Taylor Alison Swift is larger than life in this high energy ‘The Eras Tour’ concert filmed at the packed 70,000 capacity ‘SoFi’ Stadium in California.
Distributed through AMC Theatres and Cinemark Theatres after negotiations with major studios fell through Taylor Swift looks to bring us the spirit of being in the front row of a high energy gig but at your local cinema. Directed by Sam Wrench who has also previously brought us Billie Eilish & Lizzo’s concerts and in collaboration with Taylor Swift Productions, we are witness to an immersive Dolby Atmos experience that gives you the joy of the screaming audience all around whilst hitting you with thunderous bass predominantly in the face whilst losing your voice to all your favourite tracks.
Viewed initially by 2,200 extremely lucky invited ‘Swifties’ on the first night with her privately in West Hollywood and released in 4000 cinemas in North America then on to 8500 theatres worldwide. The terms of distribution and financing were dictated by Taylor herself rather than AMC giving her far more control over fees and viewing days keeping the experience to the long weekend for a greater ‘going out’ energy feel. SAG-AFTRA eventually agreed the global release permitting against the laws of the 2023 strike as this did not fall under an actors/writers typical creation. With pre-sale box office figures already over $120m by the opening day this is soon to be one of the biggest films this year now making Taylor one of the most successful and highest grossing artists of all time.
Seamlessly filmed over three nights from the 3rd to the 5th of August 2023 at the SoFi stadium in Los Angeles, Sam Wrench’s ‘The Eras Tour’ has been praised for the use of amazing camera work and sound and for its spectacle and power which needs to be seen ideally on a 4K laser projection system to fully appreciate the brightness of the huge digital backdrop visuals against the darkness of the massive capacity audience. The theatrical release also uses minimal amounts of additional digital overlay from red balloons to a snake winding its way around the huge runway stage that runs half the length of the stadium, which most definitely adds to the whole magical spectacle. Also, with her now infamous ‘dive’ into the stage, the colour and presentation work extremely well when seen through the director’s lens from above. And her hidden love for heights comes across well walking down from a high cabin roof on a raised platform to also being lifted on hydraulic stages throughout the concert without any attached safety belts so often seen elsewhere in concerts.
Taylor has brought together 45 of her biggest songs over ten acts that includes massive hits like “Look What You Made Me Do”, “Cruel Summer” and of course “Shake It Off”, and with the bass heavy tracks such as “… Ready For It?” early on and “Vigilante S**t” falling near the finale to round off a fast-flowing mammoth almost 3 hour run time that on the whole is high octane all killer. The speed only briefly slows down for the mid-point ‘Acoustic Set’ as announced by Taylor and the overall ferocity of the concert brings in an energy that is hard to convey unless screened in the largest cinema with a packed audience, who the majority by the end had lost their voices.
The music is of course live with her world class band that on the whole is questionably forgotten about; staged behind huge matrix screens as she does quite rightly grab all the attention with her troupe of vivacious and colourful dancers. The live tracks of the concert against recorded tracks of her albums are fantastically similar with the nod to the quality of her professional band; who like most concerts are infuriatingly only introduced at the end.
Set to be released on streaming platforms as early as 13 (her favourite number) weeks from initial release this is best seen with the loudest sound on the biggest screen with an adoring packed crowd of screaming Swifties of all ages. With ticket prices set at £13.13 and £19.89 and in some cases above (Swifties will know the reasoning here) it looks to have set a very high bar for many bands to come in the future.
Author: Piers, Maidstone Store
