Pink Floyd The Wall (1982)

A troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.

Director:

Alan Parker

Writers:

Roger Waters (album "The Wall"), Roger Waters (screenplay)

Stars:

Bob Geldof, Christine Hargreaves, James Laurenson

Won 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bob Geldof	...	Pink
Christine Hargreaves	...	Pink's Mother
James Laurenson	...	J.A. Pinkerton (Pink's Father)
Eleanor David	...	Pink's Wife
Kevin McKeon	...	Young Pink
Bob Hoskins	...	Rock and Roll Manager
David Bingham	...	Little Pink
Jenny Wright	...	American Groupie
Alex McAvoy	...	Teacher
Ellis Dale	...	English Doctor
James Hazeldine	...	Lover
Ray Mort	...	Playground Father
Margery Mason	...	Teacher's Wife (as Marjorie Mason)
Robert Bridges	...	American Doctor
Michael Ensign	...	Hotel Manager

Storyline

The movie tells the story of rock singer "Pink" who is sitting in his hotel room in Los Angeles, burnt out from the music business and only able to perform on stage with the help of drugs. Based on the 1979 double album "The Wall" by Pink Floyd, the film begins in Pink's youth where he is crushed by the love of his mother. Several years later he is punished by the teachers in school because he is starting to write poems. Slowly he begins to build a wall around himself to be protected from the world outside. The film shows all this in massive and epic pictures until the very end where he tears down the wall and breaks free.

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Plot Keywords:

wall | rock star | drugs | sex | teacher | 

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Taglines:

The Memories. The Madness. The Music... The Movie.

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Genres:

Drama | Musical

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pink Floyd: The Wall

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 2,384,861 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Goldcrest Films International, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Tin Blue

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A few animated shots were Gerald Scarfe's designs for earlier Pink Floyd concerts, including the dog biting meat off a fish hook from the "Animals" tour (this can be seen twice very briefly in the "Waiting for the Worms" sequence), and the "leaf-man" animation from "Wish You Were Here" (which is seen in "The Trial" sequence).

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Goofs

When Pink throws the T.V. out the window before he cuts his hand, he mouths "Take that, fuckers!", but we hear "Next time, fuckers!" (This is corrected in the DVD release of "The Wall")

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Quotes

[first lines]
Pink: [singing] So ya, thought ya might like to, go to the show. To feel the warm thrill of confusing that space cadet glow. Tell me is something eluding you sunshine? Is this not what you expected to see? If you wanna find out what's behind these cold eyes, you'll just have to crawl your way through this disguise!

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Legend of Dinosaurs (1989)

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Soundtracks

"Bring the Boys Back Home"
Written by Roger Waters

User Reviews

A fascinating story about fascism - WARNING! Psychoanalytic content

The opening tracking shot of a hotel hallway that resembles a prison should clue you in as to what awaits. There are so many things to like and be fascinated by in this movie. And for all of its avant-garde leanings, this is actually a very classically designed story. An iconoclastic music star, Pink Floyd, tries/tries not to think about his past and how he got to where he is, which is borderline psychotic. And because he's so disturbed, he can't even think in a linear way, so the journey we take into his mind is necessarily whacked-out.

We also get to see how fascism is born from misdirected hate and idolatry. As a rock star, Floyd has seen the adulation of his audiences, so he's familiar with the phenomenon. But at the same time, he detests them for buying into his act. It's like the old Groucho Marx joke about refusing membership to any group who would let you in. He knows he's a fake (his teachers and people like his wife have told him so), so everyone else who thinks he's real must be fakes also. It's a big cyclic game. So he can't let any of them in, behind his wall, because they are, by definition, phony.

It's interesting, also, to think about how he has turned full circle into fascism. It's just part of his dream and how he deals with his anger, but it's also an interesting reaction to the absent father. Had there been no homosexuals or Jews etc., there would have been no need for a Hitler, and therefore there would have been no need for his father to die. But instead of hating Nazis, he hates the people that "provoked" the Nazis. (I could go on for days with stuff like this, but I'll stop here.)

Just watch the movie and be impressed with the way it works on so many levels.