Abba - Super Troopers

Rating:
Summary: Nice To See ABBA Together Today
Review:
I saw this documentary on tv a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. The dvd is really a nice mixture of videos,concert performances,interviews new and old of the band, and the Mamma Mia performance. If you have ABBA'S other dvds you may find some of Super Troupers content found in their other dvds,but I found this Dvd more enjoyable than their other ones. Its nice how they group talks about their start,success,divorce and their current situation. All the interviews are new, and the finale has 3 of the members getting together to recieve a reward for 30 years of success. To me,one of the best parts is when Bjorn,
Benny and Frida are backstage waiting for the Mamma Mia performance to end,seeing Frida singing along to Dancing Queen backstage I thought was COOL. If you enjoy Abba you will really like this DVD. You get to see all different phases including 60's footage, Waterloo era, the touring(how did Agnetha fit into those pants) and like I said before The Mama Mia finale ends the DVD and makes you want to see more history of the band. When was the last time more than 2 members of the group have been together on stage so that alone is a treat.


Rating:
Summary: Buy it for the archival footage if anything else
Review: I found this 90 minute documentary to be very well done, very well edited and well produced. There aren't really too many revelations from the interviews, but the collection of clips from yesterday spliced together with current footage of the band members was a really nice, nostalgic touch. Especially the moments from the 1974 Eurovision song contest that rocketed their careers put back to back with the footage of them getting ready to go out on stage for Mamma Mia in 2004.

One thing I did enjoy about the interviews were the comments by Agnetha taken from various sources and timed with various events. Some of her quotes are translated from Swedish, some in English. These segments prove to be very useful. They tease her appearance at the Mamma Mia opening, but even without prior knowledge most fans know she wasn't going to show. It's sad because it's so rare you see the members of ABBA together like that. Someday hopefully she will appear with them at least one more time (don't hold your breath).

Other goodies are footage of Benny and Bjorn in their early careers with the Hep Stars and the Hootenany Singers, Frida's solo career before meeting them, ABBA concert footage of "He Is Your Brother" and video clips for "People Need Love" and "So Long". Michael Tretow talks about how they applied Phil Spector's sound methods to their recordings and provides good insight to various topics. The narrator is a little over enthusiastic in his appraisal and tells us how much he wanted to see Frida without her clothes on. I didn't need that much information.

Note on the bonus features: the interviews with Frida and Benny are listed as full, however they just pasted together the clips shown throughout the documentary with a few extra questions. The interviewer is not even heard asking the questions or even seen.

If you didn't believe ABBA was on a par with the Beatles before, you may change your mind after watching this.

Rating:
Summary: Flawed but still very worthwhile
Review: The star rating may seem a little high given some of my criticisms of this British made documentary, but the wealth of vintage footage and in-depth interviews with Bjorn and Frida more than make up for it.

Framed by events surrounding the fifth anniversary performance of the British edition of "Mamma Mia," it traces the careers of Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha and Frida before and during ABBA in a more scattershot way than 1999's "The Winner Takes It All," often using ABBA's songs and video to set up certain points about the member's lives. Footage from Agnetha's 2004 Swedish documentary promoting "My Coloring Book" is also included as well as more of her voiceover readings from "As I Am." In fact, the docu replicates some "Winner Takes It All" footage, but also includes different or extended pieces of interview and musical footage.

The biggest problem with the docu is Pete Waterman, who provides commentary/narration and comes off like an overbearing, perhaps inebriated, relative who's far too loud and won't shut up.

Fans in search of straightforward ABBA history would be better off with "The Winner Takes It All," but this has a lot to recommend it as well.

Rating:
Summary: If you are an ABBA fan this DVD is a must.
Review: Very enjoyable documentary with a number of new music renditions of familiar songs. I was especially pleased to see interviews with Agnetha in English and Swedish. As I said, it includes new material not seen on any of their other DVD's. The only reason I gave it 4 stars was because it left me wanting more. If you are an ABBA fanatic like me, you will love this DVD.