Concert Film Review: ABBA: The Movie (dir by Lasse Hallstrom)

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 1977 film, Abba: The Movie, is really two movies in one.

One of the movies, and the one that will probably most appeal to fans of the group, is a cinema verité-style look at ABBA touring Australia. This part of the movie not only features the band playing their best-known songs in concert but it also features some behind-the-scenes footage of the members of ABBA trying to enjoy their time Australia. They struggle to adjust to Australian culture and the English language. Agnetha Fältskog complains about the way the tabloids focus on her body as opposed to her singing. The emphasis is on the members of ABBA being down-to-Earth and friendly professionals who love making music but who, even more importantly, love hanging out together and making their fans happy.

The second movie is about an Australian DJ named Ashley Wallace (Robert Hughes) who is ordered to get an interview with ABBA before they leave the continent. It won’t prove easy. For one thing, Ashley really isn’t sure who ABBA is, beyond knowing that they’re a famous pop band. (Ashley’s musical tastes seem to learn towards country and western.) Secondly, ABBA is always surrounded by a mob of fans and bodyguards and it’s very difficult to get close enough to even ask them for an interview. Third, ABBA distrusts reporters, especially after the tabloids print a bunch of salacious articles about Agnetha. Fourth, Ashley is an idiot.

Seriously, Ashley is his own worst enemy. If ABBA heads to the west, you can be sure that Ashley will catch the next train heading east. Even when Ashley does finally manage to talk to ABBA’s manager and schedule an interview, he ends up oversleeping and missing his appointment! Seriously, just think about this. Ashley has been told that his entire future depends on getting an interview with ABBA, a task that soon proves to be nearly impossible. Then, when Ashley finally manages to get a chance to conduct this all-important interview, it doesn’t occur to him to set his alarm to wake him up early. There’s a word for that type of behavior and that word is “stupidity.”

As he struggles to get some time with ABBA, Ashley also takes time to interview people on the street about the opinion of ABBA. Surprise! Almost everyone loves ABBA! I guess that’s to be expected, considering that the movie is named after them. It would probably be counter-productive to have Ashley interview a bunch of people who can’t stand ABBA and would rather be listening to Led Zeppelin. (There are a few people who tell Ashley that they don’t like ABBA but they’re all losers.) Ashley spends so much time talking to people who love ABBA that he soon comes to love ABBA and appreciate their music as well. He even has a series of fantasy and daydreams. He imagines that the two men in ABBA are his best friends. He dreams of being loved by the two women in ABBA. Through Ashley, the audience is provided a view of how one goes from being indifferent to being a fan.

But most viewers won’t care about Ashley. They’ll be watching for ABBA. The performances are strong. The members of the band seem to truly enjoy being on stage and interacting with their fans. Interestingly, the members of ABBA are likable but a bit bland off-stage. They’re people who truly come alive when they’re performing but who are much more subdued and down-to-Earth offstage. Indeed, it almost seems as if Ashley is wasting his time trying to get an interview. In this film, to watch ABBA perform on stage is to know all that you need to know.

Music Video of the Day: Hovas Vittne by ABBA (1981, dir. ???)

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

In 1981, it was Stig Anderson’s 50th birthday. They wrote a song and performed it in his honor since he was their longtime manager. You’ll notice that they are wearing the same outfits that they wore in the music video for Waterloo.

ABBA’s career took off after winning Eurovision in 1974 with the song Waterloo. Anderson co-wrote it.

The title of the song is a reference to Anderson’s hometown of Hova and “Vittne” translates to “witness”.

Courtesy of the book, ABBA: Bright Lights Dark Shadows by Carl Magnus Palm:

…on January 25, the celebratory mood continued when Stig turned 50 and threw a lavish party. To mark the occasion, Björn and Benny wrote the tune for a song called ‘Hovas vittne’ (‘Hovas Witness’, a pun on his place of birth) as a special gift for him.

The affectionately satirical lyrics, penned by the four ABBA members, Michael Tretow and Rune Söderqvist, referred to all sorts of quant characteristics exhibited by Stig. One example was his habit of switching on a vacuum cleaner when he decided it was time for his parties to end. “When he got tired of his guests–no matter who it was–he would bring out the vacuum cleaner and announce loudly: ‘The taxi cabs are here!’ Because he had called for cabs as well,” recalled Rune Söderqvist “of course, it was a bit embarrassing to stay then.”

