Роджер Уотерс: The Wall (2014) Online

The best band ever biggest album gets a new approach, making it sound fresh as ever and surprising once again.

Thirty-six years after the original release, a great number of tours, a movie and a few concerts released on video, some could say Roger Waters wanted to release a "The Wall" concert in 2015 only to cash in, taking advantage of nostalgia and of the value and influence of the work to music: however, this one would be completely wrong.

The movie is a new, and once again, genius approach to the Rock Opera masterpiece. The work was updated carefully, even though it is, almost entirely, timeless. Waters is vulnerable during the cutscenes of this documentary, showing his traumas and personal life, allowing the audience to understand how his loss experiences related to both World Wars forged his personality, while simultaneously creating identification through loss, revolt or the inability that, unfortunately, meets us all in some moment of contemporary life.

But if Waters is vulnerable on the cutscenes, at the stage he is self-assured, proves to be a great frontman and leads his work like no one else could ever do. "The Wall", played in its entirety in this movie (three songs were added to the original album's tracklist) is, undeniably, one of the most important art works of the 20th century. Terrorrism's evil, in any of its forms, and the alienation of the human being due to the lack of empathy of modern society underpins Roger reflections, and allow him to insert his anthropological and social questionings, going way beyond Pink's character.

The movie is very well-directed, with great editing and cinematography. The concert, as fans know, is a spectacle of rock 'n' roll classics played beautifully, an unprecedented visual production and energetic performances from Roger and the band.

The audience's catharsis during Comfortably Numb is something ridiculously emotional, Bring The Boys Back Home can bring us all to tears and Another Brick In The Wall summarizes why Pink Floyd was and still is one of the most enchanting bands ever, justifying The Wall's mythology.

A must-see for rock lovers and highly recommended to people interested in complex narratives, social criticism and great audiovisual spectacles.

10 out of 10

Great experience! A staggering production and intimate insight into a classic album that in the blink of an eye is; irritating, stunning, frightening, beautiful, angry, powerful, simple, complex, disheartening, and uplifting.

The segments with Roger Waters away from the stage gave me a rich insight into how he came to create the story of 'The Wall'. No doubt that creating this production was cathartic for Mr. Waters. The common thread that 'The Wall' shares with the 'classics' of all genres is that it is as relevant (if not more so) today as when it was originally penned.

It isn't sad to be a Pink Floyd enthusiast when a timeless musical piece such as The Wall comes around and magnetize new and older generations with is powerful story, graphics and of course - the music.

Not sure what to expect, Roger Waters The Wall is not a motion picture like Alan Parkers The Wall. It is a documentary of Roger Waters life integrated into The Wall's storyline. Most of the film is taken from a jaw-dropping big scale concert somewhere in Europe.

Roger does a god job as a protagonist and musician, balancing seemingly casual between personal life and the professional creative universe he created with The Wall.

If you like Pink Floyd - hit the wall

During last week a friend and I watched The Wall at the wonderful Avoca Beach Picture Theatre, not quite knowing what we were going to see. Was it going to be a remake of the original movie or a documentary reflecting on the album that was first released 37 years ago? It turns out to be an edited version of Roger Waters' 2010-2013 concert tour, with concert footage interspersed with Waters' pilgrimage to war memorials where his father and grandfather died.

37 years! Makes me feel old, because I remember buying that album at the time. Now, when I listen to a lot of the music I loved back then, it sounds pretentious and musically lame, but The Wall is one of a handful of albums that continue to be inspiring: the music is still catchy and complex, the lyrics profound, and the artistic vision monumental.

Pink Floyd was always known for the extravagance of their light shows, and Waters raises that in this concert to amazing heights. I mean "raises" literally -- the stage crew gradually build a brick wall at the front of the stage during the concert, so that by half-way through the musicians are completely obscured by a 10m wall and continue to perform behind it.

The wall has always been the central metaphor of the whole project, and Waters has worked that metaphor to the limit through multiple re-interpretations over three decades. We build personal walls to protect ourselves, but they end up isolating and imprisoning us. As he emphasised in the Berlin concert in 1990, the wall can also isolate and imprison nations.

