Customer Reviews

Pink Floyd: The Wall

5 star:		(224)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

First off, let me say that this movie DOES have a plot. It shocks me that so many Pink Floyd fans would think that the movie is plotless. I would have thought that more Floyd fans would have either caught on or listened to other fans when they explain the plot. The movie is about a rock star named Pink who lost his father to the war while he was only a small child, dealt with an over protective mother all his life, had a failed marraige (mostly his own fault) and was also a rock star who abused the power he had over his audience, still a nice statement for the mindless sheep who follow a band blindly and become obsessed to the point of losing their own individuality. Pink began his career as a rock star to escape the every day Hell that he had to live with, one that haunted him for years.

That said, Pink Floyd's "The Wall" was a ground breaking album and a step in rock and roll that HAD to be taken. A band like Pink Floyd had to exist so that they could inspire other bands (Tool and A Perfect Circle come to mind) to produce honest to God, good rock and roll with a heart and something real to say, rather then the mindless soulless corporate crap that clutters up the radio today. The character here builds up an emotional wall around him to guard his vulnerability, something that we've almost all been through at one point or another in our lives. Pink Floyd by all acounts were a revolutionary band, the first band to go the extra mile with their art and were wildly successful with it. Of course, this is just one reviewer's opinion, I've always understood a person's reason for not liking Pink Floyd. The band is not for everyone. Some don't want to be dragged along for over an hour, following a story with music. Some just want good tunes to blast in their car or headphones and that's understandable.

Down to the movie. It's more or less over an hour of music videos, before there were such a thing. The dialogue is the music which is more of a narration which could turn some people off. I personally would have loved to see a real movie with real dialogue because everything about The Wall is theatric. From the album to the stage show. Here, the music is the film and the scenes are the background. Reverse the rolls and you would have one Hell of a movie, in my opinion. Which is not to say that this movie is without it's good points. For instance, "Another Brick in the Wall pt. 2" is a great point in the movie. The maze to represent a school is brilliant and so are the kids being lead into a meat grinder. A great social commentary on crooked education, with teachers that revel in taking out their own problems on the kids they're paid to teach. "Comfortably Numb" is also another high point. There's too many videos to run through, so I'll just say that they vary from being great (Goodbye Blue Sky, The Trial, When the Tigers Broke Free), to just being ok (Young Lust).

The real shining star of this movie is Gerald Scarfe. His animations are AMAZING. "Goodbye Blue Sky" is really the high point of the movie, hands down. The symbolism is great and on point and gets the point across beautifully, more so then the regular scenes with actual acting. "The Trial" is also everything it should have been and more. (The judge is a butt with a face on it. How true is that?)

All in all (no pun intended), you should get this if you're a real Pink Floyd fan, who hasn't just heard a few songs here and there on the radio. You should also buy this if you've read all the reviews on here and have a good grasp on what you'll be spending your money on. This film is not for everyone. This is the type of movie where if you don't get it, you'll most likely just watch it once and never again. Maybe twice if you're thinking that you missed something that you should be getting. And if you do get it, it's a great experience that you'll dig out every now and than for a fun time. As depressing as the movie is, there is much positivity that lies beneath the surface. So many of us have the emotional wall around us that we really do need to break down in order to enjoy life, love and all the other adventures that the world has instore for us. You have to dig beneath the surface with this movie like much of Pink Floyd's work to get the concept. If nothing else, you can enjoy the music as it sounds better on this DVD than the album. There's also two new songs. The bonus features are rather plentiful, featuring the original documentary on the movie, a two part retrospective, the music video for "Another Brick on the Wall pt. 2", the "Hey You" scene (which was cut from the movie because Roger Waters thought it dragged the flim on too much but is actually quite great), the trailer, a still gallery and commentary by Roger Waters and Gerald Scarfe which is great and at times very funny. If nothing else, the bonus features may interest you.

If you'd rather experience The Wall in a different way and are interested in seeing just what the live shows for the album were like, I'd strongly suggest Roger Waters' "The Wall: Live in Berlin" DVD. It's a great DVD despite some stale guests here and there. A truly great thing to witness if you really love the album.

One love to all,
Kevin

I have owned this film on VHS for many years, so I was not in a big rush to buy the DVD...but I'm sure glad I did ! This is one of the rare instances where a movie complements the music instead of diminishing it (unlike Quadrophenia, for example...)

