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By any rational measure, Alan Parker's cinematic interpretation of
Pink Floyd: The Wall is a glorious failure. Glorious because its imagery is hypnotically striking, frequently resonant, and superbly photographed by the gifted cinematographer Peter Biziou. And a failure because the entire exercise is hopelessly dour, loyal to the bleak themes and psychological torment of Roger Waters's great musical opus, and yet utterly devoid of the humor that Waters certainly found in his own material. Any attempt to visualize
The Wall would be fraught with artistic danger, and Parker succumbs to his own self-importance, creating a film that's as fascinating as it is flawed.
The film is, for better and worse, the fruit of three artists in conflict--Parker indulging himself, and Waters in league with designer Gerald Scarfe, whose brilliant animated sequences suggest that he should have directed and animated this film in its entirety. Fortunately, this clash of talent and ego does not prevent The Wall from being a mesmerizing film. Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof (in his screen debut) is a fine choice to play Waters's alter ego--an alienated, "comfortably numb" rock star whose psychosis manifests itself as an emotional (and symbolically physical) wall between himself and the cold, cruel world. Weaving Waters's autobiographical details into his own jumbled vision, Parker ultimately fails to combine a narrative thread with experimental structure. It's a rich, bizarre, and often astonishing film that will continue to draw a following, but the real source of genius remains the music of Roger Waters. --Jeff Shannon
DVD features
Say what you will about Alan Parker's film of
Pink Floyd: The Wall, but this is a great DVD in terms of supplemental material. In addition to a promotional featurette from 1982, a two-part retrospective documentary will prove fascinating for Pink Floyd loyalists. In a rare and insightful interview, Roger Waters discusses the autobiographical inspirations for his musical masterpiece, and equally interesting observations are made by director Alan Parker, animator-designer Gerald Scarfe, cinematographer Peter Biziou, and producer Alan Marshall. The audio commentary by Waters and Scarfe adds depth to their documentary interviews.
In terms of its sound and image quality, the DVD is totally awesome, particularly in the Dolby Digital 5.1 configuration, which is even more impressive than Pink Floyd's original album. Screen menus are cleverly designed to cater to Pink Floyd fans (with appropriate titles such as "A Saucerful of Features," etc.), and all the bonus features combine to form a comprehensive record of this troubled but fascinating production. For Pink Floyd fans, this is clearly a must-have DVD. --Jeff Shannon
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