*Pink Floyd – The Wall (1982)
8.3 Rating
95 min
A confined but troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.
Rock star Pink Floyd is a tortured soul. Because of his childhood, he has always tried to make meaningful emotional connections to other living creatures. That childhood includes not having a male role model with his father having been killed in the war, his overprotective mother smothering him, and an oppressive school system quashing his natural creativity. Being a rock star, he is often wanted more because of what he is than who he is. The most recent failure in that true connection to someone or something else is his marriage, when on tour, he discovers that his wife back home is cheating on him. His response is to go in the opposite direction, by building a figurative wall around him to isolate himself from the rest of the world, but not before showing graphically his feelings on different gut levels. The question becomes if he or anyone else can do anything to tear down the wall in a meaningful way.
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Music
Release: Sep 17, 1982
Based on: The Wall by Pink Floyd
Screenplay by: Roger Waters
Director: Alan Parker
Music by: Pink Floyd, Bob Ezrin, Michael Kamen
Production: Goldcrest Films International, Tinblue, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Cast:
Bob Geldof as Pink, Christine Hargreaves as Pink's Mother, James Laurenson as Pink's Father, Eleanor David as Pink's Wife, Kevin McKeon as Young Pink, Bob Hoskins, David Bingham, Jenny Wright, Alex McAvoy, Ellis Dale, James Hazeldine, Ray Mort, Joanne Whalley
The only songs from the album not used in the film are "Hey You" and "The Show Must Go On". "Hey You" was deleted as Waters and Parker felt the footage was too repetitive (eighty percent of the footage appears in montage sequences elsewhere) but a workprint version of the scene is included as a bonus feature on the DVD release.
A soundtrack album from Columbia Records was listed in the film's end credits, but only a single containing "When the Tigers Broke Free" and the rerecorded "Bring the Boys Back Home" were released. "When the Tigers Broke Free" later became a bonus track on the 1983 album The Final Cut. Guitarist David Gilmour dismissed the album as a collection of songs that had been rejected for The Wall project, but were being recycled. The song, in the edit used for the single, also appears on the 2001 compilation album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.
With the exception of "When the Tigers Broke Free," none of the reworked Wall songs heard in the film have been officially released.
Changes on the soundtrack album
"When the Tigers Broke Free, Part 1"
New song, edited into two sections strictly for the film, but later released as one continuous song. The song was released as a single in 1982 and was later included on the 2001 compilation Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd and on the 2004 re-release of The Final Cut.
"In the Flesh?"
Extended/re-mixed/lead vocal re-recorded by Geldof.
"The Thin Ice"
Extended/re-mixed with additional piano overdub in second verse, baby sounds removed.
"Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1"
Extra bass parts, which were muted on the album mix, can be heard.
"When the Tigers Broke Free, Part 2"
New song.
"Goodbye Blue Sky"
Re-mixed.
"The Happiest Days of Our Lives"
Re-mixed. Helicopter sounds dropped, teacher's lines re-recorded by Alex McAvoy.
"Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2"
Re-mixed with extra lead guitar, children's chorus edited and shortened, teacher's lines re-recorded by McAvoy and interspersed within lines of children's chorus.
"Mother"
Re-recorded completely with exception of guitar solo and its backing track.
The lyric "Is it just a waste of time?" is replaced with "Mother, am I really dying?", which is what appeared on the original LP lyric sheet.
"What Shall We Do Now?"
A full-length song which begins with the music of, and a similar lyric to, "Empty Spaces". This was intended to be on the original album, and in fact appears on the original LP lyric sheet. At the last minute, it was dropped in favour of the shorter "Empty Spaces" (which was originally intended as a reprise of "What Shall We Do Now?"). A live version is on the album Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81.
"Young Lust"
Screams added and phone call removed. The phone call was moved to the beginning of "What Shall We Do Now?".
"One of My Turns"
Re-mixed. Groupie's lines re-recorded by Jenny Wright.
"Don't Leave Me Now"
Shortened and remixed.
"Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3"
Re-recorded completely with a slightly faster tempo.
"Goodbye Cruel World"
Unchanged.
"Is There Anybody Out There?"
Classical guitar re-recorded, this time played with a leather pick by guitarist Tim Renwick, as opposed to the album version, which was played finger-style by Joe DiBlasi.
"Nobody Home"
Musically unchanged, but with different clips from the TV set.
"Vera"
Unchanged.
"Bring the Boys Back Home"
Re-recorded completely with brass band and Welsh male vocal choir extended and without Waters' lead vocals.
"Comfortably Numb"
Re-mixed with Geldof's screams added. Bass line partially different from album.
"In the Flesh"
Re-recorded completely with brass band and Geldof on lead vocals.
"Run Like Hell"
Re-mixed and shortened.
"Waiting for the Worms"
Shortened but with extended coda.
"5:11 AM (The Moment of Clarity)"/"Your Possible Pasts"/"Stop"
"Stop" re-recorded completely with Geldof unaccompanied on vocals. The first two songs are taken from The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, a concept album Waters wrote simultaneously with The Wall, and later recorded solo; and The Final Cut, a 1983 Pink Floyd album. "Your Possible Pasts" was a song originally intended for The Wall that later appeared on The Final Cut.
"The Trial"
Re-mixed with longer instrumental intro, and audience cheering sounds added.
"Outside the Wall"
Re-recorded completely with brass band and Welsh male voice choir. Extended with a musical passage similar to "Southampton Dock" from The Final Cut.
In addition to the above, Vera Lynn's rendition of "The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot" was used as background music during the opening scenes.