…

Also, on the day before Stig’s birthday, a special video, featuring ABBA singing ‘Hovas Vittne’, was made. In the video they were wearing their 1974 ‘Waterloo’ costumes, as if to remind everyone of the moment in time when they and their manager had been at their most unified.

A few years down the road, things would get hostile between the group and Anderson. You can read about that here.

Enjoy!

ABBA retrospective:

Music Video of the Day: On And On And On by ABBA (1980, dir. Anders Hanser)

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

That’s exactly how I feel with this retrospective. On and on and on. At least I can take comfort in the fact that some great stuff is coming.

Agentha…

ends up doing a video that is like Fifty Shades Of Grey (2015).

Benny…

and Björn…

will bring us a rock opera with at least one well-known song.

Finally, we get to see Frida…

become a private detective of sorts to expose the guy that I’m just going to assume is the same one who ends up in the Agnetha video, seeing as both songs were written by the same person.

But before we get to Frida and her panda…

we still have some more ABBA videos made prior to the break up.

The song shares a similarity with Let There Be Rock by AC/DC. You might recall that Bon Scott screwed up and introduced “sound” before “light”. You can hear it that way in the video and on the album. It was intended to be the other way around, which you can hear in live performances. In the case of this video, they used an earlier version of the song that included an extra verse involving Humpty-Dumpty. That one didn’t get a stereo release until 2011.

The photographs used to make up this video were taken from a concert they did in Las Vegas in 1979.

Except for the information above, the Wikipedia article is pretty slim, and I was lucky it had any information in it to begin with or that an article even existed. I guess why they felt the need to reintroduce people to the members of the band will remain a mystery to me for the time being. It doesn’t even kick in with the line, “He said, “Who am I and who are you and who are we?”

For me, this is one of the weakest videos in the ABBA collection so far. I enjoy the song, but like the video, I’ll forget about it pretty quickly.

IMDb lists ABBA’s late-70s photographer Anders Hanser as the director. Mvdbase lists Lasse Hallström. I decided to go with Hanser. It seemed to make the most sense. You can read a bit about him and his relationship with the band here.

Enjoy!

ABBA retrospective:

Music Video of the Day: The Winner Takes It All by ABBA (1980, dir. Lasse Hallström)

Posted on September 15, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

If Lasse Hallström’s intent was to make Agnetha look the opposite of the way she did in the music video for The Name Of The Game, then he succeeded.

The Name Of The Game by ABBA (1977)

Come to think of it, I bet that was his intention. If The Name Of The Game is the start of a relationship, then The Winner Takes It All is when it falls apart. We even get a reverse of the table scene.

Together

The Name Of The Game by ABBA (1977)

Agnetha together, but alone.

This was the same year that Agnetha and Björn got divorced. There’s been talk of whether the song was written specifically about their divorce. Wikipedia says that Björn claims that the song wasn’t written about their divorce. Songfacts says it was 90% or entirely about it. They can’t seem to make up their mind. I also question the accuracy of their “facts”.

Like Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way,” this evokes some very Behind The Music moments as the male band member wrote deeply personal lyrics about a female bandmate. At least Stevie Nicks didn’t have to sing lead on Lindsey Buckingham’s lyrics like Agnetha did with Bjorn’s.

I don’t think it was written specifically about their divorce. The reason being that this is hardly the first song Benny and Björn wrote that covered this area: SOS; Knowing Me, Knowing You; Thank You For The Music; and their career kicked off with that little song called Waterloo. Relationships, defeat, and ends were a thing for ABBA in general. I believe that this one was born out of Björn’s personal experience that hit very close to home–not a musical document of their actual divorce.

At the start of the video, we are greeted with still shots of the band looking happy and glamorous before we cut to Agnetha looking like she was just run through a dryer. Those shots are the centerpiece of the video. Sometimes she is shown on her own, and other times we see her shot through Benny’s out of focus hands playing the piano.

In between, we get some flashback shots and others that were filmed on the island of Marstrand along the coast of Sweden.

