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Pink Floyd The Wall | Year: 1982 Classification: Music Video - Pop/Rock Directed: - Alan Parker Actors/Actresses: - Bob Geldof - Christine Hargreaves All in All, It Was All Just Bricks In The Wall Before MTV made such a big deal of it's overwrought production of Michael Jackson's "Thriller", there was one music video that was even more elaborate, and more audacious. The only difference, instead of being a music video of just one song, this video attempted to capture an entire concept album, easily one of the greatest rock albums ever produced. Frankly, that's the easiest way I can explain Pink Floyd: The Wall to the uninitiated, that it's a great big, album-long music video. There's hardly any dialogue, vice what appears in snipets at the beginning or end of songs as they appear on the original album. Mostly, this movie is an attempt to visualize Roger Waters' magnum opus. The album is supposedly autobiographical of Roger Waters life and career, or at least that's always been the rumor. It follows young Pink, played here by Boomtown Rats frontman and founder of Live Aid Bob Geldoff, from the time of his father's death in World War I (I don't think Roger is old enough to have lived during WWI, but that's what the imagery is of), through his life with an overbearing mother, megalomaniacal teachers, a busted marriage, eventually to superstardom where he begins to view himself not as a rock star, but as the next Hitler ruling the world. All along the way, the wall is built; the psychological wall we build brick-by-brick, with our hurts and our failures triggering defenses, to the point we're cut off from reality, unable to truly feel anything. In the end, Pink finds himself alone behind the wall, and has a breakdown wanting to find a way out of the cell he built for himself. In the end, he stands trial for the crime of showing emotion, as the main players in his life come before the judge one last time to plead their cases. Pink's punishment -- to be exposed before his peers. Tear down the wall. Most of the movie follows the album almost verbatim, with only a few new tracks added in and some slightly expanded. Bob Geldoff actually re-recorded many of the tracks, so they have a somewhat different feel at times; mostly, Bob goes for a more realistic, spoken approach at moments, such as his rendition of "Stop" or "In the Flesh", whereas Roger approached everything quite musically and sang everything on the original album. But for the most part, Roger Waters' work remains intact, and this is, in my opinion, an interesting take on the work. Also, many of the sequences were also used in Roger Waters' live version of The Wall in Berlin, most notably the animated sequences. I can't speak for Pink Floyd's live show of this work since I've never seen it. If you are a fan of Pink Floyd, this DVD is must have. If you are a movie fan, again I warn you -- this isn't a movie, it's a really long music video. If you go in expecting grand drama and great dialogue, you'll be sorely disappointed. Hypnotic Alan Parker's film "Pink Floyd The Wall" visualizes the offbeat, yet brilliant album by the band. The album's basic focus is alienation, and the film does an excellent job at showing that. It follows the life of a famous rock singer, named "Pink", who has a nervous breakdown and becomes isolated from society. He literally builds a wall around himself, and the movie focuses on how he deconstructs the wall, brick by brick. The film's first 30 minutes or so don't make any sense, and that may draw the viewer away from the film. There are many flashbacks that at first seem unimportant and senseless, but are fully explained later. Still, after the film, many scenes remain unclear and do not make sense. With that said, this is a visual masterpiece. The animation mixed with the real life gives the viewer a feeling of isolation, and paranoia almost, taking us into the mind of the isolated rock star. When I first saw the film, I was just getting introduced to the great band, Pink Floyd, and I still thouroughly enjoyed this film. Now that I know a lot about the band's music, this film will be better next time around. The songs "Comfortably Numb" (One of my favorite songs) and "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" are exceptionally used, as with all the other songs. This film is not just for Pink Floyd fans, because it vividly paints a world of isolation and alienation. But if you are a fan though, you will love this film regardless. Cynicism run amuck... 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. Buy Pink Floyd The Wall at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  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