Duran Duran’s latest concert film, “A Hollywood High”, arrived in cinemas worldwide on November 3, accompanied by much hype and publicity.
At just under 75 minutes long, it isn’t a long film, and a good portion is taken up at the start with band members Simon, Nick, John and Roger recounting stories of when they first arrived in LA in the early 80s. It includes band photos featuring the original fab five, plus excerpts from the infamous press conference (“Roger needs two hands for his!”)
Then the concert itself begins on a rooftop with a tiny stage with plenty of lighting and a handpicked (if rather subdued) audience, not far from the Capitol building (home of their record company for many years).
They perform a string of hits – no obscure numbers here – featuring heavily from more recent albums, though they do include earlier hits like Hungry Like The Wolf and A View To A Kill. Ordinary World is dedicated to the people of Ukraine as the Capitol building is lit up in blue and yellow.
The band plays like the professionals they are. Simon’s voice is on top form and John’s bass playing is funky and flawless. Roger has his drums, augmented with an electronic drum pad and Dom has his assortment of guitars. Nick, as usual, is surrounded by his banks of Roland keyboards, buttons all resplendently lit up in red. The backing singers sing their hearts out when required, but occasionally would inexplicably drop out of the mix.
With the stage being so small, and also several stories above street level, there is little room for stage antics, so the physical performance is muted somewhat. That said, the concert is visually impressive, with multiple static and swooping camera angles (though Nick’s keyboard cam seems a little too close). Sonically it is flawless – perhaps a little ‘too’ flawless. This reviewer suspects a fair bit of post production has been occurring, but this shouldn’t detract from the enjoyment of the performance. For fans outside the US, this might be the closest they get to a live performance since the band appears reluctant to go anywhere other than Europe and the US these days.
The surprise disappointment at the end? The band plays their final song and the credits appear immediately. No encore, nothing. The cinema audience (not a large one either) were in disbelief at the shortness of the concert and the abrupt end. No Rio. No Girls On Film.
The fans will have to wait for the inevitable DVD release with perhaps the full concert. And then another DVD six months later with extras.
Overall: A good performance that’s slickly produced and a joy to watch but a little too polished at times.
Trash Disco 
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