Product Details

• Actors: Roger Waters
• Directors: Roger Waters
• Format: Color, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Mercury
• DVD Release Date: June 24, 2003
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (203 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00009VTYE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,711 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #75 in Music > Rock > Progressive > Progressive Rock
  • #82 in Music > Classic Rock > Arena Rock
  • #84 in Movies & TV > DVD > Music Videos & Concerts
• Learn more about "Roger Waters - The Wall (Live in Berlin)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Wall (Live in Berlin) seemed uninspired and gimmicky in 1990 but looks and sounds terrifically compelling on DVD, thanks to its vivid image quality and greatly improved audio mixes. The freshly mineswept Potsdamer platz--a once-thriving plaza destroyed by Allied bombing in 1943--proved the perfect place to mark the opening of the Berlin Wall with an all-star production of Pink Floyd's magnum opus: a Wall for a wall. An unlikely assemblage of musicians augments Roger Waters's impressive house band (led by guitarist Rick DiFonzo and organ wizard Nick Glennie-Smith), with everyone from the Scorpions to Joni Mitchell to the Military Orchestra of the Soviet Army getting in on the rock-opera action. Cyndi Lauper, Bryan Adams, James Galway, Thomas Dolby, and Albert Finney all turn in tasty cameos, while Sinead O'Connor looks unaccountably aloof in "Mother." The documentary is thorough and juicy, and producer Tony Hollingsworth offers an above-par essay in the booklet. --Michael Mikesell

Product Description

On July 21, 1990, Roger Waters delivered one of the most memorable rock events in history with an all-star line-up including Bryan Adams, Cyndi Lauper, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Sinead O'Connor and the Scorpions just to name a few. Waters recreated li

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

158 of 163 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Rock Theater You'll Ever See July 4, 2003

By Alan Caylow

Format:DVD

Saturday, July 21, 1990 is a day I will never forget. Former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters & special guests performed a charity concert of the classic Floyd rock opera, "The Wall," at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany, to celebrate the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. I just so happened to be in England at the time, and I watched the worldwide broadcast of this staggering rock concert on BBC TV that evening, and it left an impression on me that has never gone away. This phenomenal show was and IS the ultimate in rock theater, and has never been surpassed. Since I never got to see Pink Floyd perform "The Wall" live back in 1980, watching the Berlin concert more than made up for that. 13 years later, this landmark concert has finally been released on DVD at last, and it still holds up magnificently. Granted, Pink Floyd themselves had nothing to do with this concert, as Roger Waters was (and still is) not on good terms with his former bandmates, but Roger, the main composer of "The Wall," is in top form in this show, and he alligned himself that evening with some pretty huge names in music---Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, members of The Band, Bryan Adams, Sinead O'Connor, the Scorpions, Paul Carrack, James Galway, Ute Lemper, as well as 80's staples Cyndi Lauper & Thomas Dolby, and many more. Along with an orchestra & chorus conducted by Michael Kamen---as well as the Marching Band Of The Combined Soviet Forces---Roger & his own Bleeding Heart Band, including guitarists Rick DiFonzo & Snowy White, play this famous rock concept album superbly, and the vocal turns by Roger and all the guest vocalists are marvelous. The production values, including the mammoth Wall itself (reportedly measuring 550 feet wide and 82 feet high), the gargantuan inflatables of the Teacher and Pig characters, the colorful costumes, props, lighting effects, Gerald Scarfe animations and other provocative projections shown on the Wall itself are all absolutely astonishing. And when you see that mighty Wall come crashing down brick by brick at the concert's end, it is one of the most phenomenal sights you will ever see. "The Wall: Live In Berlin" is also outstanding in that it is probably the only concert ever staged that is actually *better* to watch on TV than if you had actually been there live. The camerawork throughout is amazing, and takes you places that the live audience couldn't go: into the specially-built living room in the high corner of the Wall as Roger sings "One Of My Turns" and "Don't Leave Me Now," behind the Wall as Paul Carrack sings "Hey You," and high atop the Wall as Difonzo & White do their awesome guitar solos on "Comfortably Numb."Admittedly, the video version of "The Wall: Live In Berlin" has a little bit of touch-up work done on it, or, what is affectionately known in the business as "cheating." The power went out early in the show during Ute Lemper's "The Thin Ice," Roger's "Another Brick In The Wall Part 1," and again during Sinead O'Connor's "Mother," so the performances you see of "The Thin Ice" & "Another Brick...Part 1" were actually shot several hours *after* the concert had ended, and "Mother" was taken from footage of the final rehearsal that was done the previous night (Roger's lack of sunglasses during these songs is the giveaway). Also, Ute's portrayal of The Wife during "The Trial" sequence was also shot *after* the concert, as the camera malfunctioned during her live performance. But it certainly goes without saying that these touch-up performances were absolutely necessary in order to present the show in it's entirety, and besides, they blend in with the genuine live performances very seamlessly.Following in the footsteps of Pete Townshend, who brought The Who's classic rock opera "Tommy" to the Broadway stage, Roger Waters has been working for many years on a "proper" theatrical staging of Pink Floyd's "The Wall." Whether or not "The Wall" ever makes it to Broadway still remains to be seen, but, at the very least, Roger successfully brought the live rendition of the album to the masses in this landmark concert, blessedly recorded for posterity to be enjoyed again and again. "The Wall: Live In Berlin" is one of the most sensational rock concerts ever staged, and is a must-own DVD for every fan of this legendary concept album. Thank you, Roger!

