Rockshow (1980)

In the realm of concert films, “Rockshow” never seemed to get much love. The 1980 theatrical release – the first for the start-up Miramax – was relatively brief and not celebrated by either film or music critics. The initial home entertainment releases cut out several numbers, and then the film was out of circulation until a full restored re-release in 2013 that electrified Paul McCartney’s most die-hard fans but left everyone else mostly unmoved.

Why is there so little enthusiasm? It’s not the fault of the entertainers – the “Wings Over the World” tour offered Paul McCartney and Wings at their performance peak, bringing a surplus level of energy and charisma to the stage.

However, the song list is wildly uneven. Most of Wings’ hit tunes up through early 1976 are here – “Junior’s Farm” is the most obvious omission – and some of McCartney’s Beatles-era favorites are included. But too much of the show is devoted to the less than remarkable selections from the band’s then-current “Venus and Mars” album, where McCartney’s penchant for cutesy and eccentric pop ditties resulted in a waste of talent. And, truth be told, McCartney’s post-Beatles compositions were never as good as his classic run in the 1960s.

Also, “Rockshow” is a filmed record of a stage concert rather than a film adaptation of this type of happening. The concert lighting had a heavy emphasis on pink illumination, which may have looked great to the arena crowd but created a cinematic effect of a badly faded Eastmancolor print. “Rockshow” had no director credit – Jack Priestley was top-billed as director of photography – and at times the camera seems to have the least interesting view.

Still, “Rockshow” is a masterwork of editing – the footage is seamlessly woven together from four different shows – and McCartney clearly having the time of his life. Indeed, McCartney even allowed bandmates Denny Laine and Jimmy McCullough to take lead vocals on several numbers. And except for a somewhat clumsy strobe light display for the “Live and Let Die” number, “Rockshow” offers a reminder of what old-school concerts were all about – not pyrotechnics, not costume changes, not elaborate choreography and definitely not political commentary, but rather a celebration of music by great artists.