Our local cinematheque took part in the worldwide launch of the film of the June 2019 "S&M2" concert of Metallica together the San Francisco Philharmonic Orchestra this weekend. So I had the opportunity to be among the first viewers of the film in a crowded cinema hall where most of the viewers were declared Metallica fans. Their enthusiasm was certainly contagious, but I would probably have benn contaminated anyway, because the film is up to the concert - an event that will probably not only become a reference in Metallica's already monumental career, but also in rock history.
The history of collaborations between rock groups and symphony orchestras is not very recent. The pioneers were 'Deep Purple' half a century ago, followed by 'Emerson, Lake and Palmer' shortly thereafter. Metallica, the heavy metal group that is approaching four decades of activity, created one of the most famous events (and albums and films) of the genre 20 years ago. The concerts (there were two) of June 2019 celebrated the 1999 event, tried, successfully in my opinion, to surpass it in scale, artistic quality, and of course, volume. The collaboration with the orchestra was excellent in this case, a meticulous preparation was visible, with symphonic arrangements written especially for each song, and with the orchestra located in a ring surrounding the stage. Basically Metallica played surrounded by the symphonic sound, and the audience heard it as one complex sound fabric. If the first part of the concert looked more like a Metallica concert with the orchestra added to the instruments, in the second part the musicians and conductors of the Symphonic Orchestra had a more active role and presence, becoming equal partners in the performance. From a musical point of view, for the lovers of the heavy metal genre but not only for them, the show was impressing.
Director Wayne Isham's career is as long as Metallica's, and his filmography includes numerous filmed concerts, documentaries and videos that follow the main events of the history of rock music in the last 35 years. The filmed concert in 'Metallica & San Francisco Symphony - S&M2' looks and sounds perfect. Not only are we immersed in the atmosphere and sound of the concert, but we can see and probably hear better than the spectators who participated in the live concert. The only problem was for me the lack of song names that I think would have helped those, many, who will see the movie without being fans or detailed connoisseurs of Metallica's music. I would have also edited out the 'talking heads' side from the beginning - I think that for such filmed events the music and the images in the shows are sufficient. Anyway, the two and a half hours pass quickly and intensely, and I have little doubt that this filmed concert will become a classic movie in the future.
