I first saw this movie back in 1980 at a midnight screening when it was common practice for exhibitors to show rock and cult films to attract a youth audience. It was part of a double feature which included the Jimi Hendrix film "Jimi Plays Berkley." The Hendrix film was screened first, and I remember a lot of the audience did not stick around for the Genesis film because at that time in America Genesis were more well known for producing pop songs like "Misunderstanding" rather than prog rock epics like "Suppers Ready." I later saw the film again when it was aired on the USA Networks "Night Flight" during the Eighties. I think today it probably floats around as a bootleg because as far as I know it has never been released officially on video. I think I read somewhere that the band was not pleased with how this film turned out which may explain why it has never been released for home viewing (I apologize if I am mistaken in this area). The band's playing is very good and the film is shot well, but the decisions made in the editing room undermine what could have been a decent concert movie. Instead of sticking to showing the band simply playing on stage, there are many cut-aways to extraneous images, which seemed to be a common visual strategy for many a 1970s era concert film. Some songs are not shown in their entirety which is annoying. The song "The Cinema Show" is one such song and it features a very energetic and exciting drum work out by Collins and Brufford. For much of the performance of the song we don't see the two playing, or the rest of the band for that matter, because shots from silent movies (get it? The Cinema Show) are inserted into this section. Through out the film there are also cut aways to the audience which is a technique Jonathan Demme wisely disposed of in "Stop Making Sense." I like concert documentaries where the audience is integral to the experience like in "Woodstock," but so often the audience cut away adds nothing to what is happening on stage, and is used as a lazy visual transition. I mention this because there is a shot in the Genesis movie in which we see a guy and his girlfriend, and the girlfriend is asleep! Many rock critics would claim that the music of Genesis is sleep inducing, so why offer up evidence to support their assertion? Despite my criticisms of the film I do recommend this movie to all tambourine fans because you will without a doubt see the best tambourine solo ever in the history of tambourine playing during "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)."
Review of The Genesis Concert Movie
