AC/DC: Let There Be Rock | |
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Directed by | Eric Dionysius Eric Mistler |
Produced by | Eric Dionysius Eric Mistler |
Starring | Bon Scott Angus Young Malcolm Young Cliff Williams Phil Rudd |
Cinematography | Jean-Francis Gondre |
Edited by | Mariette Lévy-Novion |
Music by | AC/DC |
Production companies | High Speed Productions Sebastian International |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates |
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Running time | 99 minutes |
Countries | United States France |
Language | English |
AC/DC: Let There Be Rock is a 1980 concert film featuring the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released theatrically in September 1980 (and AC/DC's native Australia on New Year's Eve, 1981) and on videotape the same year.
AC/DC: Let There Be Rock was filmed on 9 December 1979 at the Pavillon de Paris in Paris, France. It also contains interviews with members of the band, including vocalist Bon Scott, who died the following February.
"My first punk rock moment was going to see the AC/DC movie, Let There Be Rock," recalled Dave Grohl. "It was the first time I'd felt that energy; like, I just wanna fuckin' break something. I'm so excited that I'm losing my mind! It was dirty and sweaty. Fuckin' beautiful." [1]
The film was rereleased as a Blu-ray/DVD double pack – with a collector's tin, concert pictures, a souvenir guitar pick, and a 32-page booklet – and as individual Blu-ray and DVD sets on 7 June 2011. Only 90,000 of the collectors' tins were made, each labeled with a number out of 90,000 on the base. [2] [3]
Though it shares a name with AC/DC's fourth studio album, Let There Be Rock , the movie includes songs from T.N.T. , Powerage , and Highway to Hell . The movie's poster and videotape package featured cover art similar to that on the most widely distributed editions of the Let There Be Rock album.
In 1997, an expanded audio recording of the concert was released on CD as Let There Be Rock: The Movie – Live in Paris , on discs 2 and 3 of the Bonfire box set. In addition to the 13 tracks included in the movie, the CD contains the live version of "T.N.T." (which was played between "Rocker" and "Let There Be Rock").
All songs composed by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott.
The film drew mixed reviews from critics. Variety wrote that it was notable for being "shot, for the most part, from above or on the stage – as opposed to upwards, in the pit in front of the stage, as is the case with so many rock concert films. This gives the hard rock audience which goes repeatedly to Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd concert films a chance to see rock from a new angle ... Visually, lead guitarist Angus Young, in his short pants and schoolboy's uniform, proves to be one of the most original and theatrical rock performers to come by in years. His crazy, careening dances across the stage are, along with the photography, the only elements that separate this production from so many other rock films." [4] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post echoed Variety's review, writing that the film "offers few insights into the workings of the band, but then its aim is as true as it is low. Mercifully avoiding superfluous crowd shots, directors Eric Dionysius and Eric Mistler have come up with some distinctive camera angles. Most of the film is shot high on the lip of the stage (only a foot or two from the band) or from a high moving dolly that provides a new performance perspective – rock from the top." [5]
Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote a negative review of the film, calling it "a dull, cheaply made concert film that should appeal only to diehard fans of the hugely popular Australian rock quintet." Holden described the band members' responses in the interview segments as "almost invariably so garbled – apparently by drunkenness – as to be virtually unintelligible." [6] Ed Naha of the New York Post also disliked the film, writing: "AC/DC is one of the most exciting hard rock bands around, although you'd never know it from this movie. Basically, it's a 'let's set up, let's drink, let's play, let's play some more' flick that never really tells you much about the band except that they seem high a lot and have a hard time keeping their pants up onstage ... The moviegoer is truly lucky if more than one figure is in focus in any given scene. The much hyped 'Wall of Sound' in-theater stereo system should have been tagged 'Wall of Noise' instead. The music comes off loud and muddy and the vocals are reduced to indecipherable whines." [7] Journalist Mark Putterford called the film "a double-edged sword: on the one hand the live footage is excellent, showing AC/DC at very near their best; on the other, the off stage interviews with each member are at best amateurish, at worst downright embarrassing." [8]
"A big rock 'n' roll moment for me as a teenager was going to see AC/DC's Let There Be Rock movie," Dave Grohl told Q . "That was the first time I heard music that made me want to break shit… After the first number in that movie, that was maybe the first moment in my life where I really felt like a punk. I just wanted to tear that movie theatre to shreds." [9]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI) [10] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formative influence on the new wave of British heavy metal bands. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.
Highway to Hell is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 27 July 1979. It is the first of three albums produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, and is the last album featuring lead singer Bon Scott, who died on 19 February 1980.
Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott was an Australian singer who was the second lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. In the July 2004 issue of Classic Rock, Scott was ranked number one in a list of the "100 Greatest Frontmen of All Time". Hit Parader ranked Scott as fifth on their 2006 list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Vocalists of all time.