This is one film that I can't stop watching - once it starts I'm hooked until the end. The 90 minutes really fly by. And to those who say the real life and animation do not comfortably coexist - I say "rubbish !" the transitions are smooth and seamless. My favorite part is when the school kids, with their faceless masks, are marched through the factory and into the grinder. Classic Pink Floyd. And I say Bob Geldof's portrayal of Pink is flawless. Buy this DVD - you won't regret it !

It seems to me that Roger Waters has us all fooled, that this was actually a parody of the highest order. If you watch the interview with him on the bonus materials on the DVD, you can almost see him smile when he discusses the inspiration for this film. It's a film that we read into it what we will. To a small degree, it is autobiographical (most everyone knows about the incident when he spit on a fan during the Animals tour).

Taking that as a leaping off point, he takes the conclusion of the absurdity of the rock star life to its logical end. And it is brilliant. Pink Floyd was simply not the same after the breakup.

It is visually and viscerally stunning. I used to watch this over and over again and it seemed to tap into what I was feeling at the time and it provided comfort, a sense that someone else could relate to the isolation and loneliness I felt, even in the midst of people. I had to replace my vinyl record several times because I listened to it so much. The movie provides eye candy for the songs.

The plot is quite simple: Pink ('by the way, which one's Pink?') is a rock star whose about had enough of the excess and snaps, journeying into his brain way too far. We see the meltdown unfold and follow the transition to something much more frightening, gaining a vision of just how far human vanity can take us. The songs and the visuals form a cohesive whole.

Sure it's pretentious and takes itself too seriously at times - but isn't that the point? It works.

It's one of the darker takes on this life but it nails it brilliantly. You'll find that many of the scenes are bigger than the context of the film. Many of them could be related to events in the political or social sphere of then and today.

It's a bit dated, perhaps, or I've merely gotten older. But the extras on the DVD make it worthwhile, including the video for 'Hey You' featuring footage that didn't make it into the film.

I was a Pink Floyd fan throughout my younger years, but The Wall to me
is still one of the most wonderfully well-produced albums of all time.
I must have seen this film in the theater over 20 times during my high
school years. And now, seeing and hearing this film on DVD has
'remastered' my appreciation for this entertaining visual and audio
experience. At first sight, the graphics work on the package and the
disc itself is attractive. the animated flowers are beautifully
portrayed on the disc. The inner pamphlet is a simple mini poster,
with movie and DVD credits. I was hoping for a little more to read,
but I guess not this time. I popped the DVD into my player and was
immediately introduced to the main menu. You have 4 choices....the
movie, the extra features, scene/song selection and audio selection.
Let's first talk about the audio selection, titled "Set The
Controls". You have a choice of 5.1 surround and PCM stereo
surround. **TECHNICAL NOTE-If your DVD player has 3D sound
enhancement, you must turn this off for this disc. Having that
feature on will lower the sound quality from this disc** You also have
a "system set up" choice. It gives you specific sound tests
and directions on volume and surround elements. A nice addition, kind
of like the THX optimode on other discs, but slightly different. The
next menu button is titled "Any Title You Like". Under
this, you get to choose subtitles if you wish. Your choices are
Spanish, French or English. You get to choose scenes by song, of
course. Unfortunately, these choices are only numbered, there are no
descriptions of the scene or the song. So, it may take a few tries to
find an individual scene. You also have a choice to watch the film
with the song lyrics below the picture. This is pretty cool. It
reminded me of those "Pink Floyd Karaoke Parties" that I
never went to! Anyway, it would probably be taken more seriously to
those not too familiar with the lyrics. The final button, titled
"A Soucerful of Features", contain all the supplemental
material. You have your choice of two documentaries, titled "The
Other Side", "Retro Part One", and "Retro Part
Two". "The Other Side" is a piece produced around the
time The Wall was released, and it's great to watch. There is a lot
of behind the scenes footage. "Retro Part One and Two" are
recent documentaires containing rather new interviews with Roger
Waters, Alan Parker and others who worked on the film. Both of these
documentaires are fascinating because it is well known (to fans), that
Roger and Alan had very different views as to what the film is about!
A lot of behind the scenes stories and information. They are put
together very well and a pleasure to watch! You also have the choice
of watching the film with commentary by Roger Waters and Gerald Scarfe
(animation). These commentaries have great behind the scenes
information throughout the film. Roger Waters is especially a
pleasure to listen to because he laughs (which is rare), and he gives
the commentary a more personal experience since the film is
semi-autobiographical. He even mentions a story about Syd Barrett
(the founder of Pink Floyd). This commentary is outstanding. The
final piece of supplemental material is when you click a button titled
"Oddities". These pieces of supplemental material include
the trailer, photographs from the movie set, paintings from the film,
a music video of "Another Brick in the Wall-Part 2", and a
sequence of the song "Hey You" that was not in the final cut
of The Wall. That's all the supplemental material...well worth it
too! The only two complaints I have are these buttons that you can
press that give you 10 second sound bites from the film, and the
slowness of the menus. After you select something, you need to watch
10 seconds of video before you are allowed to make your next choice.
Menu design and graphics is pretty good, but should be MUCH faster.
OK, so I watched the film and the high definition transfer is
incredibly beautiful. Colors are deeply saturated with a sharp
picture and wonderful clarity. The transfer is very impressive!
Sound quality is a mixed bag. The production track sounds dated, not
too much range but not at all annoying, just noticeable. The music is
unbelievable! The soundtrack was remastered from the ORIGINAL MASTER
TAPES. If you've never heard The Wall on a surround sound system, you
are in for a big treat. The music sounds almost perfect, with some
hiss, but nothing to complain about. There were times I heard
instruments that I didn't remember from the album....incredibly clear,
wonderfully recorded music. I can't say enough about the musical
soundtrack, it comes alive on DVD. Pink Floyd never sounded better!
In conclusion, I recommend this DVD to EVERY Pink Floyd fan, and to
those who want to hear a unique, musical experience and watch a
beautifully photographed film. I must add that the animation is
absolutely wonderful. Gerald Scarfe has included his great creativity
throughout the film! The disc loses points ONLY for its slow menu
navigation. Other then that, Pink Floyds The Wall on DVD is
wonderful. Tons of extra footage, a beautiful transfer and
unbelievable sounding music. A great DVD to own whether you live
inside or outside the wall! Enjoy!