63 of 68 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasantly surprised September 10, 2003

By Sparkles

Format:DVD

My expectations were rather muted going into this. Primarily due to the "Celebrity" cast. I also had some real concerns over sound quality since it was recorded almost 15 years ago. The sound however is flat out amazing though. Although my issues with the Celebrity cast did not disappear, the quality of the sound and enormity of the production itself made the cast of characters seem less important. The list of those performers seems really stale today, but at the time of the show, they were all "A" list. I think some complaints I've read hold little merit or were the product of lack of understanding of the original source material. Someone said the scorpions attire was in bad taste for such an event. Well folks, that was on purpose! They were the "Surrogate" band which was supposed to be representative of all of the excess in rock and roll that has at one time or another caused many of us to lose sight of the music.

Although, I've never been a Sinead O'conner fan, I thought she was a perfectly appropriate representation of the child in Pink. Her vocals were also very moving. Again, I'm not a Brian Adams fan, but his gritty voice was an excellent fit for "Young Lust". And, no he wasn't really playing guitar, or at least he wasn't wired for sound. He, like the scorpions were there simply to provide vocals and window dressing. The music was thankfully performed strictly by Roger's amazing band. Joni Mitchell's performance was flat out creepy (in a good way)perfect for "Goodbye Blue Sky". Cindi lauper was nothing but annoying. Van morrison (who I love), seemed painfully out of place in this production. I ached for the return of David Gilmour's silky voice during Van's performance of "Comfortably Numb"

My biggest issue with the DVD was the camera angles and distances used for the bulk of the show. The show was so enormous that I think the best overall perspective would have been maybe a hundred and fifty feet or so from the stage. This view was curiously entirely absent. Everything was shot either up close (Like most concert footage), or so far away that the perfomers were merely a speck in the camera lense. These longs distance shots were used primarily between songs though and really did give the viewer an idea of just how huge the show was. In fact I would say the production was probably 4 to 5 times the size of Pink Floyds original prodution. All of the tight camera shots made me feel too much like I was watching a concert video rather than experiencing the show. Another interesting perspective was the footage shot behind the wall after the band had been completely closed off from the audience. It really made me appreciate how weird that must have been for Both Pink Floyd in the original performance and for Roger's band in this version. I mean here you are playing your heart out and you can't even see your audience, and you know they can't see you either. I would liked to have seen a little more of the audience perspective during this part of the show.

And to those Floyd fans who don't think the wall should be done without the original band, I do sympathize. But the fact is, they were asked to perform, and declined. Understandably, the bad blood between the Waters & Floyd camps was too much to overcome under such short notice, even for such a meaningful event and cause. But, the bottom line is that "The Wall" is Roger's brain child. You can count both the musical & lyrical credits of other band members for the double album on one hand. The wall is the least musical of the Floyd creations due to the lack of input of those other band members. But in pure lyrical and conceptual terms, I still feel it is once of the most brilliant and important works of my generation. I still hold out hope that some day, all of the members including Roger will be able to put their egos and bitterness aside and re-unite to produce new music and tour. Until that day however, I feel very fortunate to re-live the wall experience in this powerful incarnation.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Effort--Medicore Execution February 11, 2001

By M. Lewkowicz

Format:VHS Tape

First of all, the sound for the concert is clearly cleaned up, as I heard this show when it hit the radio the first time. There were points in the radio show that were clearly unlistenable.

I know some Floyd purists won't like all of the guest stars, but they are not bad half the time. Bryan Adams works fairly effectivly, and Paul Carrack on Hey You is even better than the original. On the other hand, Cyndi Lauper on Another Brick 2 and Sinead and the Band really take away from some otherwise powerful songs.

The imagery of this show is spectacular, as it must have been for the original tour (do they have an entire concert for that?). It translates to video quite nicely, something which wasn't transmitted for the Momentary Lapse tour.

I'd say this is a nice one to get if you're a Floyd or Waters fan, but keep an open mind.