Posts Tagged ‘a-ha the movie’

a-ha: The Movie – new release dates

German cover art

a-ha: The Movie is released on Blu-ray and DVD in Germany today. It is the third country to get a home video release of the film, following the Norwegian Blu-ray and the Polish Blu-ray and DVD released in December last year. All editions seem to include deleted scenes as bonus features.

Overseas a-ha: The Movie is set to open in North American theaters on April 8th, including in New York, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, New Orleans, Buffalo, Cincinnati and Vancouver. In the following weeks there will also be screenings in Washington, Chicago, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle and other cities. A full list of where you can see it is available on the movie’s official website.

After a limited run in theaters, an American Blu-ray and DVD release will then follow on May 10th.

In the Netherlands the movie is set to premiere in theaters on 28 April, followed by Japan on 20 May and finally the UK on 27 May.

a-ha: The Movie to be released on Blu-ray

Norwegian Blu-ray cover

a-ha: The Movie is set to be released on Blu-ray in Norway in December, exclusively through the online store Platekompaniet. Bonus material will include footage of Bridges reunited and extra interview clips with Magne and Paul. Norwegian fans can pre-order the Blu-ray here (no shipping outside of Norway).

The documentary premiered in Norwegian cinemas last month, to excellent press reviews – including 5/6 from VG (“Robsahm and Holm’s movie is interesting and entertaining throughout”), Dagbladet (“A surprisingly funny and warm film”) and NRK (“An important and well-made documentation of Norway’s biggest band of all time”).
So far more than 18,000 tickets have been sold.

The movie also premiered in Germany, Poland and South Korea last month, followed by Switzerland, Austria and Hungary this month. November will see it premiere in Denmark, while the UK will have to wait until next spring.

It has also been screened at a number of film festivals since its world premiere at Tribeca in New York in June, including in the USA: Seattle International Film Festival and Nashville Film Festival, Canada: Calgary International Film Festival and Edmonton International Film Festival, South Korea: Jecheon International Music & Film Festival, Sweden: Nordisk Panorama in Malmö, Greece: Athens International Film Festival, Iceland: Reykjavik International Film Festival.

Coming up next is the Doclisboa International Film Festival in Portugal tomorrow, where both Thomas Robsahm and Aslaug Holm will be present.

More info about a-ha: The Movie is available on the movie’s official website.

Good reviews for a-ha: The Movie at Tribeca

The official poster, from the film’s Facebook page

a-ha: The Movie received lots of positive feedback from both the audience and critics after its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival earlier this month, eventually earning second place in the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Film Festival Today calls the movie “a delight for casual and diehard fans alike” and highlights how the three members of a-ha “deliver extremely thoughtful meditations on celebrity, authenticity, art and life over the course of a-ha: The Movie’s engaging 109 minutes”.

Cineuropa feels the movie is an “entertaining, captivating piece” which will “prove a joyful experience for the band’s fans, and a pleasant surprise for all lovers of 1980s new wave, alt rock and synth pop genres, especially for those not boasting in-depth knowledge of A-HA’s discography and who might want to “shazam” some hidden gems throughout the film.”

Berkreviews describes a-ha: The Movie as being “a celebration of their musical catalog” and that it’s “definitely one to watch if you are a fan of music or music docs. I found it to be extremely compelling and informative while fostering a love of a band I knew very little about. It’s quite possible that a band you currently love was inspired or influenced by a-ha. Thus, a-ha: The Movie earns the Must See rating.”

Indie producer Travis Stevens writes that “a-ha: The Movie creates a melody from the self-confidence, determination, beauty, competitiveness and insecurity required to create something as fleeting as a #1 pop hit and to remain a band with artistic ambition for 35 years after. They fucking rule.”

Writer Annie Zaleski describes it as “a fascinating + intimate documentary that’s often brutally honest about intra-band strain (and the inherent conflict between solitude, introspection & fame), but also makes a case for a-ha’s towering musical greatness.”

Coming up, a-ha: The Movie will be screened at the Munich International Film Festival in Germany on 8-9 July and at the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund on 25 August. The regular Norwegian premiere follows on 3 September.

Morten: “We have a deep respect for each other”

Morten, February 2021

a-ha: The Movie had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York this weekend. The first review (4 out of 5 stars) has been posted on the website Josh at the Movies:

“The fact that I instantly opened my Spotify and downloaded most of A-Ha’s discography as soon as A-Ha: The Movie ended should speak volumes about its overall quality”, Josh Batchelder writes in his review.

“Following their dream from struggling below the poverty line, A-Ha: The Movie is an endearing story of realizing your dreams and believing in them. The documentary feels deep-reaching, a truly honest portrayal of personalities and musical insight. (…) I look forward to exploring more of A-Ha’s incredible body of work, as the ripples of their impact on the music industry can still be felt today.”

Morten himself has been interviewed by Salon.com in connection with the premiere. When asked about his own favorite a-ha songs, he says:

“There could be many. I don’t have a favorite song. I can lean to one song for a period, then to another. But all the songs we’ve done, we’ve had some sort of soft spot for at some point in time, or they wouldn’t be there. And there are a lot of songs in the making that have never gotten through to the point of being recorded and released. There are some cornerstones. On “Memorial Beach” there is a song that most people don’t know, “Cold as Stone,” which I like. A lot of others that are more the darker side of the band. A-ha is a dark band, really. That is where we are coming from. None of us listened to pop music growing up. We would not have listened to A-ha ourselves if we were on the street, because of the image of the band. Because of a number of things. Because of me, for one. [Laughs]”

In the interview, Morten points out how the band in many ways has been more successful since the 2000 comeback than in the first period:

“I feel the documentary fails us a little in the second half, which [chronicles] when we got back together through to today. That is the longest period that we’ve been together, I believe. And it’s our time when we’ve done our best business and touring. We played to many more people in the second half than in the first, and success-wise, that’s a bigger achievement than making it in the first place, I would argue.”

