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After a couple of unfounded starts, the most anticipated DVD for all ABBA fans is about to be released.

Buy,Download, Or Stream ABBA: The Movie! Click Here

ABBA the Movie was filmed in 1977 in Australia during the band’s tremendously successful tour of that continent. In 1976 ABBA dominated the Australian charts like no other act has done before or since, so when the band decided to stage its first world tour the following year, Australia was one of the (very few) destinations.

The movie is basically a documentary following the band as they earn and thrill Australian audiences of all ages, from Sydney all the diagram to Perth. The majority of the footage consists of the band performing most of its early classics in front of thousands of delighted fans. We also gain some backstage shots and a thin storyline that runs throughout the movie, about a radio DJ who is trying to collect an odd interview with the band. Thankfully, the scenes entertaining the reporter are short and don’t interfere with the steady reveal, ABBA’s performance.

Buy,Download, Or Stream ABBA: The Movie! Click Here

From the very beginning, when the band arrives at Sydney’s airport, you find the sense that ABBAmania has swept Australia. The opinion of so many screaming fans lining up the streets all the intention into the city is impartial breathtaking. You will have to perceive attend to stale footage of the Beatles arriving in the US to peep anything comparable.

One of the early scenes, a the press conference, the band gets to acknowledge the standard questions, and we learn nothing original other than the fact that Agnetha speaks English with a heavy (sexy) Swedish accent, an accent that is distinguished stronger than it sounds on the records.

If you are looking for some insights about the band and their private lives away from the spotlight, you won’t bag it here. We do sight the band in a Sydney hotel, after the first performance, as they review the press and tabloids. Frida wonders out loud what does “kinky” mean and Agnetha, tired of reading about her eminent tedious (which is far more impressive than J-Lo’s) she says “Don’t they have bottoms in Australia? ”

And that’s it, that’s all you procure as far as “slow the scenes” or anything “intimate and personal”. This is definitely not “Truth or Dare”.

Thankfully the concert footage is superb and will attend as a lasting reminder of how mammoth ABBA is. There are no special effects, no million-dollar stage sets, no cheap shock tricks like today’s artists who try to effect the audience with technology rather than their performance.

The movie was directed by Lasse Hallstrom who also directed most of the band’s videos and who eventually became a successful Oscar nominated director for films like “The Cider House Rules” and “What’s eating Gilbert Grape” among others.

As far as the songs, we score most of ABBA hits from 1973 to 1977 as well as a couple of songs from ABBA the Album (the movie was intended to befriend that album – sign the similarities in the titles) .

Some of the songs performed throughout the movie are:

Tiger

SOS (Agnetha gives her best performance during this segment)

He is your brother

Waterloo

Intermezzo #1

I’ve been waiting for you

Mamma Mia (the chopsticks ending)

Money Money Money (look for Agnetha’s eminent asset as it is in chunky expose here)

So long

Rock me

Why did it have to be me? (Frida’s turn to shine, as she duets with Bjorn)

When I kissed the teacher

Get on the carousel (Unreleased song, share of the “Girl with the Golden hair” mini musical)

I’m a marionette (Different from the album version, with a very energetic performance by Agnetha and Frida)

Dancing queen (complete with a beefy orchestra)

Fernando (huge scene with the audience singing along at the ruin)

Thank you for the music

From ABBA The Album we acquire a couple of “Video-like” performances – “Eagle” in an elevator scene as the storyline wraps up, and “The name of the game” in a dream sequence. Also, “Hole in your Soul” can be heard briefly during the opening credits.

Unfortunately the movie fails to reveal a complete relate of the 1977 shows. During this tour the band performed a “mini musical” called “The girl with the golden hair”. Three of the four songs from the musical are on ABBA the Album, but the complete presentation (with the narrator and choir) can only be heard on bootlegged cassette tapes. “Thank you for the music” and “I’m a marionette” are not shown within the context of the musical and the fact that Agnetha and Frida are in identical outfits and blonde wigs is never explained (they are supposed to be the same character, the girl from the title of the musical) . The narration between the musical’s songs is nick down to fair a 10 second introduction of “I’m a marionette” (which sounds completely different and more energetic than the album version) . Worst of all, the one song from the musical that never made it to any ABBA records, the intelligent “Accept on the carousel”, is slit in half for some interview montages.

