Director: Alan Parker
Year Released: 1982
Rating: 1.5
Humorously enough, Alan Parker calls this one of the most expensive 'student films' ever made, and I have to agree; The Wall is about two things: Syd Barrett and Roger Waters' ego. Turns the concept album into a "story" about a young rock star (named, idiotically, "Pink") who goes insane – the story "develops" by showing him watching television, shaving himself or attempting suicide over and over again, rationalizing his behavior by blaming everything around him instead of him: war, movies, his parents, his teachers, society. I don't mind films that stretch the boundaries of logic per se – Jodorowsky, Resnais, Lynch, Bunuel, etc. are all exceptional in that regard – but this seems like a flighty excuse for a movie, spicing up one hazy idea - the world is alienating and mindless – with cartoons and special effects; if Waters thinks it's a film about 'everything,' what remains is a film about nothing at all. Gained its reputation as a cult movie by college and high school students who get high and watch it … and we all know how drugs turn you into an instant philosopher. It's too bad I was sober when I sat through it.