Early reports about the film also suggests that it spends quite some time on the often-reported creative frictions within the band:

“What I do feel is that the focus in the second half of the film is the disagreements and problems. But one has to bear in mind that we’ve been together for all this time and we’ve chosen to get together and get back together over and over again. We have a deep respect for each other and I’m always proud and honored to be associated with them. And we all feel the same. But we are not the same, and that is part of the package. All three of us are completely necessary for the band to become A-ha”, Morten says.

Director Thomas Robsahm has also done several interviews to promote the film recently, including conversations with Cineuropa and Screen Daily, while a video clip from the film, detailing the evolution of “Take On Me”, was published by Rolling Stone.

Next month a-ha: The Movie will be screened in Germany, as part of the Munich International Film Festival on 8 and 9 July. Information in English is available here.

Movie trailer now available

The official trailer for a-ha: The Movie premiered yesterday, via articles posted by Variety in the US and VG in Norway.

It has also been posted by the production company on YouTube:

“I wanted to tell a story about their boyhood dream, and how incredibly difficult it really was to achieve an international breakthrough back then. About the future of a-ha. If there will be more music. I hope you’ll get to know them better as individuals and get a deeper understanding of the mechanisms within the band. This is not just a film about a-ha, but above all a film about Paul, Magne and Morten”, director Thomas Robsahm tells VG.

a-ha: The Movie will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on June 12th – tickets for the outdoor screening are sold out, but streaming access can be purchased here (US only).

Meanwhile, the Norwegian premiere has been pushed back to September 3rd. Theatrical deals are also in place for Japan, Korea, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, according to Variety.

a-ha – The Movie to premiere in June

Directed by Thomas Robsahm and Aslaug Holm.

After several postponements and much back and forth, the highly anticipated documentary film a-ha – The Movie is now finally set to premiere, at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in June 2021.

The festival is held from 9 – 20 June, and the movie will be shown as part of the “Spotlight Documentary” section. Producer and co-director Thomas Robsahm says it will be extra special to have the world premiere in New York, only a few blocks from where Paul Waaktaar-Savoy lived for many years.

The movie will also premiere in Norway during the same month, on 18 June. It will also be distributed by First Hand Films in a number of other countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Finland, Israel, Sweden and South Korea.

The running time may end up varying in different markets, as in addition to the 1 hour 39 minute version planned for Norwegian cinemas, there is also mention of a 90-minute version and a 52-minute version.

Other links:
World premiere for a-ha – The Movie at Tribeca
Anthony Bourdain, A-ha docs among 2021 Tribeca Festival feature line-up

Update 5/5:
It looks like the world premiere will happen at Brookfield Place in New York on June 12th. Tickets go on sale May 10th, while tickets for the virtual screening (starting June 13th – US only) are available now at tribecafilm.com.

Film premiere, a-ha convention and more concerts in Norway announced

Photo by Stian Andersen

The official site has announced the world premiere of the documentary film a-ha – The Movie, directed by Thomas Robsahm and Aslaug Holm, which will take place at Colosseum Cinema in Oslo on 26 November 2020. The main auditorium at Colosseum has a capacity of 978 people.

a-ha – The Movie has been in production since 2016, and the filmmakers have followed the band on the road during the Cast In Steel Tour, the MTV Unplugged Tour and the Electric Summer Tour. They have also filmed other events, such as the Savoy concert and signing in Oslo last year.

“We will tell the whole story, from when two 12-year old friends started their first band together in the seventies, on to a-ha’s massive hit Take On Me in 1985, all the way till now where they are still touring the world selling out arenas. It’s a film about strong personalities, creating something unique together, but also about how their internal struggles have made it hard to reach their full potential. And, I must add, it’s a film about one of the most underrated bands in pop history. I want more people to discover their music!”, Thomas Robsahm told nordiskfilmogtvfond.com earlier this year.

He also talked about what the audience can expect from the film in a recent interview with Variety. In addition to Norway, a-ha – The Movie will be distributed in Germany and has been purchased for TV broadcast in a number of European countries, including Sweden, Finland, Belgium and Switzerland.

The film premiere will be followed by two a-ha concerts in Oslo Spektrum on 27 and 28 November, which will mark the end of the Hunting High And Low Tour. There will also be an a-ha convention in Oslo on 28 November, with Robsahm and other guests.

Although the concert in Trondheim on 7 February was supposed to be the only show in Norway on this tour, two additional dates have also been announced today: Nordlandshallen in Bodø on 1 February and DNB Arena in Stavanger on 24 November.

Tickets for the Norwegian concerts and the film premiere will go on sale this week, along with more German dates for next year. Be sure to sign up for the official a-ha mailing list for pre-sale info.

According to a VG article today, the band will play more than 60 shows on the HHAL tour, which means there are still more than 20 shows to be announced. The article says that a-ha will also be returning to South America in 2020.

Additionally, a-ha manager Harald Wiik tells VG that the setup of the HHAL concerts has been changed. The full HHAL album will now be performed first, followed by various other songs after the break. Initially it was the other way around.

Update 15 Oct:
These are the added German dates for 2020:
31 October: Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany
02 November: Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany
03 November: Barclaycard Arena, Hamburg, Germany
05 November: Leipzig Arena, Leipzig, Germany
06 November: Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin, Germany

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