Wall, The - Pink Floyd > Reviews > A Floydian Masterpiece, the video

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	Stunning animation, thought - provoking, excelent music
Disadvantages:	Concentration

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Symbolic and surreal, ‘The Wall’ defies categorisation of genre: animated film; musical; contemporary art?

I first watched ‘The Wall’ (directed by Alan Parker) when I was 15. Even then I could see the powerful messages which were being portrayed through the use of imagery, cinematography and the music and lyrics of Pink Floyd. However, to fully appreciate the depth of ‘The Wall’, the film becomes even more enjoyable when watched more than once.

So over the years I have revisited the life of Pink (Bob Geldof), a musical performer who in a drug induced state revisits his past and looks at a future where he is a powerful neo-Nazi style dictator.

The animation (Gerald Scarfe, best known for his caricatures) provides the basis for the symbolism and imagery in the film. The symbolic wall is transformed into the physical, which engulfs the soul of Pink. In another scene Pink imagines his adulterous wife with her lover. Symbolising this is the ‘copulation’ of two flowers (sounds odd, but it is effective) with one consuming the other (a judgement of his wife in how she treats men perhaps), whilst the music plays ‘Empty Spaces’, with Roger Waters’ lyrics and scathing voice urging to ‘build the wall’.

The musical arrangement and lyrics within Pink Floyd’s music provides the narration, drama and impetus of the story. Most famously, ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ is reprised throughout as a reminder of the facets and isolation of his life. ‘Comfortably Numb’ portrays the feelings of Pink and others around him as he’s escorted to his next performance in a drugged stupor.

Leading players in Pink’s life are the main concentration in his thoughts. His mother shows all signs of being the stereotypical matriarch; his wife who’s having an affair and his father who died when he was a child in the war. This is a problematic part of the film however. Pink focuses, understandably on the loss of his father, but the film does have a major emphasis on war (one example being Floyd’s war cry in ‘Bring the Boys Back Home’). Again another use of symbolism, with the war that Pink faces, but somewhat tenuous. I suspect this focus is the political thoughts of the band themselves than a major link in the film (their next album release “The Final Cut” takes on this theme as the major subject).

The concept of the film and Pink Floyd’s album excellently portray the personality and life of Pink. The symbolism is endless (there’s far too much to go through all in detail here) and it really is a thought-provoking film which is in the same league as “A Clockwork Orange” and “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”. There is sensational animation, perfectly timed and written music and excellent cinematography, which combine in a collage to produce a cult which never loses it’s power.