Roger Waters: The Wall

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

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.

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

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.

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.