In late 1979, Pink Floyd released their double-LP concept-album The Wall, a satire and diatribe that savaged the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle while including pot-shots aimed at a sadistic education system and the personal effects of war. This was bassist Roger Waters’ baby, being as he conceived of the project in isolation and wrote the bulk of the material on the album.
In tandem with the recording of The Wall were plans to create an elaborate stage show and concert film, and while the stage show went ahead, the film began to take on a different role. No longer would it be a concert film supplemented with additional dramatic footage starring Waters; instead, Bob Geldof was cast as the lead and the film would feature no actual footage of the band. Gerald Scarfe (who had illustrated the album and provided animations for the stage show) would remain the animation director, however.
The film itself, directed by Alan Parker (Fame, Midnight Express), is a pretty sombre affair. Geldof plays Pink, a rock star burnt out by excess and facing a gradual psychological meltdown, obviously still traumatised by the death of his father in World War II as well as possessing various other gripes. Pink eventually turns completely inwards, building a metaphorical wall as a defence mechanism and developing an utter contempt for the adulation of his fans.
Of course, very little of this is told in a strictly literal fashion. For the most part, the visuals help illuminate the soundtrack (and vice versa), creating a symbiosis of artistic purpose that communicates through the surreal imagery of Scarfe’s animations and Parker’s live-action interpretations thereof.
Where Pink Floyd The Wall fails is that the live-action sequences often seem devoid of any irony. Whereas the album had a kind of self-mocking playfulness to it, the film takes itself far too seriously, particularly since many of the themes are the stuff of teenage angst.
Yet Scarfe’s animation is what ultimately saves the project. “Goodbye Blue Sky” and “What Shall We Do Now?” are particularly memorable, as is the iconic moment of the marching hammers in “Waiting for the Worms”. If the rest of the film were this good, there wouldn’t be a problem.
Notably, Waters and Scarfe had strong disagreements with Parker on his ultimate vision for the film, which perhaps helps to explain the disparity in tone.
I’ve seen the footage shot for the original concert film, and I can’t help but feel that, had things progressed along that course, a more artistically successful film would have resulted. As it stands, Pink Floyd The Wall is a flawed classic that contains enough greatness to make it worthwhile.
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