I've always been a great fan of Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense, Laurie Anderson's Home of the Brave, and even pretty impressed with Michael Jackson's posthumous This Is It. But from a creative point of view, The Wall has a scope and attention to detail that surpasses them all. The staggering visual effects complement the storyline of the music and amplify the audacious vision that is both a commentary on war and fear, and a semi-biographical reflection on modern masculinity.

It is that last point that stood out to me as I watched the movie. The lasting value of the whole project is likely to be not the creativity, or the music, or the visual effects but the insightful portrayal of the modern western male psyche. Waters has captured the angst I feel, and I think many of my male peers feel. The ambiguity of whether walls protect or imprison. The shame of expressing emotions. The demoralising outcome of modern education. The distrust of government. The misguided aspiration for rock-star status. The disappointment that life has not delivered what we hoped for. The depressing thought they we are no more than a single brick in a huge impersonal wall.

In another review of this movie, Leslie Felperin accuses Waters of misogyny. I think Felperin is wrong about that, mistaking an honest portrayal of the male experience for a denial of the female experience. The movie is almost devoid of females. All the musicians are male. Waters' travelling companions are male apart from a brief scene with someone I presume is his daughter.

The story in the lyrics reveals a youth who had difficulty separating from a perhaps over-protective mother. The original movie (from memory) had more to say about how that psychological rut was transferred to his wife. That's coupled with an absent father. The commentary in this movie explicitly notes that war caused not only Roger Waters to grow up without a father, but that the same thing was true of his father.

Waters is a man castrated, but consciously on the journey to discover what it means to be a true man.

Along that journey he notes -- and discards -- false ideals of the masculine. Waters' repeated use of faux-Nazi characters and symbols satirically presents the emptiness of the supposedly masculine will to power. Woven throughout the piece is a criticism of the tendency to judge those who are different and the way that is ultimately expressed in the stupidity of waging war against the Other. When it comes to male attitudes to women, he notes the pathetic expression of lust for a "dirty woman", and couples that with a fear of being eaten by a vagina.

One of the best outcomes of feminism is that it has forced men to think about the meaning of masculinity. Waters hasn't resolved that here, but he clearly rejects some possibilities, and I think points towards two more helpful possibilities. In "Nobody Home" he sings "I've got wild staring eyes and I've got a strong urge to fly but I got nowhere to fly to." What I think Waters is attempting here, or at least pointing towards, is to reclaim the wild man archetype. The problem is, how does one get there from here? We feel trapped behind the wall we have conspired with society to build around our male identity. But let's at least affirm the will to break free.

The second direction Waters points to is the demolition of the wall. Sometimes it can be a conscious deconstruction; other times it is forced upon us as a shameful punishment "to be exposed before your peers." But in the end, as is clear from "Outside the Wall", we need each other.

Ex-Pink Floyd bassist/ co-singer Roger Waters delves into some of his motivations for writing The Wall, specifically the war-related death of his own father at a very early age, and his father's loss of his own father in an earlier war. Very moving footage of Waters travelling to Anzio in the present day, to the actual scene of the battle in which his father died during, and going to his grandfather's grave with his own adult kids is shown between footage of several concerts, in the UK, Italy, Greece, and Argentina, edited together to give us a full and complete live rendition of all 26 songs from The Wall, as well as two extra songs (the unreleased More Bricks In The Wall, and a favourite of mine, What Shall We Do Now?) performed live, as The Wall is progressively built between Waters' band, and the audiences, and as animation and graphics are projected and dance on The Wall.

This is preceded by a very well done filmed intro by Liam Neeson, describing his reaction to hearing The Wall for the first time, and his experience seeing the subsequent shows Pink Floyd staged in London in February of 1980, which brought back memories of the two times in 2010 that I saw Waters perform The Wall (in Tampa and Atlanta). Complete with dominant, overbearing Mother, derisive schoolmarm, dive bombers, and cracking thin ice of modern life, and marching hammers, it was one of the most amazing concerts I've ever seen (second only to Waters' own Dark Side Of The Moon tours, from 2006 and 2007, which I saw in Cleveland, LA, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Dubai, Zurich, Rio, and Philadelphia- I even met Waters and his band a couple of times. Waters, his then sax player Ian Ritchie, and guitarist Dave Kilminster was especially cordial, even going so far as to walk around the stands before the show, talking with people and taking photos with fans)

It brought back incredible memories of foreign countries and peoples, who might not even know any other words in the English language other than the words to The Wall, which they belt out right back to the band every night. The Wall's songs of isolation and loneliness are what those millions of people have in common.

