ABBA: The Definitive Collection (2002) (V)

User Rating:

9.2/10   

Directors:

Lasse Hallström
Kjell Sundvall

Release Date:

30 July 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Music

Cast

Anni-Frid Lyngstad	...	Herself
Benny Andersson	...	Himself
Björn Ulvaeus	...	Himself
Agnetha Fältskog	...	Herself

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Soundtrack:

Fernando

A career-spanning collection of wonderful music videos from the gods of pop.

If you're an ABBA fan or just a fan of good music in general, this assortment of 35 music videos which spans ABBA's career from 1974's Waterloo to 1982's Under Attack is indeed definitive. Simply put, it's a fantastic collection of music and images that mostly focuses on the 1970's era of ABBA's career, because that's when they reigned supreme in their international pop music kingdom. Practically all the videos(except for a few of them) were directed by acclaimed Swedish director Lasse Hallström as he was still earning a name for himself as a director. He would later go on to direct movies such as What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, The Cider House Rules, Chocolat and The Shipping News. With ABBA, Hallström crafted mostly fun images of the group that reflected their music which presented them as friends, lovers, and of course superb entertainers.

While some of the music videos or 'promo clips' as they were originally known(the term 'music video' wouldn't be known until MTV came along in 1981) are often straight performances of ABBA's music, eventually Hallström began to incorporate more storytelling devices that are very common these days with music videos. In that regard, ABBA and Hallström are pioneers in the creation of music videos. Sure The Beatles and many other popular groups prior to ABBA used music videos or film clips to promote themselves, but I think ABBA perfected the concept of videos as being a very viable form of entertainment and not just a promotional tool. And we're talking years before Michael Jackson, Madonna or any of those artists that bloomed during MTV's early heyday came along. It's interesting watching how ABBA evolves from one video to the other, whether through the sound of their music or the way they dress. The level of visual sophistication in presenting the music increases as the years progress with every ABBA album and video. And while the visual style does eventually hit a creative wall that echoes back to their first videos, they are still entertaining and the music remains as solid as ever.

Besides that, their music and these videos can make you feel happy and that's important. The brilliance of ABBA can invoke feelings most people have forgotten existed with music.