It would have been expansive to include the entire four song musical as it was presented attend then, even if the backing chorus sings such clichés as “She is a star knowing, lustrous” between the songs. And since we can’t gather “Accumulate on the carousel” on any ABBA CD, why not demonstrate the song in its entirety rather than chopped up. The song has been a fan fave for years and requests to have it released officially on a CD got nowhere. One more song from the musical (the only one not in the movie), the shining ballad “I wonder” was recorded live during these shows and ended up as a b-side to “The name of the game”. Why wasn’t this song included in the movie?

Also not included, the introductory song “I am an A” where each band member gets to introduce themselves to the audience. Again, the song was never released officially so including it as share of the film would have been a stout bonus especially since it is fraction of this historic tour.

For ABBA fans who have been waiting for years for this DVD release a few added features would have been welcome, especially any additional concert footage, the inclusion of the entire “Girl with the golden hair” mini musical and the impossible to pick up “I am an A”.

Overall though, the movie is thoroughly appetizing and a MUST for any ABBA fan. The concert scenes are lustrous and retract the band at the height of its popularity. Even Agnetha seems to be overjoyed when she is on stage (contrary to her current interview) and both her converse and Frida’s negate sound fabulous – there is no lip-syncing here, unlike most of today’s pop stars. Most of the songs stop lawful to the studio versions, with some significant exceptions like “I’m a marionette”.

Great movie, mountainous performances by the world’s best pop band EVER, but a few added scenes and some additional performances would have made this an even better DVD than it already is.

The DVD’s release will coincide with the release of Madonna’s novel single that heavily samples ABBA’s “Gimme Gimme Gimme”, a fact that proves yet again that ABBA’s music is timeless.

One last comment: Rock & roll hall of fame – WAKE UP.

As a convert from pop music crumudgen to lover of all things ABBA, I have been looking forward to the release of “ABBA The Movie” for a long time. Unfortunately, I saw release dates reach and go with only that mocking Amazon.com, 2010 date shown (which basically is code for “sorry kid, your out of luck”) . To my surprise the DVD has finally been released. When I first purchased this DVD, I knew absolutely nothing about it’s contents. Was it a documentary about the band? A concert film? A rock opera, ETC? Well, from a totally fresh and modern music group, “ABBA The Movie” turns out to be a very new and current film. Swedish Filmmaker, Lasse Hallstrom basically gives us a observe at the mania, that transpired ‘down under’ during ABBA’s monumental, 1977 concert tour of Australia. Dosn’t sound that different from all the other rock movies you’ve seen… upright? Nope! Hallstrom came up with an tantalizing ideal. Within the true life events he was filming, he created a fictional, account about a country radio DJ named Ashley Wallace (Robert Huges), who is sent on a do or die mission by his position manager to obtain an intimate interview with ABBA. This is handsome worthy an impossible mission considering, that it seems like everyone in th Aussie world is trying to collect up, halt & personal to the band. Sounds like a tiresome, cheesy ideal for a film, lawful? In lesser hands this could have a concern. But Hallstrom uses this conceit not for honest cheap comedy (though there are some humourus scenes), but to hold an inspired glance at the mania (which seems to involve an entire continent), that surrounded the tour and the like that fans and onlookers have for this pop group. It’s all things ABBA! If your looking for a personal film about Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha & Anni-Frid your out of luck. The film mostly takes the fictional DJ’s viewpoint of an outsider looking into ABBA’s world. The band remains from begining to demolish, valid, but rather enigmatic figures, who are seemingly trapped in the almost surrealistic, circus-like world of the tour. Finally, mention should made of this film’s suitable concert footage. If you are looking for unprejudiced a straight ahead, by the book, filming of a concert, than you will be dissapointed. Instead, interspliced throughout the film in an almost jigsaw puzzle-like fashion, we are taken on tour and explore performances from cities such as Sidney, Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne. I’ve been a music fan for many years and seen a lot of concerts on film. All I can say is that Director, Lasse Hallstrom did a stupendous job filming these shows. You can honest feel the energy emenating from the stage and catch an ideal of what it must have been like to be there. The editing is tight and the cinematograpy is absolutely fair. I would achieve this concert footage in the same league with movies such as D.A. Pennebaker’s “Don’t Survey Succor” (Dylan), Martin Scorses’ The Last Waltz (The Band) or Jonathan Demmes’ “Close making Sense” (Talking Heads) . It’s that beneficial! As for the DVD its self, the remastering of the record & sound is fabulous. From such a lovely film transfer its’ hard to maintain this movie is nearly thirty years frail. If there is but one complaint about this release it’s the lack of any extras. It would have been immense to have the trailers, some commentary tracks, outtakes or (bear your breath) more concert footage! General music fans will delight in the film. For ABBA fanatics its’ a must! Highly recommended!
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