ABBA has been one of my favorite groups for thirty years now (yup, right from the first time I heard "Waterloo" on WLS-AM in Chicago!), so I was anxiously awaiting this DVD. Here's a mini-review of it for those that are thinking about purchasing it, or may not have known about its release.
ABBA: Super Troupers (2004)
Universal Music
89mins (plus extras)
Audio: 2 Channel Dolby Stereo/5.1 Surround
Subtitles: English, Spanish, Brazilian, Portugese, Japanese
Color/B&W
List: $14.98
This DVD is a trip down memory lane for ABBA fans everywhere! The documentary (which I believe was originally a BBC-TV special) centers on the group's trip to London for the fifth anniversary show of "Mamma Mia" which also marked the thirtieth anniversary of their winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo". Through new and old interviews, TV and film clips we get to see and feel what they are remembering. For American ABBA fans, many of these clips have never been shown before: Frida singing "Baby Love" in her first TV appearance (and in Swedish, no less!), Agnetha and Frida recording a demo of "Dancing Queen" with alternate lyrics and many extended sequences from
ABBA- The Movie, in glorious widescreen! The movie pretty much follows a roughly chronological path, covering their early and solo careers, the beginnings of the group (and its demise) and the relationships that fueled many of the groups lyrics.
The new interviews are bittersweet: after watching this, you will realize that there is no possibility of them ever reforming again. They all have seemed to move on to other things and while they all seem to cherish the time that they were together, they seem content with leaving it that way and letting the music carry on their memory.
I saw ABBA in Milwaukee on their only US tour, so many of the live clips brought back great memories of the show. But it was the clips from
ABBA- The Movie that were REALLY gratifying. Songs like "I'm A Marionette" (a personal favorite) were not part of the later US tour, and looking back on these performances, it shows what a really great live band they were. Many of the songs have more of an edge than the studio versions, yet are still as full as the original recordings.
I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary (although host Pete Waterman can be a little over-the-top at times) and would highly recommend it to ABBA fans.
The bonus features include new interviews with Frida and Bjorn (which are excerpted in the doc) and the closing finale of the anniversary edition of "Mamma Mia", although there are some cuts to the backstage reactions that could have been omitted.
