A-ha: The Movie Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

A-ha: The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 16, 2022

How exactly would you define a so-called "one hit wonder"? Rolling Stone did a survey of its readers, and there were some interesting and at least relatively "accurate" entries in its list, including Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" and The Knack's "My Sharona", even if both of those artists actually did manage to eke out at least one other midlevel charting tune. But sitting atop the Rolling Stone poll is the Norwegian group A-ha and its incredibly memorable tune "Take On Me", and as even the Rolling Stone article devoted to one hit wonders overtly mentions, global citizens who couldn't care less about Billboard , Cashbox or any other North American publication including but not limited to Rolling Stone itself, would probably stare in disbelief that that band would be included in such an aggregation, since A-ha had a series of both Number One albums and a healthy supply of both Top 10 and Top 20 singles in its native Norway at least, with German and UK chart action in particular not falling much further behind. And in fact even in the United States the band's follow up single to "Take On Me", the much lesser remembered "The Sun Always Shines on TV", managed to crack the Billboard Top 20 (if only barely, though interestingly it did better in the UK than "Take On Me", making it all the way to Number 1), and a later tune called "Cry Wolf" made it Number 50.

The group dynamic is rather nicely encapsulated in some early mini interviews, which introduce the viewer to the main working trio of the band, Pål Waaktaar-Savoy, Magne Furuholmen and Morten Harket, as they prepare to perform in what might euphemistically be called "middle age", but which might more accurately be described as approaching elder statesman status. The three quickly discuss (in separate interviews) their thoughts about doing new work together, at which point Magne overtly states that they have a tendency to want to bash each other's heads in after a while of close proximity interaction. And in fact there's a surprising amount of just beneath the surface tension that tends to poke through this documentary on occasion, which would seem to be at odds with the almost manically joyful sound of "Take On Me".

A-ha is another band that grew out of a childhood (or at least teenaged) friendship, in this case between Pål and Magne. The guys' wives perhaps more clearly articulate the kind of sibling rivalry relationship the two men have had, but while Magne is about a year younger and is described as always having looked up to Pål as an older brother type, there's also a bit of friction there, as when Magne states that he never really wanted to play keyboards at all, let alone in a band, but it was what Pål wanted or needed in order for A-ha to happen. Morten was a relatively late addition to the fray, but not that late, in that a lot of formative years were spent with the three getting to know each other. Morten is on record (no pun intended) here stating that he was the one to push for a "new, improved" version of "Take On Me" when the first version flopped internationally (even if it went Top 5 in the band's native Norway), which of course led to their brief but unforgettable skyrocket to the top of the international charts.

In a way the whole "on hit wonder" designation seems to provide a copious amount of emotional subtext here, especially since the documentary captures these guys in their fifties and sixties, looking back on careers that probably have more mileage in the rear view mirror than ahead of them. There's therefore a bit of a melancholic aspect to things, though the documentary does celebrate the band's long lasting contributions which has extended for decades after "Take On Me". As might be expected, the documentary spends a good deal of time discussing the almost zeitgeist levels of the video that helped take the song to the top of the charts, and the documentary itself plays on the hand sketched look of the video, as can be seen in screenshots 7 and 11 accompanying this review.

A-ha: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A-ha: The Movie is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lightyear Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer (mostly) in 1.78:1 (as can be seen in a couple of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, as expected some archival video hovers closer to Academy ratio). This is yet another "behind the music" documentary that has a somewhat variant appearance, with sharp, well detailed contemporary interview segments contrasting with at times considerably shoddier looking archival footage. Both on the fly rehearsal sequences as well as sit down interviews in "present time" look natural and balanced, with typically very good to excellent fine detail levels. The archival stuff is all over the place, as frequently is the case with this type of documentary. Also as tends to be the case, archival stills look sharp. I noticed no major compression issues of any kind.

A-ha: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A-ha: The Movie features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks. This is another music centered documentary where the actual music tends to be used more as interstitials between interviews, but the surround track definitely opens the moments when there is music, especially the current rehearsal footage. Archival audio experiences occasional boxiness and there's not really even much stereo separation at times let alone surround activity. All of the spoken material is delivered cleanly and clearly throughout the presentation. Both Norwegian and English is spoken at various points, and there are forced English subtitles for the Norwegian moments. There are no optional English subtitles for the entire documentary.

A-ha: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scene 1 - Magne Tells Thomas the Truth (HD; 00:45) is another kind of almost shocking moment with Magne, who decries the "narcissistic self delusion" of the band.


• Deleted Scene 2- Paul Isn't Feeling It (HD; 3:11) details some of the slightly tortured quality of rehearsals.


• Deleted Scene 3 - Bridges Reunits After 39 Years (HD; 2:30) is a sweet if awkward callback to the first band Magne and Paul were in.

A-ha: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Take On Me" is one of those unforgettable songs (and videos) that has kind of taken up permanent residence in the Collective Unconscious, and in that regard, though perhaps leaning a bit more toward Freud than Jung, there is a veritable glut of both Ego and Id on display in this really fascinating look at a band many remember but don't really know all that much about. At some level, the story of these three might be an object lesson in "be careful what you wish for", but on another level it's a rather nice testament to resilience, hard work and the ability to keep relationships alive even when things can get incredibly rocky. Technical merits are generally secure, and A-ha: The Movie comes Recommended.