film edited in Gilmour doing some of that killer solo.
As the concert winds down Waters makes it to Italy and visits his father’s burial-place commemorated by a war monument grave. Waters has tears in his eyes (which he tells the audience during the Q&A were real) and brings out the trumpet to play Outside The Wall – which is the transition point back to the concert part of the film for that song.
The movie ends as Waters walks of stage (just the exact same way the movie began). Pink Floyd fans will know that The Wall album ends with “Isn’t this where” and the album begins with “we came in?” – the cyclical nature of the album is reproduced in the film as the opening scene is a continuation of the closing scene. These little details are part of the genius of Roger Waters.
Words can not describe what an amazing cinematic experience this was. The audience stood on their feet for a standing ovation for the closing credits. The closing credits themselves were significant in that all the faces on the wall (victims of war) started to fade into the infinite abyss.
Roger Waters and Sean Evans then proceed to come up on stage to take some questions from the audience and sign a few autographs. We have the full video of the Q&A above.
And we got one too! After seeing the concert 10 different times and being at the world premiere of the movie, an autographed The Wall album just seems like the ultimate reward for my passion for this masterpiece.
Verdict: 5 out of 5 – A fitting memoir of the biggest and best rock concert tour of all time. This film achieves the almost impossible task of capturing the energy, power, emotion and thrill of The Wall tour with the most impressive camera work and sound of any concert film we have ever seen. An excellent movie in many ways and one that should be owned by any Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, or music fan in the world once it is released.
The Wall started 35 years ago and this film is the fitting end to a masterpiece. With that we award it a “best of T-Mak World” award.
T-Mak World The Wall Concert Reviews
- Athens, Greece 2013 Review
- Quebec City, Canada 2012 Review
- Charlotte, USA 2012 Review
- Toronto, Canada 2012 Review
- Buffalo, USA 2012 Review
- Austin, USA 2012 Review
- London, England 2012 Review
Roger Waters The Wall Movie – FILM INFORMATION
Director(s): Roger Waters, Sean Evans
Country: United Kingdom
Orig. Work Title: The Wall
Year: 2014
Language: English
Runtime: 133 minutes
Rating: 14A
Roger Waters The Wall Movie CAST & CREDITS
Executive Producer: Mark Fenwick
Producer: Roger Waters, Clare Spencer
Production Company: Rue 21 Productions Limited
Principal Cast: Roger Waters, Dave Kilminster, Snowy White, GE Smith, Jon Carin, Harry Waters, Graham Broad, Robbie Wyckoff, Jon Joyce, Pat Lennon, Mark Lennon, Kipp Lennon, India Waters, Jack Waters, Willa Rawlinson, Peter Medak
Screenplay: Roger Waters, Sean Evans
Source Author: Roger Waters
Cinematographer: Brett Turnbull
Editor: Katharine McQuerrey
Sound: Nigel Godrich, Adam Scrivener
Music: Roger Waters
T-Mak World: Toronto’s Site For Music, Movies and Culture
Get the T-Mak World Toolbar to get all the info you need
Just love everything about the “wall” ever since 1st time i jeard it x
Love you
ROGER
I LOVE YOU , WISE GUY,
If anyone has any specific questions about the movie or the world premiere event, post them here and I will try and answer.
Does Roger put any of his recent polarizing annoying rhetoric about Israel in this movie?
Thanks
That’s an excellent question Darryll. Unfortunately I haven’t seen the film so I can’t answer your question.
Didn’t you think that going from dynamic Concert Footage with a fantastic Audio that must have been close to 110dB and then to driving the old Rolls Royce across France in almost total silence, made for a very disjointed experience?
Who was the old guy in the car with Roger?
No, in fact I thought it was a beautiful cinematic experience that offered so much more than a direct concert film would have. The old guy is Roger’s childhood friend – they traveled to Greece in a car when they were 17 and had the Mt. Olympus experience. All that info is detailed in the review.
When will this brilliant movie be released as blue ray dvd
Many thanks for many beautiful music hours.
Arno
In the review we state that Roger Waters indicated they dont have a date yet. First a distributor buys the rights to it and then they decide when to get it out. If I had to guess I would say its out by Christmas but thats just a guess.
Hello T-Mak
Thanks for you review.
The concert switches between different cities, right? So, we are going to see the indoor and outdoor version of the wall?
