Midnight Oil: 1984 (2018)
In 1984, Midnight Oil released their iconic record Red Sails in the Sunset. They embarked on a relentless tour around the nation performing raw and electrifying music that reignited the imagination of young Australians. That same year, their lead singer Peter Garrett committed to run for a Senate seat for the Nuclear Disarmament Party. With the mounting pressure of balancing the demands of music and politics this is the year that would make, but nearly break, Australia's most important rock and roll band. Thirty years in the making and featuring never seen before seen footage of the band on and off the stage, Midnight Oil: 1984 is the untold story of the year Australia’s most iconic rock band inspired the nation to believe in the power of music to change the world.
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Surprisingly incoherent and boring
Pretty Good
best movie i've ever seen.
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
This is more than a documentary about the Oils. it captures the political and social climate of Australia at the time. The palpable sense of possible nuclear doom, the values and culture of young people and a band just before the world discovered them. This coincides with exactly when I was discovering the Oils and so I was instantly transported back to that era and time in my own life. The clever splicing of different recordings of the songs into seamless single live renditions is masterful. Michael Lippold as chief stage roadie and stirrer 'steals the show' with his insights on the rig and band. This is a clever film and a snapshot of Australia at the time. The finish is inspired as it alludes to what followed and invited the viewer into a celebration of what's happened since.
Just saw this. An exhilarating snapshot of the Oils performing onstage. Candid shots of young adults attending concerts with at times dubious 80s hairdos (oh the eighties!), where the energy on stage and in the rapturous crowd oozes off the screen, like frontman Peter Garrett's perspiration. An at times mesmerising look at a band that connected hugely with its live audience - during a time when the nuclear arms race made the future feel at times very uncertain, and during the time of Garrett's first foray into Australian politics. From the interviews w young people you can see how engaged they were with the band and how they felt the band spoke for them. The movie gives viewers a chance to feel the dynamic energy of their live 80 s performances. There are few interviews, but the lack of narration is almost immersive. You get taken along on tour with them, in the early days when the band set up their gear themselves, and the support crew was small but dedicated. Lots of gaffer tape! A candid after concert glimpse shows band members sitting down with cups of tea, not quite the 'rock and roll' aftermath of a live show that you might imagine (!) Fans will love the music and the concert footage. But worth viewing for anyone interested in this point in history and the impact the Oils had on the political landscape of the time.