Mantrap

What is breathtaking is not just how good the music still sounds it's the audaciousness in creating a pseudo film noir, with clearly very little. No wonder British Bands conquered the world in the 80s with talent and energy. Clearly of its time and to be judged in that context yet as a showcase for the band and the album phenomenal.

The full film with half way break as the laser disc is turned over can be accessed on YouTube. The sound of the band is rich and real different from the highly polished album on which the songs appeared giving a more live feel.

Don't miss this and if you are looking at Sheffields finest surely the other great Album is Dare by the Hunan League sorry Pulp fans.

It's apparent, judging by the films he made post 'mantrap', that Temple loves music and making films about music. 'Mantrap', however, was a terrible way to start, unless you're in love with ABC. It makes an interesting music video for their album, Lexicon of Love. Beyond that I would say stay far away, even as a popcorn flick it's unbearable. There's more focus on the music than even 'Purple Rain' can offer. I'm at a loss for words beyond that, kudos to the eighties for releasing such memorable contributions to celluloid. Rating: 11/40

This is a fantastic film.

A superb plot which takes you on an atmospheric journey with a number of twists.

A story which encapsulates a man with talent and ambition, set against an 80s backdrop of Cold War Eastern Europe.

Wonderful music , a very natural performance by Martin Fry and excellent characters involved throughout.

A classic

The only drawback is it is quite difficult to get hold of and only available on laser disc or VHS, I hope it gets the digital treatment so future generations can enjoy it.

First off, this is not a movie per say . It is a full length music video and should be approached as such. Consider that it was created in the early 80's during the MTV video explosion. If you are a product of the 80's and more importantly a fan of ABC then there could not have been a better source of material to produce a full length video from, this is the album The Lexicon of Love.

The drawback is it was created during a time of low resolution 4:3 screens and dreaded VHS. So finding a good copy with good sound quality can be a challenge.

Once you get past this you can focus on the subject. Martin Fry and ABC were early MTV front runners in the second British Invasion of the early 1980's. Their album "The Lexicon of Love" was hailed as the greatest album ever in some U.K. music publications. They stormed Europe in their niche which was new wave dance. The style was dignified, classy disco. This work was produced by the Buggles very own Trevor Horn whom also produced Yes' 90125, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Seal to name a few.

In a time when music videos were a required part of any album release ABC leveraged the idea into a concept video. The theme for Mantrap is just that. A Mantrap. Without giving away the story Martin is a lone man picked up by a band, manager and woman all in one night. His life is transformed by an audition with an up and coming band called… ABC. If he can sing he can join the band. From there they travel Europe featuring only the songs from the Lexicon of Love album. It is a simple espionage twist with a dash of romance. They kept it simple. In the end you have to look for the clues in order to understand the ending.

It becomes clear that the director wanted very little dialogue in the video to keep the music pace flowing. Everyone including the band plays characters in the story. So you can't expect to learn anything real about Martin Fry, Mark White or the rest of the band.

If and only if you honestly appreciate this album you will love this video for the musical value. The story is weak but not sad. Martin seems to have reasonable acting skills while the rest of band phones it in.

One song that is not on the Lexicon (Language) of Love album is the theme from Mantrap which is a variation of Poison Arrow. There is both an instrumental and vocal version. You get plenty of real ABC live exposure so even if you could care less about the story line there is some great video music to watch along the way. Most all songs are uninterrupted so you get the complete song to watch and listen in on.

I'm rating this video high for production value in it's time. Not modern times. It is dated. It is a product of the 80's and should be judged as such. I was no fan of the director Julian Temple in many of his other efforts like David Bowie's Bluejean feature video, but on this occasion he didn't hurt the band ABC.

OK, so this isn't a 'movie' per say; but it is an excellent video on one of the best bands to come out of the post-punk 'New Romantic' era of the UK in the early 80s!

The members of ABC aren't actors but portray themselves well in Mantrap, and their performances alone are worth the trouble and effort to find a copy of this (I have a very old VHS version). ABC's music still beats a lot of contemporary artists' work and I find it timeless. Mantrap is a wonderful capture of the music of the era and definitely worth seeing!

A 10/10 for me, and I wish someone would put out a digitized copy!