Pop music and film, often it is a winning combination, but sometimes it goes terribly wrong. Abba, The Movie is an example of the latter. In 1977, the Swedish pop group was at the height of its fame. A perfect moment for a movie, manager Stig Anderson must have thought, undoubtedly with The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night ('64) in mind. But where in that film the personalities and humor of the band
… members were magnified in an original movie, Abba, The Movie flawlessly exposes the lack of charisma of the Abba members. The press conferences in clumsy English excel in silliness. The very meager story is built around an Australian radio reporter who has to tie the band for an interview and you are tired of that storyline after ten minutes. We do get to see a lot of images of Abba concerts, cheerful and professional performances, but the rich sound that they managed to achieve on record is not approached live. Nice for real Abba fans (or visitors of the musical Mamma Mia!) To see, but quickly add it to the chapter 'inglorious failures'. The special, limited edition of Abba The Movie includes a 40-minute interview with Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. (MS) limited edition of Abba The Movie is a forty minute interview with Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. (MS) limited edition of Abba The Movie is a forty minute interview with Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. (MS)more