While you watch, keep looking for Björn in the present part of the video. He barely shows up. Neither does the rest of the band, but considering the material of the song, and Agnetha being the one singing it, you notice.

Also, notice that Agnetha is wearing the same outfit whether she is laughing at the bar…

or sad at the bar.

Maybe that was done because those were the outfits they had on at the time, and they simply used them in the video. I don’t think so seeing as ABBA is well-known for their costumes. Regardless of whether it was done on purpose or not, it draws our attention away from everything else in the frame, and puts the focus solely on her face, since it’s the only thing that has noticeably changed.

Finally, you’ll see that the last photo at the beginning of the video is of Björn, before they go to Agnetha.

The last photo at the end before cutting to the final shot of Agnetha is of the group all-together.

A split from Björn, but not from the group–yet. I find it interesting that Hallström chose a shot of the band where only Agnetha looks happy before going to the solitary, sad shot at the end of this post.

I mentioned before that I don’t think Björn intended this to be a biographical song of his and Agnetha’s divorce. Lyrics from Knowing Me, Knowing You are “walking through an empty house/tears in my eyes/here is where the story ends/this is goodbye.” That was back in 1976. Take that however you want.

ABBA retrospective:

Music Video of the Day: I Have A Dream by ABBA (1980, dir. Urban Lasson)

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

It’s official. I’ve reached the really confusing part of ABBA’s career in music videos–the last couple years before they broke up in 1982.

If I went by mvdbase, then the next video is a television appearance ABBA did to perform Hovas Vittne for Stig Anderson’s 50th birthday. However, that birthday would have been in 1981, not 1980.

The next video that is listed is one for I Have A Dream. You can find a listing for this video on both mvdbase and IMDb. It looks like someone may have just copied it over from mvdbase without actually looking into it. I say that because I can’t find one that stands out as an obvious music video. Also, the release dates match exactly: February 1980.

What I can find are two different live performances ABBA gave of I Have A Dream. In 1979, ABBA was on tour, and it was released the next year as ABBA In Concert. One of the places they performed was at Wembley Arena in London. That is the one I have included above. That seems to be what these listings are referring to since the description on the video says it is on the DVD collection of ABBA music videos. It would appear they took that segment of the concert and released it as a music video. There is an edited one. This is one that is complete. The edited version is the one on the DVD. It looks like this one aired on VH1 at some point.

The other performance I can find is also from 1979. It is from the Spanish TV show, 300 millones. I have no reason to believe this is the one. Regardless, I thought I would stick it here anyways.

Enjoy!

ABBA retrospective:

Music Video of the Day: Conociéndome, Conociéndote by ABBA (1980, dir. Lasse Hallström)

Posted on September 8, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

Every time I miss even a day, it feels like a lifetime. Since the last post I’ve seen Anna Paquin wander through what felt like an abandoned retread of The Shining (Darkness). Mark Wahlberg traveled through a desert so he could nearly get everyone killed were it not for a Deus Ex Ape showing up to save the day (Planet Of The Apes). I watched what someone on iCheckMovies termed “Moist Max” (Waterworld). Ben Affleck practiced to play Batman (Daredevil). I saw Renny Harlin’s version of Die Hard: With A Vengeance (12 Rounds). And finally, I got to see what would have happened if Data saved Picard from the Borg by playing Sabotage by Beastie Boys into the Borg Hive Mind (Star Trek Beyond).

If you go to mvdbase and IMDb, then you’ll find some videos that show up in one, but are absent from the other. This video is one that isn’t in mvdbase. However, it is in IMDb, and that’s good enough for me.

We’ve had the sailboat version.

We’ve had the snow version, which is a video to keep in mind when we get to the notorious one for Separate Ways (Worlds Apart), seeing as they repeat the shot below as well as other elements from ABBA music videos.

Finally, we have the Spanish-language version of Knowing Me, Knowing You.

I wasn’t even aware this was an actual video till I came across it on IMDb. I originally chalked it up to one of the several Spanish version’s of their songs that are available through their VEVO channel.

While I do like the other two versions, Knowing Me, Knowing You is one of those songs that lends itself well to a simple performance that draws all of your attention to the song.

There are a couple of video effects thrown in, but otherwise it’s just them and the audience (you). Still, there seems to have been some direction given that you would expect from an ABBA video, where they don’t just look at the camera.