For those Pink Floyd fans out there, like myself, looking to add another great movie to your DVD collection, take note before purchasing this one. This is a great DVD, no doubt about it; however, if you have seen the original on VHS, you might be disappoionted. There are scenes cut, the music is changed and the movie as a whole is not as "dark" as the VHS version. I was dissapointed. I had purchased the DVD to save my VHS, it got frequent use, but the VHS is still watched and the DVD is sitting on a shelf collecting dust.

Don't think of buying this DVD if you plan on viewing it on a computer DVD drive: the DVD's menus just wouldn't comply with the mouse clicks, and keep changing to items the mouse is just passing over.

For those of you hoping for a widescreen version of The Wall on VHS, don't get your hopes up ... although it's advertised as a "widescreen" edition, it's not. How could they? Guess it's time to buy a DVD player.

That's how Alan Parker described this after he was finished with it. And there's no way to get around the fact that it's a total mess -- muddled, undisciplined, ever so pretentious -- but there's also no way to dismiss the fact that for sheer visual imagination and non-verbal storytelling, there's almost no other movie like it. Unfortunately, what does work (Gerald Scarfe's blood-curdling animation; the flashes of brutal surrealism) is so far outweighed by what doesn't (the heavy-handed attempts at social relevance) that the movie is now only of interest to diehard fans. The disc is a worthy reissue, though, with great sound and picture. Just watch out for the scene of the schoolchildren being shoved into the meatgrinder.

For me, this is the best Pink Floyd album. This movie puts it into perspective.

I've been a Pink Floyd fan since the late 60's when an acquaintance introduced me to them...I still have their vinyl albums & listen to them once in a while.
I own most of their CDs & DVDs.
THE WALL DVD should be required viewing for every school aged person.. There are many lessons to be learned. I'm 71 y.o. & purchased copies for my seven grandchildren & several of my siblings & friends; I was that impressed with the movie.
Other DVDs of theirs which I purchased multiple copies of as gifts were PULSE & Roger Waters IN THE FLESH - LIVE. Fantastic stuff!