Comfortably Numb was a highlight, musically and lyrically; one of the finest songs ever recorded, and it sounds even better when performed live.

This partially autobiographical concert film is rounded off with an interview session with Waters and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason.

My only complaint, and it's a MAJOR one, is the film began with an incredibly lengthy intro, a grey brick wall, very slowly moving to the left, very slowly, to very slowly reveal the phrase, "Please take your seats the show is about to begin", which had various non-Floyd/ Waters songs playing while it happened, and lasted for nearly 20 minutes. It was like a bad opening act who overstayed their welcome.

As someone who can get easily tired of concert films, or just concerts in general (I much prefer hearing music by myself), this really did as much as it could. I think the stage in which Waters performed is amazing, and it's a really heightened experience, one that as with every concert loses its impact as it goes on. But that's as far as the concert goes. The film does a great job of really emphasizing the visual texture and atmosphere of the concert while also adding in a bit of "road film" tendencies, which I think was a clever way to really bring everything together. Overall, this is a really neat package for every Pink Floyd fan.

It's hard not to think about certain things when watching this live concert cum documentary that Roger Waters (with assist by Sean Evans) has put together. One of those is the original 1982 movie of the Wall - back when Pink Floyd did it, which you will find scant mention of here - which had director Alan Parker basically bringing the album to life in a theatrical medium, along with cartoons by Gerald Scarfe. It was the kind of presentation that was iconic for a 15 year old as I was when I first saw it (the perfect age to see it, I think, even as an R-rate movie), and it struck a chord as a 'depressing' rock opera of sorts, a tale that goes into the sad, ugly sides of fame and dealing with loss; not really being able to deal with it, mistreating/detaching from women or romantic interests, and holding up in a (self made) prison of neuroses and pain. It's in other words the ultimate emo classic rock classic of its time.

But now Waters is not the same man he was when he wrote it 36 years ago and went on your with it with Floyd back in 1980/81; he's an old man with kids and grandkids, and this movie is really about reflecting back again. And again, and again at the loss of something very heavy, this being Eric Fletcher Waters in 1944 in Anzio, and if there's any through-line with the documentary scenes it's that Waters is going to the same site where his dad died. Will he get catharsis? Are even told as much? Who knows.

In a strange way, between this rock show and Waters in real life as we see him in this movie, he's like the rock star equivalent of a superhero; not on the side of doing things heroic, rather I mean the origin story, as we know many/most comic book heroes have in their bones loss. If the loss of Bruce Wayne's parents shaped him to become Batman, then one wonders watching this if Waters' dad made him make The Wall; certainly it wouldn't have the same sort of emotional punch without the loss. That said, it's pushed so much in this story that there's not much room for anything else; there are a couple of anecdotes told between Waters and an old childhood friend, plus his own kids who join him to see his grandfather's grave (which, in a coincidence I didn't know, died as well in WW1 when EF Waters was just two), but aside from that it's all about the loss to the point where it's constricting.

But hey, this IS also about the performance of The Wall concert itself, right? That itself is one of the marvels of rock performances, and has been for so long, though even this is updated from what it used to be - when Pink Floyd first performed the concerts, the brick-by-brick set up of a wall being built in the first half, then finished by the end of 'Goodbye Cruel World', and the rest of the show performed with a wall put up between band and audience (a metaphor for the ages), it was innovative and stark and original. Here it's used again, though this time in 2015 this along with the creator has changed, and audiences seeing it in person get a giant screen projected on the Wall.

I wonder if this has the same effect as it did back in the early 80's, when such technology didn't exist, but it does provide us with a lot of images that compliment and enhance what we're hearing and seeing on stage - pictures of veterans and other civilians that have died in war in the early part of the concert (during "Thin Ice") and, to a not as effective sensation, girls acting all catty and 'sensual' during "Young Lust". What one wants to see is the band perform really, and they all do a smashing good job (GE Smith one of them); one unintentionally ironic part is that The Wall is meant as the metaphor in part for what Waters felt in the late 70's, being disconnected from the very audience he was playing for, and now the filmmakers have lots and lots of shots of the audience, enraptured and loving what they're seeing on stage.

