Roger Waters: The Wall

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

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.

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

Roger Waters is perhaps the greatest rock and roll showmen thanks to his great visual compilations, which are second to none in rock and roll history. There is absolutely no denying his emotional impact through his words, lyrics and visuals. He is the king of the bleeding hearts; a liberal I can actually respect. Of course, like most other liberals, he is very good at pointing out the problems of civilization through the ages, but not very helpful when it comes to solutions to prevent war, starvation, genocide, homelessness, religious persecution, and other injustices of recent history. I am kind of reminded of the Assistant Principal in South Park when I see displays like this. "Drugs are bad, OK?, War is bad, OK", Genocide is bad, Ok?, Starvation is bad, OK?. Yes, Mr. Waters, we know. What separates Mr. Waters and Pink Floyd from the rest of the bleeding hearts is his ability to tap into the isolation and dismay of millions of people in the world who feel there is no hope, no chance for human salvation, no chance for human beings to overcome their despicable shortcomings, and no chance to break through that psychological wall of bureaucracy, indifference, callousness, and authoritarianism. Yes, all these things are bad, too, OK? But the real questions beg to be asked: What should we do about it? How should we live our lives, work, raise families, and age in such a world? How can we make the world a better place for our children and grandchildren? Those answers are not provided by Mr. Waters, nor should they be. He is not there to give us all the answers; he is there to ask crucial questions. And he does so with style. Highly recommended.

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.