I like that they included both guitars from the song, the acoustic one as well as the electric one.

That’s all I have for this one. There better not be any more versions of Knowing Me, Knowing You out there.

Enjoy!

ABBA retrospective:

Music Video of the Day: My Love, My Life by ABBA (1976, dir. Per Falkman)

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

It’s been so long since I did an ABBA music video that a lot of their videos are now listed on IMDb. I don’t remember them being there before. It doesn’t look complete, but somebody went through trying to hit everything they could. I bring this up because I didn’t know about this one till I looked at the list of their videos on IMDb. I would have missed it otherwise.

It’s a simple video that would have you believe that it was a solo effort by Agnetha. It’s not. This was on the album, Arrival.

It uses some video effects, but that’s about it. It keeps a tight focus on Agnetha. It’s a nice song, and the video tries to get out of the way, which I think is appropriate.

According to IMDb, the video was directed by Per Falkman. He apparently also directed the videos for Tiger and When I Kissed The Teacher. I didn’t know that before. I’ve updated the titles on those ones, but I can’t fix the links at this point. There are too many of them.

Enjoy!

ABBA retrospective:

Music Video of the Day: Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie! (A Man After Midnight) by ABBA (1979, dir. Lasse Hallström)

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

https://vimeo.com/32376545

I had to go and check ABBA: The Movie (1977) because there is a part within that movie that is almost identical to this. However, that part was for the song Thank You For The Music. Otherwise, it’s the same. I’m guessing that Hallström and the band thought it was worth reusing for this song. It works. It just leaves me with little to say unless I want to make an overused reference to Rock: It’s Your Decision (1982).

The one thing I can mention is that this song has been covered and sampled many many times. One of the more notable cases being the sampling of it in Hung Up by Madonna. According to Songfacts, she sent an “emissary” to Stockholm to get permission from Benny and Björn. According to Wikipedia, that was only the second time that an ABBA song had been given official permission to be sampled. The other being Rumble In The Jungle by Fugees, which used The Name Of The Game.

Enjoy!

ABBA retrospective:

Music Video of the Day: Honey Honey by ABBA (1974, dir. ???)

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

I messed up again, because cut back to 1974, and there appears to be a music video for their song Honey Honey.

Nothing especially notable about it other than that Frida appears to have been shot with a tranquilizer before filming. They also appear to be shooting on a set designed to see if the cinematographer can keep camera reflections from showing up.

Oh, and there’s this.

Why? Was it completely necessary to show the world Agnetha and Frida’s orgasm face just because there’s some heavy breathing in the song?

So yeah, a decade before Cyndi Lauper would do this same thing in a car for She Bop, Agnetha and Frida of ABBA did it too.

She Bop by Cyndi Lauper (1984)

At least the costumes are fine. Better than the unfortunate outfits Bucks Fizz had to wear in 1981. I also call Bucks Fizz, ABBA 2.0, which is why I am mentioning them here.

The Land Of Make Believe by Bucks Fizz (1981)

Enjoy!

ABBA retrospective:

Music Video of the Day: Voulez-Vous by ABBA (1979, dir. Lasse Hallström)

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

I’ve done so many of these ABBA music videos that they are starting to blend together. Still, I’m pretty sure these are the best costumes I have seen the band wear for one of these videos. You’ve got Frida and Agnetha in unitards with matching jackets and little bowties. Björn looks like he’s ready for a 70’s sci-fi TV show. Benny is wearing his typical outfit. Let’s face it, Benny could be wearing just about anything, and it is still his face that attracts your attention–especially his smile.

I think the video captures the energy of the song well. Of the three disco club videos, I’d say this one easily beats Dancing Queen and is just a little better than Does Your Mother Know. The part that seals the deal for me is when Agnetha does a Saturday Night Fever move.

If her hand were any lower, then she’d be doing the Michael Jackson.

Fittingly–according to Wikipedia–this song was recorded at Criteria Studios where The Bee Gees made their disco records. Apparently this is the only studio track that ABBA recorded outside of Sweden. They happened to have been in the Bahamas at the time, so they hopped over to Miami and recorded the song.

Enjoy!

ABBA retrospective: