Happiness has a simple formula: go to Ticketmaster.com, rock out at a cool venue and leave with ringing eardrums and good vibrations. Concerts are indelibly etched in our memories. But what if we told you that you could have a similar experience for a tenth of the price? What's the catch? You'll have to wear goofy glasses and risk getting trampled by a horde of teenage girls.
Concert films have been around since The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" (1964), a mockumentary/jukebox musical that followed the Liverpudlians as they went to film a London television show. Concert movies then drifted into obscurity for a while, existing only on a narrow, untitled shelf between the DVD and CD aisles at Best Buy. Recently, however, they have escaped retail purgatory and made it back onto the silver screen. This past weekend, teenage girls turned out in droves for "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience."
And why shouldn't they? Not only does a concert movie allow you to watch a performance you might have otherwise missed, but, with a concert movie, you get one of the best seats in the house for just $12. To compare, the average cost of a 2008 Bon Jovi ticket on Stubhub was a whopping $217. And all they've got to offer is "Livin' On a Prayer." You even have to pay through the nose for nosebleed seats these days.
Even at cinema prices, concert films make money. And, with new technologies like IMAX and 3D, they are far more immersive and compelling than their predecessors. "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour" (2008) raked in over $65 million domestically, although it was a limited release film. Yet, concert films are not limited to Disney Channel prodigies. In 2008, "U2 3D" exploded onto the big screen, with rave reviews and some critics boldly saying that U2 in theaters was better than U2 live in concert. When everyone's favorite rocker/philanthropist, Bono, nearly brushes against your horn-rimmed 3D glasses with his fingers, the feeling is pretty thrilling.
The most enjoyable parts of these films are often not the music or the performances, but rather the candid interviews that are juxtaposed with the concert footage. In "Shine a Light" (2008), director Martin Scorsese takes advantage of the film format by splicing in archived footage of The Rolling Stones and giving his film a documentary feel.
But no matter how much you doll up these movies with new technology, there's no escaping the fact that these films pale in comparison to a live concert. When we saw "Shine a Light," the audience remained seated, passively watching and listening to the film in a dank, boxlike theater. At a live concert, the environment is electrifying; you are in an unending sea of people, and you feel an intimate connection with the performers and other concertgoers. Concert films erase all of the interaction with the musicians, including their location-specific shout-outs, political statements and witty banter.
Furthermore, since what's shown in a film is all part of one pre-packaged performance, the set list is constant. No matter how hard you cheer, the Jo Bros are not coming back for an encore.
We can see the success of films like "Jonas Brothers," "Hannah Montana" and "Shine a Light" ushering in a new era of concert films. Like televised sporting events, concert films make it possible for the masses to enjoy an otherwise exclusive event. But much like film adaptations of musicals, something gets lost in the translation. It's kind of like watching the Food Network when you could be enjoying a succulent cut of filet mignon.
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Zach Drucker and Chris Poldoian are freshmen who have not yet declared majors. They can be reached at Zachary.Drucker@tufts.edu and Christopher.Poldoian@tufts.edu.
