Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Concert Film // Review
You know the greatest films of all time were never made....until now!! My mom and I went to see Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film in IMAX during the opening weekend, which was such a wonderful experience. The theater was packed with other excited Swifties all dressed up in their Eras gear singing along to every song, it had such a great energy to it as if it was the real concert.
Everything about this film was perfection, but I wouldn't expect any less from Taylor! The cinematography was so stunning and immersive, as if you are on the stage with her. The visual effects also blew me away, from the added 3D transitions between the eras, to the stunning imagery shown on the stage. The entire stage is essentially a screen that is interacting with her choreography, which adds a really cool element to the performance, especially on songs like "Delicate", "Look What You Made Me Do" and "Blank Space", to name a few.
Even if you were lucky enough to get to see the show in person, this film offers such a unique experience that you won't be able to find anywhere else. It is just under three hours long, which sounds like it would be a long time, but it honestly flew by. I never wanted it to end! The actual live performance is a little bit longer than the film, I believe it's closer to three and a half hours. For the film version, they did cut out a few songs from the usual setlist - songs like "The Archer" and "cardigan" I missed the most! Knowing Taylor, I'm sure there will eventually be an uncut version of the entire set sooner than later though.
I wasn't able to get tickets to see The Eras Tour in person, due to the infamous Ticketmaster fiasco and insane resale prices, so I love that she made this film so quickly for everyone to be able to see the show. I know there are probably millions of others that have had the same experience with trying to get tickets to see her too, so I think it's great that she made this accessible for everyone. It was filmed over three nights at the Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles, California in August and released independently by Taylor's production company. It was an unconventional move for someone like her to do that and directly distribute it to movie theatres herself without the backing of a major film studio. Concert films and documentaries often are released months or even years after they're filmed, but I love that she skipped all of that for fans to be able to experience it in real-time as she is still touring.
Taylor is really one of the only artists that has the music catalog to be able to put on a show like this. It was hit after hit for three hours straight. Every single album era is so distinct in their associated sound and aesthetics, putting it all together into a retrospective show worked so perfectly. No one is on her level in terms of the production value she puts into her work. Taylor has made a number of concert films and documentaries through the years for her other tours, but this is on another level. It is also the first time she had a theatrical release, so seeing it all up close on the big screen was such an awesome experience.
Her sheer star power shines through the entire performance, it was incredible to watch. Taylor is such an icon and if you didn't already believe that before, then The Eras Tour is the prime example of her creative genius. There were so many times I had chills watching her perform, I even teared up a few times during it, Taylor is such a powerful and emotive storyteller through her art. There wasn't a dull moment during the show, it was such a captivating and beautiful representation of her artistic journey throughout the past seventeen years. Her music has been such a big part of my life during that time so it felt so emotional and nostalgic for me. The show has so many callbacks and references to the original eras, which brings back so many memories. It felt like such a celebration of her career thus far, as well as the fans that have been there along the way.
I love that the show opens with the Lover era, especially since that is an album that never really had a chance to shine because of the pandemic. The live performances of these songs have been a long time coming! Starting with "Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince" and transitioning into "Cruel Summer" is the perfect opening. "Cruel Summer" is one of the absolute best songs she has ever made, and her performances have only elevated how much I love it. The Lover era was such a beautiful time in her career, and it was brought to life so well through these performances.
Of course, my favorite Taylor Swift eras will always be 1989 and Folklore, so I really loved the way those were brought to life for this tour too. The 1989 set was incredible, it captured so much of the joy and sparkle of that era. "Style" and "Blank Space" are two of my favorite songs ever and the live versions are incredible.
It was also really interesting to see the way albums like Folklore and Evermore were interpreted in a live setting. Those are the only two albums that she has ever made that didn't feel as if they were created with the intention of them ever being performed live, nonetheless in a huge stadium. I love how theatrical the Folklore and Evermore sets were in the show, it really captured the lyrical storytelling that is so prominent on those records. "Marjorie" felt like an especially moving moment of the show, as it is a tribute to her late grandmother. "All your closets of backlogged dreams, and how you left them all to me" feels like such a powerful lyric to be able to perform in front of almost a hundred thousand people every night, especially considering Marjorie was also a very talented singer herself and inspired Taylor's love for music. Her voice can even be heard in the background of the studio version and live version of the song. "August" was also such a stunning moment of the show. I love that song so much and she was like a magical folklorian fairy signing it!
The Red set was really fun too, focusing on mainly the upbeat singles of the album. At the end of "22" she gives her hat to a fan at the end of the stage every night and in the movie, she gave it to Kobe Bryant's youngest daughter, Bianca. For such a quick moment, it really did make me so emotional.
I love that she performed the entirety of "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" too, because that song is such a staple in her discography and continues to transcend the intention behind what it was originally written about in a really beautiful way.
I also have a whole new appreciation for Reputation too, I actually think that was my favorite part of the entire show. Her costume was stunning, the choreography was so powerful, and the visual effects were the best of the best! "...Ready For It" was such an amazing opener to that section of the show. I will never get over how iconic her performances of "Don't Blame Me" and "Look What You Made Me Do" were either, the transition between those two songs was so insane. Her vocals also sounded so amazing for the entire three-hour show, but one of the biggest highlights was definitely "Don't Blame Me". During "Look What You Made Me Do", all of the dancers were dressed up as past versions of Taylor trapped in glass cases, wearing recreations of her most iconic fashion moments from past performances and music videos. All of her dancers are so incredibly talented and played such a crucial part of the entire show, I loved seeing their movements and expressions in such detail.
The surprise songs during the acoustic set were "Our Song" and "You're On Your Own, Kid", which is perhaps the best combination she has done yet. I do wish her debut album was represented with "Our Song" in the permanent setlist, but I'm glad it at least had a place in the movie. "Your On Your Own Kid" feels like it could be the theme song of the entire Eras Tour. I have loved that song so much from the very first time I heard it last year. It makes me so happy to see it take on a life of it's own and become such a beloved song among her fans. Especially with the lyric "make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it".
The show ended with the Midnights era, it was such a fun part of the show too and once again gave me a whole new appreciation for that album. There were so many costume changes during the Midnights set, between nearly every song. Each look more beautiful than the last! The outfit change in the middle of "Midnight Rain" is so iconic. One of my favorite songs of the entire show was "Karma", which was the final song she played. "Ask me why so many fade, but I'm still here" is such a powerful note to end on, one that is representative of all that The Eras Tour embodies for her. Maybe Karma really is her boyfriend! 😉
After the success of The Eras Tour concert film, I hope we also continue to see this resurgence of major concert tours getting a cinematic release. I still remember going to see the Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds concert movie in theatres with my mom when I was eight years old and how exciting that was. Of course, I also loved Justin Bieber's Never Say Never and Believe Tour documentaries too and will always remember how those felt like such big events to go see too. I also think concert films can elevate the artist's performances so much when done right. It allows the fans to see every single detail on the stage, like every sequin on every costume to the expressions on the dancers' faces. Especially when executed as well as The Eras Tour film was, I think it can elevate the performance even more.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film is a stunning retrospective of her career up to this point. It is such a beautiful celebration of her artist journey spanning nearly two decades. I cannot recommend seeing this film enough! It was beautifully shot and executed and just an overall great experience. This film captures a unique snapshot of one of the greatest musicians of all time, continuously reaching new heights year after year. 💚💛💜❤️🩵🖤🩷🩶🤎💙
Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below! I have many Taylor Swift related posts that I would love for you to check out if you're interested - with more to come always!
All photos are my own! Credit to TS Productions for the photos included of the film
Related Posts:
Comments
Post a Comment