Arena: An Absurd Notion

When I first saw this "movie", I was expecting something more on the lines of Barbarella with some of my favourite band thrown in. That is not what I got. The whole movie is like a concert music video. It has great live footage in it and Duran Duran look fab! Esp. John Taylor's look when he sees that girl in the hall. But I'm more of an Andy girl.... If you love Duran Duran and you want to see them in concert, buy or rent this movie because it is awesome. Also check out their documentary Sing Blue Silver, it is to die for.

This film is almost sensory overload. It is a visual feast of color, not to mention fabulous-looking people, and it obviously features great music, considering the stars and the era in which it was made. Duran Duran have always taken the music video a bit farther as an art form, so this was the perfect genre for their full-length film. Not that this is just a long-running music video. Far from it. It seems to finally encapsulate all they have wanted to express, but were previously kept to only three to five minutes. Very cute storyline incorporating a visit from Dr. Duran Duran, a bit of the history of the band and it's followers, and the development of the music to its highest point.

Decent concert ruined by pointless cuts.

This film captures Duran Duran at the height of their powers and popularity, in Oakland, CA on their 1984 US tour. All their big hits are there: Hungry like the Wolf, Is there something I should know?, Rio, Union of the Snake, Save a Prayer, Wild Boys, Planet Earth, The Reflex and Girls on Film.

The movie accurately captures the energy of the band, plus the adoration of the fans.

Unfortunately, this is all ruined by cuts to an attempt to make some sort of sci fi movie in parallel. The parallel movie borrows from Barbarella, the movie from which Duran Duran got their name. However, it adds nothing to the concert. Worse than that, it wrecks the concert. The cuts are in the middle of songs, and are incredibly irritating.

Leave out the sci fi bs and this would have been a good concert film.

For loyal Duran Duran fans who want to watch a good music video, skip this one. The producers decided to get creative and make this 80's video something of a sci-fi story, involving the evil Barbarella villain from which the band got its name.

What makes this idea fail is that right in the middle of some great 80's Duran Duran songs, confusing and annoying cut scenes take place showing the fictional antagonist trying to stop the band at one of their concerts. Not only is the good music repeatedly interrupted, but we have to suffer through some cheap spin-off story hosted by an evil Dr. Mario. It's almost too much to bear. 2/10

This remains one of my favorite movies of all time. It is not by any means good, it is really embarrassing at points. But it's immensely entertaining, and 20 years on it's even more entertaining for new, kitchy reasons.

This is a Duran Duran concert shot in Oakland for the Seven and the Ragged Tiger tour. The concert footage is mixed in with an absurd, stupid plot line. Duran Duran, the bad guy from Barbarella, has been awakened in deep space by the chants of screaming teenage girls. So he discovers the band Duran Duran has taken his name and he sets out to destroy the band, setting up shop under the Oakland arena and kidnapping fans with enormous hair to supply power to his positronic ray that will allow him to control the universe. Yes, really.

Duran Duran were one of the best of the new wave bands from the 80s. When they came out they seemed to be another pretty boy band more concerned with image than music. However, they wrote their own music and played their own instrument. Seeing them again last year, they have actually gotten better with age -- they have never sounded better. Their entire catalog has held up much better than one would have thought 20 years ago, particularly their first three near perfect albums, Duran Duran, Rio, and Seven.

Back to the DVD. The concert footage remains thrilling. The audience is in hysterics, and the boys really put on a hot show. The theatrics, the staging, the costuming were all brilliant, yet the music still towered above everything else. Back then and now, they really put on one hell of a good show. The storyline footage has taken on a campy, nostalgic aura and is still compulsively watchable despite inducing cringes. Oh my god, did we actually do those things to our hair! It is really great seeing bands such as Interpol and the Killers being inspired by and ripping off the original pretty boys, and it makes me feel old to realize some of these kids weren't even born when Duran Duran first hit.

Duran Duran has really held up, and Arena is a thrilling, trashy masterpiece of camp. Time has turned this show into a kitschy work of art.