ABBA: The Movie
Encyclopedia
ABBA: The Movie is a 1977 film about the pop group ABBA
's Australian tour. It was directed by Lasse Hallström
, who directed most of the group's videos. The film has become a cult film
among ABBA fans. Its release coincided with the release of ABBA: The Album, the group's fifth studio album, and features many songs from that album as well as many of their earlier hits, and one, "Get on the Carousel", unavailable anywhere else.
), a naïve DJ on Radio 2TW, who normally presents a through-the-night country and western-themed show. In spite of this, he is sent by the station's boss (Bruce Barry) to get an in-depth interview ("Not an interview, a dialogue", demands his boss) with the group, whose fame and stature neither he nor Ashley have the first clue about, which is to be aired on the day ABBA leave Australia
. Needless to say, Ashley, who has never done an interview before, singularly fails, mainly because he has forgotten to pack his press card, although the fact that he is unable to buy a ticket doesn't help matters either. Armed with his trusty reel-to-reel tape recorder
, Ashley is forced to follow the group all over Australia, beginning in Sydney, and then travelling, in order, to Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne, experiencing repeated run-ins with the group's very protective bodyguard
(Tom Oliver
), as well as his increasingly exasperated boss.
Eventually, Ashley has an unbelievably lucky chance encounter with Stig Anderson
, the group's manager, who agrees to an interview. After attending a concert, Ashley sleeps in and misses the appointed interview time. Just as Ashley is about to give up (by this time, he doesn't even care that his press card—which has also been traveling across Australia, continually forwarded by the postal service—has finally arrived!), he steps into an elevator and finds himself face-to-face with ABBA. They agree to give him an interview, and he leaves Melbourne just in time to meet the deadline for the radio show to go out on-air. He puts together the final edit in the back of a taxi on the way back from the airport
, as ABBA depart Australia for Europe
. With only minutes to go, Ashley makes it back to the radio station where, having set the tape
up on the studio
's playback
machine, he relaxes at his control desk to listen as the interview—which he worked so long and hard to obtain—is broadcast over the airwaves
Down Under
.
was to be used but producers upgraded the project to 35 mm
Panavision
technology.
concluded that the film was "slick, competent and even for the non-convert entertaining."
nations, including the Soviet Union where it was screened at two movie houses in Moscow.
. All releases above feature a restored print with bonus material. The initial DVD, including digital restoration, was released by SBS
in Australia on 2 October 2005.
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
's Australian tour. It was directed by Lasse Hallström
Lasse Hallström
Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström is a Swedish film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for My Life as a Dog and later for The Cider House Rules .-Life and career:...
, who directed most of the group's videos. The film has become a cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
among ABBA fans. Its release coincided with the release of ABBA: The Album, the group's fifth studio album, and features many songs from that album as well as many of their earlier hits, and one, "Get on the Carousel", unavailable anywhere else.
Plot
The film has a very loose plot which is little more than a vehicle to link together the concert footage. It concerns the adventures of Ashley Wallace (Robert HughesRobert Hughes (Australian actor)
Robert Lindsay Hughes is an Australian actor whose most significant roles include ABBA: The Movie and the television sitcom Hey Dad..!-Early career:...
), a naïve DJ on Radio 2TW, who normally presents a through-the-night country and western-themed show. In spite of this, he is sent by the station's boss (Bruce Barry) to get an in-depth interview ("Not an interview, a dialogue", demands his boss) with the group, whose fame and stature neither he nor Ashley have the first clue about, which is to be aired on the day ABBA leave Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Needless to say, Ashley, who has never done an interview before, singularly fails, mainly because he has forgotten to pack his press card, although the fact that he is unable to buy a ticket doesn't help matters either. Armed with his trusty reel-to-reel tape recorder
Reel-to-reel audio tape recording
Reel-to-reel, open reel tape recording is the form of magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording medium is held on a reel, rather than being securely contained within a cassette....