Is there some songs from the Quebec show (outdoor version)? Because the concert was also filmed.
That is correct. With a song it may have a bunch of venues but its cut so perfect it is seamless and the only way to tell is by the different audiences and the different size of the wall. Athens was an indoors arena, Buenos Aires was an outdoor stadium and Quebec City was a massive outdoor festival. For sure the beginning of Mother – Roger introduces it in French was from Quebec City – as were many other parts in the movie.
I’m from Italy, and just for the sake of curiosity I would like to know where is the English War Cemetery where lies Water’s father in the movie… I live near a couple of them.
Anzio
We all are hoping for roger to release the original film of the 1981 shows he poses. He seems to horde stuff a bit much… we would like to witness that as well as the new film together maybe in a wall tour bluray collector box..
can someone please twist his arm and ask if this will ever surface.
Bill
Hi, do you know if the film in coming to Europe into normal Cinemas?
There is nothing announced yet but I am sure it will be in cinemas first (where the experience belongs) and DVD/Blu-Ray next. Just guessing though
Excited beyond belief..I cannnot wait to see this Documentary!!
I was thrilled attending one Los Angeles
Show..had to gain tickets for a second &
Third LA show. I was addicted.. it saddened me to drive home that night.
Wow..what a dream come to life to visit Quebec City for the best show of my life.
Loved you review! Only reading you I felt very emotional, can’t wait to see it, hope soon!
Thanks!
Pink Floyd music was (is) almost a spiritual experience for millions. Roger Waters began his exit from the band during the making of “The Wall”. He lied to his bandmates (and subsequently everyone else) that he wrote all the lyrics on this album. He copied verse from someone else. The lyrics on “Young Lust” and “Comfortably Numb” have been plagarized. Every word line and verse before the first phone ring on YL were written by someone else. The lyric hook to CN is also stolen. I’m ready for all your negative feedback;I welcome it.
Nice of you to tell us that, but you site no references. Stolen from where, exactly? Show us.
High and mighty waters
Far above the crowd
They exalt your brilliance
Even admire your aloofness
The genius needs his space
To sift through other’s words
And transcribe them as his own
None dare challenge him
His rep is far too strong
He’ll curse you as a liar
And incite the horde to scorn
Thirty years have passed
Since the scene of the crime
Of plagarism on the wall
Who’s pink where’s pink
What happened to pink
Is there really a pink
Roger;d like to end the story
But he hasn’t any input
Explain to us o roger
The thoughts behind the concept
How comfortable is the feeling
Of pink becoming numb
Tell us what it is you lost
During years of being dumb
That thirty years later
Is too much to overcome
Roger’d like to end the story
But he hasn’t any input
Jen could go and get His notes
And tell Him they’re no good
Sail again the polish line
From leonard cohen’s town
And resurrect our mr pink
To laugh and tear Him down
“Does Roger put any of his recent polarizing annoying rhetoric about Israel in this movie?”
If you don’t like it, why not go to listen the music crap that flies all around? Unfortunately, the problem with Pink Floyd, is that their conceptual music (and Waters is, perhaps, the most engaged of them) is polluted by rockstar’s brainless follower fans.
I’m satisfied that Kilminster is the one shown playing the CN solo. Gilmour did a terrible job at that show, forgetting the lyrics and stumbling through the solo. Although it was a landmark moment for what it was, it is not worthy of inclusion in a document meant to pass down through time
So, when is this actually out on bluray\dvd?
So is there any word yet on a public release date for this? Waiting patiently
Unfortunately we have not heard anything. Well worth the wait though
man, still nothing. Waters likes to string this s**t out doesn’t he.
You have one fact wrong, you must be too young. The best concert ever was The Wall in 1980-81. We saw the new Wall and as we left felt like it was the best ever but, before we got to the car looked at each other and realized it was nowhere close to the original. Peace!
Were All Eagerly Awaiting This DVD Roger. We Know Your a Busy Man. But a light On This Would Be Appreciated :) p.s Loved your O2 Wembley Gig.
I have a question. It’s the full live show, plus the material you’re commenting, or it’s just selected songs?
Full live show
So you do in fact get to see the full concert? They just put the documentary pieces in between the songs right?
Absolutely. The whole concert is there.
Just saw the film. Really great; really moving.
Who is the older gentleman in the car (briefly), and then the bar, that describes his family’s flight from Budapest?