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Overall Rating
  Awesome: 69.3%
Worth A Look: 17.54%
Average: 6.14%
Pretty Bad: 2.63%
Total Crap: 4.39%
5 reviews, 84 user ratings
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| Pink Floyd: The Wall |
by PyThomas
"How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?"
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We don't need no education. We don't need no thought control. No dark sarcasm in the classroom. Teacher, leave them kids alone. HEY! Teacher! Leave those kids alone! All in all you're just another brick in the wall.You know, I'm getting sick of seeing Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (not the album, the John Landis 15-minute video thingy) being honored by MTV and most of the media as best music video of all time. You'd think that something better would have come up by now. Jeez.
I know what you're thinking... "why are you talking about Michael Jackson in a review for Pink Floyd: The Wall?" Because if The Wall was considered to be a music video, it would kick Thriller's ass from here to the dark side of the moon. Because that's what this film basically is... a two-hour-plus top-quality music video. Almost no spoken dialogue, lots of haunting and thought-provoking imagery, a visual bombardment of jump-cut scenes, songs flowing into one another... it basically set the standard for the alternative/metal videos to come.
The fact that this movie was made in 1982, and that it was based on Pink Floyd's 1979 magnum opus concept double-album, makes The Wall all the more an amazing experience. Alan Parker takes the songs and, with the help of auteur Roger Waters and animator Gerald Scarfe, crafts an eerie and breathtaking glimpse into the disturbed psyche of a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown: one Mr. Pink Floyd (played by Bob "Mr. Live Aid" Geldof).
No, not everyone will understand what goes on in this film, as the storyline isn't something very linear. For the most part, we see Pink's "wall" - the buildup of repressed emotions and communication difficulties - being gradually crafted, starting with his traumatic moments of childhood featuring an overprotective mother and a sadistic schoolteacher. Fast-forward to his rock-star days... his marriage is in ruins, and not even an enthusiastic groupie could make him feel better. Suddenly he morphs into a cruel and heartless leader of a fascist movement, with its own hand gestures and walking-hammer symbols. And finally, putting his own stoicness on trial, the wall comes tumbling down.
The most thought-provoking images in this film come from Mr. Scarfe's pen. His animations range from the elegaic (his requiem to the fallen soldiers of World War II) to the provocative (a dysfunctional relationship symbolized by two fucking flowers that eventually turn into hateful bloodthirsty beasts) to the grotesque (the trial scene featuring a true butt-head judge). And the animated vignettes blend in seamlessly with the live-action footage.
If you get the DVD version of the film, you're in for a special treat... it's jam-packed with extra goodies. The running commentary option features Waters and Scarfe commenting on the film (and at times turning into MST3K-wannabes). You'll also get the behind-the-scenes documentary "The Other Side of The Wall" and a newer "Retrospective" program with modern-day interviews with the guys involved with the movie. And of course, the movie itself is digitally remastered and restored to its intense glory.Centuries from now, The Wall will no doubt be looked upon as a cinematic masterpiece probing the darker inclinations of the human psyche, just like we regard the works of Edgar Allan Poe today. Run like hell to the video store and see for yourself.
link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=994&reviewer=9
originally posted: 03/20/00 08:41:10
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USA
13-Aug-1982 (R)
UK
14-Jul-1982 (15)
Australia
N/A (M)
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