Of course there are only so many ways to shoot a live concert, and if it was focused just on the stage Waters and Evans wouldn't get enough coverage. But it is funny (not in a 'ha-ha' way, just amusing) that the show is both shown as being about in large part a rock start going full blown fascist dictator and stone-cold depressive ("One of My Turns") to an audience that is totally connected, albeit many of them with their phones out, with that being their own wall, so to speak, if one reads into it that way. But ultimately the performance by Waters and his band is so strong and the presentation so lively and inventive in its roots, from the inflatable figures on stage of the teacher and the black pig over the audience, to the Scarfe animations occasionally thrown on the video on the wall, that I couldn't help but be entertained on that audio-visual level alone.

So to sum it all up: the documentary segments are well-shot and interesting on their own, and they'd make for a helluva strong short documentary on tracking the kind of loss that you can never fully get over, but it breaks up the flow of what is the MAIN story, the Wall story itself. It's maybe a more mature and thoughtful film than Parker/Scarfe/Waters' production in 82, but as far as just pure rock and roll experimentation brilliance it doesn't compare. One last nice touch: Waters playing 'When the Tigers Broke Free' on trumpet for his dad.

Film criticism is often tantamount to film cynicism. Giving a film the benefit of the doubt is a privilege offered by a viewer's tastes, expectations, and biases. It is likely that anybody going to the lengths of seeking out Roger Waters The Wall would give him a pass on many missteps. What's remarkable is how high the standard is for Waters' latest effort and how obvious it is that he does not take his fan base for granted.

It is tempting in the first few minutes of this film to have such a cynicism nagging at your brain. What is this supposed to be? Is this a narrative concert? Is this some pretentious self homage? Not too long after these questions came to me, I was entrenched. Any need for categorization or guidance in making sense of what this film is, fell away and the experience became just that, an experience.

When familiar themes and stage tricks showed up, I kept having to remind myself,"This isn't comparable to Tool or Spinal Tap, Tool and Spinal Tap are comparable to this!" As the production grows in scale, so does the scope of the life of Roger Waters. This is a revisit and re-imagining of a 50 year body of work, set to the tune of the immensely influential film and album "The Wall."

The production of the concert is massive. It seems not a dollar was spared or a talent source untapped. On the stage is a video wall that acts as a stunt piece, a metaphor, and to some degree, a band member. What accompanies the actual concert is Roger Waters on a European quest of self discovery. Details of his past and present are coupled with the concert for some exquisitely powerful effects. All the familiar themes of Pink Floyd,(I.E. Anti-establishment, addiction, love, powerlessness) are shown in a matured step up from the past, like Waters. Some of the greatest effects are seen in the transitions between Waters' travels and the concert.

To call this review a recommendation would be inaccurate. Like the music it is centered around, the film is patient and spectacular; but it is also not meant to be universally loved. For audiences that are so accustom to movies with a three act structure, and concert movies that exclusively include the show, this will be more challenging. It is neither a documentary nor a linear production. If you have curiosities, see this film and don't let your expectations cloud it's hypnotic effect. If you are a fan, you shouldn't have a hard time tearing down that wall.

A little slow to grab my interest but stick with it; what a fantastic concert and a visual assault on the senses superb!

I was fortunate enough to experience the latest incarnation of The Wall Tour in Dublin in 2014, and watching this film brought back many memories. The film has done a superb job of capturing the atmosphere of the concert, building to the crescendo of tearing down the Wall in the finale. Wound into the concert footage is a poignant and emotional road trip by Waters to the war graves of his father and grandfather, along with interestingly shot moments of reflection. It all adds up to an emotional roller-coaster that was exciting in terms the actual concert but reflective as you witness his journey, overall a truly brilliant film.

I have been fortunate enough to do a Battlefield Tour of Monte Cassino so I can relate to his time being stood on Anzio beach, plus the moving sentiments of standing in the Cassino War Cemetery, it's an emotive place to visit as part of a tour, but I cannot begin to even contemplate the power of feeling Roger must have felt as he sat at the monument before playing the final trumpet performance of Outside the Wall.

All in all it amounts to a masterpiece of a rockumentary, highly recommended for any Floyd/Waters fan. Stay for the Simple Facts feature at the end, which has Roger and Nick Mason answering questions sent in by fans from around the world.

