Arena (An Absurd Notion)

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Arena
Arena,Duran Duran,VHSbox.JPG
Video by
ReleasedVHS – March 1985 (1985-03)
DVD – 5 April 2004 (2004-04-05)
Recorded1984
Genre Dance, new wave
Length124 min 42 sec (DVD)
Label PMI
Director Russell Mulcahy
Duran Duran chronology
Sing Blue Silver
(1984)
Arena
(1985)
The Making of Arena
(1985)

Arena (An Absurd Notion) is a concept concert video filmed during the course of Duran Duran's 1984 Sing Blue Silver North American Tour in support of the album Seven and the Ragged Tiger . [1]

Duran Duran English New Wave band

Duran Duran are an English new wave and synth-pop band formed in Birmingham in 1978. The band grew from being alternative sensations in 1982 to mainstream pop stars by 1984. By the end of the decade, membership and music style changes challenged the band before a resurgence in the early 1990s. The group were a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the US. The band achieved 14 singles in the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and 21 in the Billboard Hot 100, and have sold over 100 million records worldwide.

<i>Sing Blue Silver</i> 1984 video by Duran Duran

Sing Blue Silver is a documentary about Duran Duran's 1983-1984 World Tour directed by Michael Collins. A sixty-minute edited version of the documentary was aired on MTV under the title Blue Silver.

North America Continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere

North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere; it is also considered by some to be a northern subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea.

Contents

Background

Instead of releasing a straight concert video, Duran Duran and director Russell Mulcahy chose to play with the origins of the band's name (the 1968 film Barbarella ), and added a storyline and surreal elements that are interwoven with footage of the band performing on stage.[ citation needed ]

Russell Mulcahy is an Australian film director. Mulcahy's work is recognisable by the use of fast cuts, tracking shots and use of glowing lights, "neo-noir" lighting, windblown drapery, and fans. He was one of the most prominent music video directors of the 1980s and he has also worked in television since the early 1990s.

<i>Barbarella</i> (film) 1968 film by Roger Vadim

Barbarella is a 1968 science fiction film directed by Roger Vadim, based on the comic series of the same name by Jean-Claude Forest. The film stars Jane Fonda as Barbarella, a space-traveler and representative of the United Earth government sent to find scientist Durand Durand, who has created a weapon that could destroy humanity.

The film's villain, the evil Dr. Durand Durand (played by Milo O'Shea, reprising his role from Barbarella) has crash landed on Earth and is surprised and confused to find teenagers chanting his name. When he discovers that they are not chanting for him, but for an upstart pop group, he sets up shop beneath the concert arena and attempts to wreak havoc on the band that stole his name. Of course, he and his henchmen fail at every turn and Duran Duran continue to perform, seemingly unaware of the evil doctor's plans.

Milo OShea actor from the United States

Milo Donal O'Shea was an Irish actor. He received two Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nominations for his performances in Staircase (1968) and Mass Appeal (1982).

The video also included Russell Mulcahy's long-form video for "The Wild Boys". It was meant to be a teaser for a full-length feature film of the same name, based on the 1971 novel The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead by William S. Burroughs. However, that film was never made.

The Wild Boys (song) 1984 single by Duran Duran

"The Wild Boys" is the twelfth single by the English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 26 October 1984 in the United Kingdom and on 3 November 1984 in the United States.

<i>The Wild Boys</i> (novel) novel by William S. Burroughs

The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead is a novel by Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs. It was first published in 1971 by Grove Press. It depicts a homosexual youth movement whose objective is the downfall of western civilization, set in an apocalyptic late twentieth century.

William S. Burroughs American novelist, short story writer, essayist, painter, and spoken word performer

William Seward Burroughs II was an American writer and visual artist. Burroughs was a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author whose influence is considered to have affected a range of popular culture as well as literature. Burroughs wrote eighteen novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections of essays. Five books have been published of his interviews and correspondences. He also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, and made many appearances in films. He was also briefly known by the pen name William Lee. Burroughs created and exhibited thousands of paintings and other visual art works, including his celebrated 'Gunshot Paintings'.

The expensive sets for the conceptual portions of Arena and "The Wild Boys" were built in the massive 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios. Some of the segments were also filmed at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, where free tickets were given to fans.

007 Stage sound stage located at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England

The Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage is one of the largest sound stages in the world. It is located at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, and named after James Bond film producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli.

Pinewood Studios British film studio and television studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England

Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, about 4 miles (6.4 km) from Slough, 2 miles (3.2 km) from Uxbridge, and approximately 17 miles (27 km) west of central London.

National Exhibition Centre exhibition and conference centre in Solihull near Birmingham, England

The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Solihull, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 611 acres (2.54 km2) making it the largest exhibition centre in the UK. It is the busiest and seventh-largest exhibition centre in Europe.

In addition to O'Shea, the American actress Jennifer Connelly also appears in the video, walking across an empty stage in one segment.

Jennifer Connelly American actress

Jennifer Lynn Connelly is an American actress, who began her career as a child model. She appeared in magazine, newspaper and television advertising, before she made her film acting debut in the crime film Once Upon a Time in America (1984). Connelly continued modeling and acting, starring in a number of films, including the horror film Phenomena (1985), the musical fantasy film Labyrinth (1986), the romantic comedy Career Opportunities (1991), and the period superhero film The Rocketeer (1991). She gained critical acclaim for her work in the science fiction film Dark City (1998), and for playing a drug addict in Darren Aronofsky's drama Requiem for a Dream (2000).

A picture book of the movie, Arena: The Book ( ISBN   0-9510118-1-2), was released in 1985.

A live album, also called Arena , was released in late 1984. It featured the two singles "The Wild Boys" and "Save a Prayer (Live)". The video for "Save a Prayer (Live)" is included as a DVD extra on the 2004 Arena DVD release.

The DVD for Arena was released in April 2004 and includes as an extra The Making of Arena behind the scenes documentary that was originally released as a separate videotape.

A 2-in-1 DVD set with both Arena and Sing Blue Silver has also been released by EMI.

As the Lights Go Down

The Oakland, California concerts that were filmed for Arena (An Absurd Notion) were also edited to form the one-hour As the Lights Go Down concert video.

As the Lights Go Down is essentially the Arena video with only the music, although the live footage for many songs was edited differently. This version was never released on any consumer video format and was only broadcast on television, first on Cinemax then later on MTV and other TV channels.

DVD track listing

Arena (An Absurd Notion)

  1. The Return of Duran Duran (the story of Dr. Duran and the band)
  2. "Is There Something I Should Know?"
  3. "Hungry Like the Wolf"
  4. "Union of the Snake"
  5. "Save a Prayer"
  6. "The Wild Boys" (Uncut Version)
  7. "Planet Earth"
  8. "Careless Memories"
  9. "Girls on Film"
  10. "The Reflex" (a remix version of the song)
  11. "Rio" (with the film credits overlaid)

Running Time: 60 minutes

The Making of Arena

  1. Introduction
  2. Concepts and windmills
  3. Costumes, choreography and make-up
  4. Hanging around with robots
  5. Milo and stilts
  6. Blowing it all up

Running Time: 49 minutes

Extras

  1. Arena TV ad
  2. Arena trailer
  3. Arena video mix
  4. "Save a Prayer (Live)"
  5. Simon Le Bon interview

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Girls on Film 1981 song by Duran Duran

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References