, Ashley is forced to follow the group all over Australia, beginning in Sydney, and then travelling, in order, to Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne, experiencing repeated run-ins with the group's very protective bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
(Tom Oliver
Tom Oliver
Tom Oliver is an English television, film and theatre actor best known today for playing the role of Lou Carpenter in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.-Career:...
), as well as his increasingly exasperated boss.
Eventually, Ashley has an unbelievably lucky chance encounter with Stig Anderson
Stig Anderson
Stig 'Stikkan' Erik Leopold Anderson was born in Hova, Sweden, and is best known as the manager of the pop group ABBA.- Polar Music:Anderson was the founder of the Polar Music record label in 1963...
, the group's manager, who agrees to an interview. After attending a concert, Ashley sleeps in and misses the appointed interview time. Just as Ashley is about to give up (by this time, he doesn't even care that his press card—which has also been traveling across Australia, continually forwarded by the postal service—has finally arrived!), he steps into an elevator and finds himself face-to-face with ABBA. They agree to give him an interview, and he leaves Melbourne just in time to meet the deadline for the radio show to go out on-air. He puts together the final edit in the back of a taxi on the way back from the airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
, as ABBA depart Australia for Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. With only minutes to go, Ashley makes it back to the radio station where, having set the tape
Recording
Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....
up on the studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
's playback
Recording
Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....
machine, he relaxes at his control desk to listen as the interview—which he worked so long and hard to obtain—is broadcast over the airwaves
Radio waves
Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum longer than infrared light. Radio waves have frequencies from 300 GHz to as low as 3 kHz, and corresponding wavelengths from 1 millimeter to 100 kilometers. Like all other electromagnetic waves,...
Down Under
Down Under
The term Down Under is a colloquialism which is variously construed either to refer to Australia and New Zealand, or Australia alone. The term comes from the fact that these countries are located in the southern hemisphere, below many other countries on the globe.The persistence of the media use of...
.
Cast
- Anni-Frid LyngstadAnni-Frid LyngstadAnni-Frid Prinzessin Reuss von Plauen , is a Norwegian-born Swedish pop singer...
, Benny AnderssonBenny AnderssonGöran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
, Björn UlvaeusBjörn UlvaeusBjörn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
, Agnetha FältskogAgnetha FältskogAgnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...
as ABBAABBAABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog... - Robert HughesRobert Hughes (Australian actor)Robert Lindsay Hughes is an Australian actor whose most significant roles include ABBA: The Movie and the television sitcom Hey Dad..!-Early career:...
as Ashley Wallace - Tom OliverTom OliverTom Oliver is an English television, film and theatre actor best known today for playing the role of Lou Carpenter in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.-Career:...
as Bodyguard/Bartender/Taxi driver - Bruce Barry as Radio station manager
- Stig AndersonStig AndersonStig 'Stikkan' Erik Leopold Anderson was born in Hova, Sweden, and is best known as the manager of the pop group ABBA.- Polar Music:Anderson was the founder of the Polar Music record label in 1963...
as Manager
Featured songs
- "Tiger"
- "S.O.S.SOS (ABBA song)Agnetha Fältskog's version was the second single from her fifth Swedish solo-album Elva kvinnor i ett hus . It was the only song from this album not to have been composed by Fältskog herself....
" - "Money, Money, MoneyMoney, Money, Money"Money, Money, Money", originally "Gypsy Girl", is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song, like most ABBA songs, was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It was released as a single on November 1, 1976, as the follow-up single to "Dancing Queen, both from the album Arrival...
" - "He Is Your BrotherHe Is Your Brother"He Is Your Brother" is a song recorded in 1972 by Swedish pop group ABBA, at the time known as 'Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid'.The song continued on the lyrical theme from "People Need Love" about reaching out to your fellow man...
" - "Intermezzo No.1"
- "Waterloo"
- "Mamma MiaMamma Mia (song)"Mamma Mia" is a song from ABBA's 3rd album, ABBA, written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus & Stig Anderson, with the lead vocals shared by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The song "Mamma Mia" is a common song used in bands or orchestras...