"Whole Lotta Rosie" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the eighth and final track on the band's fourth Australian album, Let There Be Rock, released in Australia in March 1977, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott. It is also the eighth and final track on the international version of the album, released in June the same year.
"Dog Eat Dog" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the second track of their album Let There Be Rock, released in 1977, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott.
"You Shook Me All Night Long" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, from the album Back in Black. The song also reappeared on their later album Who Made Who. It is AC/DC's first single with Brian Johnson as the lead singer, replacing Bon Scott who died of alcohol poisoning in February 1980. It reached number 35 on the US Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in 1980. The single was re-released internationally in 1986, following the release of the album Who Made Who. The re-released single in 1986 contains the B-side(s): B1. "She's Got Balls" ; B2. "You Shook Me All Night Long".
If You Want Blood You've Got It is the first live album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, and their only live album released during Bon Scott's lifetime. It was originally released in the UK and Europe on 13 October 1978, in the US on 21 November 1978, and in Australia on 27 November 1978. The album was re-released in 1994 on Atco Records and in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series.
Clifford Williams is an English musician, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. He started his professional music career in 1967 and had previously been in the English groups Home and Bandit. His first studio album with AC/DC was Powerage in 1978. Williams was inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of AC/DC in 2003. Williams announced his retirement from AC/DC in 2016, but returned for their 2020 comeback album Power Up along with band mates Brian Johnson and Phil Rudd. His side projects include benefit concerts.
Mark Whitmore Evans is an Australian musician, the current bass guitarist for rock band Rose Tattoo, and also a member of hard rock band AC/DC from March 1975 to June 1977. His playing featured on their albums T.N.T, High Voltage, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Let There Be Rock. Evans has played for numerous other groups, sometimes on lead guitar, including Finch, Cheetah, Swanee, Heaven and The Party Boys. Evans' autobiography, Dirty Deeds: My Life Inside/Outside of AC/DC was released in December 2011.
"Highway to Hell" is a song by Australian rock band AC/DC. It is the opening track of their 1979 album Highway to Hell, initially released as a single on 27 July 1979, the same day the album was released.
Let There Be Rock: The Movie – Live in Paris is a live double album by the hard rock band AC/DC, released as "Disc Two" and "Disc Three" of the Bonfire box set in 1997. It is also the soundtrack to the film AC/DC: Let There Be Rock. It is the last album Bon Scott recorded with the band before he died, just two months before his death and was released posthumously.
"Jailbreak" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the ninth and final track of their third Australian album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, released in September 1976. The song was not released in North America until 1984. It was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott.
"High Voltage" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It was first released in Australia as a single in July 1975, though it is the eighth track of their second Australian album T.N.T., the release itself was issued as a stand alone single. The song was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott, and peaked at #48 on the UK Singles Chart in 1980.
"Let There Be Rock" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the third and title track of their album Let There Be Rock, released in March 1977, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott.
Live at Donington is the DVD recording of the Australian rock band AC/DC‘s show at Donington Park on 17 August 1991, directed by David Mallet; it was the band's third Monsters of Rock festival. The two-hour show was performed before 72,500 spectators and included real cannons, the Hells Bell, an inflatable Rosie and two inflatable Anguses: one to the right of the stage, and one in the back of the stage during Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be. It was filmed in 35 mm Panavision and had 26 cameras that included one situated inside a helicopter. The DVD includes special features such as stereo and 5.1 surround sound, Iso-cam versions of certain songs for different band members, and audio commentary from Angus and Malcolm Young.
"Girls Got Rhythm" is a song by Australian rock band AC/DC. It is found on their 1979 album Highway to Hell. The song was released as a single the same year.
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap is the third studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, originally released only in Europe, Australia and New Zealand in 1976. The album was not released in the United States until 1981, more than one year after lead singer Bon Scott's death. This was also AC/DC's first album in its entirety to be recorded with the same lineup, rather than including at least one track recorded with a different bassist or drummer.
"Night Prowler" is the final track on the 1979 AC/DC album Highway to Hell. It is notable among other AC/DC songs for its slow rhythm, ominous lyrics, and controversy stemming from its association with the mid-1980s Richard Ramirez serial killings.
The Stiff Upper Lip World Tour was a concert tour by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC in support of their fourteenth studio album, Stiff Upper Lip, which was released in 28 February 2000. This tour had 6 legs around the world lasting 11 months starting on 1 August 2000 in Grand Rapids, Michigan finishing on 8 July 2001 in Cologne, Germany.
Who Made Who is a soundtrack album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. Released on 26 May 1986, the album is the soundtrack to the Stephen King film Maximum Overdrive. The album was re-released in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series.