The film contained practically no dialogue and the entire story was told through the songs on the album released in 1979 and the images, in a successful amalgamation.
Although these marriages between rock and cinema already existed, as in the case of “Tommy”rock opera dand The Whoeither “200 motels”the sardonic criticism of frank zappa to the music business; “TheWall” it became the most perfect synthesis of the miseries that surround this industry, as a synonym for a general state of society.
Perhaps because of these issues, particularly shocking in a country that was beginning to emerge from the ferocious civic-military dictatorship, such as because of the hallucinogenic effect of the film’s animations, the production of Allan Parker It remained on the bill in Buenos Aires cinemas at late-night hours for almost the entire decade. As had happened with “The song is the same”from Led Zeppelinand its screenings at the Lara cinema on Avenida de Mayo, or with “woodstock”, “TheWall” it became an obligatory ritual for rock lovers in Argentina.
Despite its monumental success and status achieved over the years, the film did not satisfy any of the parties involved. On the one hand, the film’s nerve trio -Parker, Scarfe and Waters- maintained marked differences regarding the project, which caused quite a few discussions.
Furthermore, the work “TheWall” it was also stinging in the bosom of pink floyd because it was an almost solo undertaking by its leader, in one of his moments of greatest megalomania.
In this sense, Waters took command in an almost dictatorial manner and silenced any creative input from the other members of the group.
It should be remembered that the presentation of the album consisted of a series of thematic concerts in which a great wall was built while the band played, until it was completely hidden behind the bricks, to finally bring down the great wall while the last song was playing. In this way, Waters intended to symbolize the lack of communication between the artist and the public that the music industry caused through the exacerbation of a kind of ‘star system’.
Dissatisfied with this dynamic and given the great production effort that this staging meant, the show was barely performed in a few cities. The complete work was later performed in 1990 by Waters and guest artists to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall, and was the subject of a special tour by the musician in 2012 that crystallized in Argentina with nine packed stadiums at River Plate.
Meanwhile, the film remains to this day as the rock culture classic that best synthesized the union between cinema and music, while being able to clearly express those great questions that have always hovered over the genre.
For its part, “TheWall” added to the filmography of Allan Parker another title that together with films like “Midnight express” Y “Fame” would catapult him to fame. It should be remembered that in 1995 he shot the rock opera “Evita” in Argentina, which earned him several criticisms from Peronist orthodoxy.
The truth is that the film was also a great accolade for Bob Geldofwho in those years led the band Boomtown Rats and who, shortly after, would take advantage of his fame to organize the Live Aid benefit concerts.
By Hernani Natale
Source: Ambito
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