" - "Rock MeRock Me (ABBA song)"Rock Me", first called "Didn't I?" and later called "Baby", was a song recorded in 1974 by Swedish pop group ABBA, with Björn Ulvaeus singing the lead vocals. It was first released on the album ABBA....
" - "I've Been Waiting for YouI've Been Waiting for You (ABBA song)"I've Been Waiting for You" was a song recorded in 1974 by Swedish pop group ABBA, released first as the B-side to the single "So Long". It was included on their album ABBA ....
" - "The Name of the GameThe Name of the Game"The Name of the Game" is a 1977 song by Swedish pop group ABBA, and was released as the first single from the group's fifth studio album, The Album...
" - "Why Did It Have to Be Me?"
- "When I Kissed the Teacher"
- "Get on the Carousel"
- "I'm a MarionetteI'm a Marionette"I'm a Marionette" is a song recorded by the Swedish pop qroup ABBA from their fifth album, "ABBA: The Album". Written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, this song was part of a mini-musical called “The Girl with the Golden Hair” that ABBA performed at several of their live concerts...
" - "FernandoFernando (song)"Fernando" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was the group's first non-album single and was released in November 1975 through Polar Music. Lead vocals were sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad...
" - "Dancing QueenDancing Queen"Dancing Queen" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in August 1976, but was first performed two months earlier, on 18 June 1976, during a Royal Variety Show in Stockholm the evening before the Swedish royal wedding. It was the follow-up single to the hit "Fernando"...
" - "So Long"
- "EagleEagle (song)The song "Eagle" was recorded in 1977 by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was the first track on the group's fifth album, simply titled The Album and the longest track they ever recorded...
" - "Thank You for the MusicThank You for the Music"Thank You for the Music" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured on the group's fifth studio album ABBA: The Album and was released as a single on November 6, 1983, to promote the Epic Records compilation album Thank You for the Music: A Collection of Love Songs...
" - The introductory bars of "Hole in Your Soul" are heard to accompany the opening credits, but the song itself does not feature anywhere in the film.
- A brief snatch of "Knowing Me, Knowing YouKnowing Me, Knowing You"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with the lead vocal sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. During recording sessions, it had the working titles of "Ring It In" and "Number 1, Number 1"...
" as well as "Dum Dum Diddle" is also heard while Ashley is stuck in a traffic jam; they are presumably coming from the radio of another car. - "Ring RingRing Ring (song)"Ring Ring" is a 1973 single by ABBA, which gave the group their big break in several European countries...
" is not performed by ABBA themselves in the film, but is sung by the members of a girls' ballet class Ashley speaks to for the interview while they are practicing their routines (ABBA's version can be heard in the background, which the children are singing along to). - Other lesser-known ABBA tracks heard in the film are "Johan på Snippen", "Polkan går" and "Stoned" (instrumental).
- The country and westernCountry musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
track that is heard playing when we see Ashley in the radio studio at the start of the film is "Please Change Your Mind", performed by Nashville Train.
Production
Hallström indicated that the film's script and plot concept was "conceived on the plane on the way to Australia". Initially, 16 mm film16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
was to be used but producers upgraded the project to 35 mm
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
Panavision
Panavision
Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product...
technology.
Reception
Margaret Geddes of Australian newspaper The AgeThe Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
concluded that the film was "slick, competent and even for the non-convert entertaining."
Release
ABBA: The Movie was first released in December 1977. The film was also presented in several Eastern BlocEastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
nations, including the Soviet Union where it was screened at two movie houses in Moscow.
Home media
To date four releases of the film have been made: a single-disc DVD, a two-disc special edition DVD, a single disc Blu-ray, and a now defunct single-disc HD DVDHD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
. All releases above feature a restored print with bonus material. The initial DVD, including digital restoration, was released by SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
in Australia on 2 October 2005.
2008 theatrical re-release
A theatrical re-release of the film occurred across Europe during July and August 2008 in the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Germany, and Austria.External links
- Theatrical trailer at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- ABBA - The Movie at the National Film and Sound Archive