I went to see the concert in Lisbon, Portugal in 2012. It was the most incredible show I ever seen. When the movie was announced I just couldn't wait to relieve everything one more time. Roger not only is brilliant musician and songwriter but also a great show man, he knows how to prepare an amazing experience for his crowd. This movie was the first time that I see such an emotional Roger, and that is a good thing. This is the way that concerts shouldn't recorded and then later presented, I was seating and in every song I felt the need to just get up and start moving, the same way I did when I was on the concert. Totally amazing experience! I can't wait for the Blu-ray release of this, its a must have for me, so I can later relieve this amazing life experience one more time. As floyd fan, and as person whose life changed thanks to the Pink Floyd music, thank you Roger. Thank you David. Thank you Nick. Thank you Rick.

I just got "Roger Waters "The Wall", no other musician puts out this much artistry in a rock concert! I saw this show live, indoors & it was still amazing! The film, intermixed with "Wall" views & Roger's past? Is very powerful! In the extra dvd? You'll see "Comfortably Numb" performed they way it was meant to, when David Guilmore makes a guest appearance! If you like Pink Floyd? This' a must have! It is a fantastic show, full of great music & eye candy!

Very moving. You really, truly don't know what you're missing. If you were born in 1975 and before, it's a must see for you. Don't miss out. As a bonus, the songs (if nothing else) will bring back so many memories for you. You absolutely will not regret watching this one!

Nearly three and a half decades ago I rode my little brother, who was two years younger than me, to the local cinema to see "The Wall" (1982) on the handlebars of my bicycle. The movie was awesome and both my brother and I became avid Pink Floyd fans and still are to this day.

Fast-forward to today, when I got to see "Roger Water's The Wall" (2014) and see those same words and music (basically through older, more experienced and understanding eyes, what a revelation I experienced; perhaps seeing much more clearly Roger Water's pains that gave birth to "The Wall" and some insight into his life. So, for all you Pink Floyd fans out there who perhaps owned the original movie, not only on DVD but VCR tape, I think you are somehow morally obligated to go see this film. I promise it will not disappoint.

Intersting to see how elaborate a live performance of the album has become. Other then a few songs special effects there's really not much here. Scenes of him driving around Europe and visiting cemeteries is dull and self indulgent. His voice not so great for many of the songs. If want to see a Live Wall movie the one from the Berlin Wall is much better and so many great artists.

Very good movie. The concert is absolutely amazing, the lights and affects are really cool along with the teacher puppet, the mother and the pig. The end is very emotional and made me cry.

I'am 23 years old, and my dad is a big fan of the Pink Floyds. My first concert with Roger Waters was in 2007 in Augustenborg, in Denmark. OMG it was fantastic, thnx daddy! Then I saw the Wall twice in Rotterdam, amazing, thnx again daddy. The DVD In the flesh, wow is great, like many other videos from Roger's concerts are available on Youtube. Then if you notice you can hear that Mr. Dave Kilminster, Jon Carin, Snowy White, Graham Broad and Roger are playing close to the original Pink Floyd sound, Mr. Carin is singing the parts of Mr. Gilmour and so does Mr. Kilminster, and they do it well!!!! But the Wall Blu-ray, crap! Sorry to say, was waiting for it a long time but got very disappointed. The visuals, and effects parts of the show are just as I remembered "incredible and astonishing", but the sound mixing, dubbing OMG!!! Too clean, too dim, tones are cut of. Robbie Wycoff and G.E. Smith, should never been involved, the band sounded much better without those two.

I was very curious what this film would be about and what Roger would make it look like. There is already so much material about The Wall, what can be added to that? I went to the show live in Paris and it was a great show but you could feel Roger's megalomania already. And this is what the film inspired me too. I had a good moment because I love the music but the whole story about Roger's personal life and past and how he had to summarized it so shortly , in this dramatic way which looks so fake, did not really contribute to the concert and to what the wall is really about. Anyway, I loved the discussion between Roger and Nick at the end of the movie. It was a fun moment and I think there is also a message that Roger wished to give here: that he wouldn't be against a reformation of Pink Floyd but David would...which is understandable after you actually saw the movie and understand more Roger's personality!!!