''Arena (An Absurd Notion)'' is a concept concert video filmed during the course of

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

's 1984

Sing Blue Silver ''Sing Blue Silver'' is a documentary about Duran Duran's 1983-1984 World Tour directed by Michael Collins. A sixty-minute edited version of the documentary was aired on MTV (and later other music channels) under the title ''Blue Silver''. ''Si ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n Tour in support of the album ''

Seven and the Ragged Tiger ''Seven and the Ragged Tiger'' is the third studio album by English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 21 November 1983 through EMI and Capitol Records. It was co-produced by Alex Sadkin, Ian Little and the band. Following their deci ...

''.

Background

Instead of releasing a straight concert video, Duran Duran and director

Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian film director. Mulcahy's work is recognisable by the use of fast cuts, tracking shots and use of glowing lights, neo-noir lighting, windblown drapery, and fans. He directed music videos i ...

chose to play with the origins of the band's name (the 1968 film '' Barbarella''), and added a storyline and surreal elements that are interwoven with footage of the band performing on stage. The film's villain, the evil Dr. Durand Durand (played by

Milo O'Shea Milo Donal O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish people, Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in ''Staircase (play), Staircase'' (1968) and ''Mass Appeal (play), Mass A ...

, reprising his role from ''Barbarella'') has crash landed on Earth and is surprised and confused to find teenagers chanting his name. When he discovers that they are not chanting for him, but for an upstart pop group, he sets up shop beneath the concert arena and attempts to wreak havoc on the band that stole his name. Of course, he and his henchmen fail at every turn and Duran Duran continue to perform, seemingly unaware of the evil doctor's plans. The video also included

's long-form video for " The Wild Boys". It was meant to be a teaser for a full-length feature film of the same name, based on the 1971 novel '' The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead'' by

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

. However, that film was never made. The expensive sets for the conceptual portions of ''Arena'' and "The Wild Boys" were built in the massive 007 Stage at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

. Some of the segments were also filmed at the

National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway stati ...

in Birmingham, where free tickets were given to fans. In addition to O'Shea, the American actress

Jennifer Connelly Jennifer Lynn Connelly (born December 12, 1970) is an American actress. She began her career as a child model before making her acting debut in the 1984 crime film ''Once Upon a Time in America''. After having worked as a model for several year ...

also appears in the video, walking across an empty stage in one segment. A picture book of the movie, ''Arena: The Book'' (), was released in 1985. A live album, also called ''

Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

'', was released in late 1984. It featured the two singles "The Wild Boys" and "Save a Prayer (Live)". The video for "Save a Prayer (Live)" is included as a DVD extra on the 2004 ''Arena'' DVD release. The DVD for ''Arena'' was released in April 2004 and includes as an extra ''The Making of Arena'' behind the scenes documentary that was originally released as a separate videotape. A 2-in-1 DVD set with both ''Arena'' and ''Sing Blue Silver'' has also been released by EMI.

''As the Lights Go Down''

The

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

concerts that were filmed for ''Arena (An Absurd Notion)'' were also edited to form the one-hour ''As the Lights Go Down'' concert video. ''As the Lights Go Down'' is essentially the ''Arena'' video with only the music, although the live footage for many songs was edited differently. This version was never released on any consumer video format and was only broadcast on television, first on

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent net ...

then later on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and other TV channels.

DVD track listing

''Arena (An Absurd Notion)''

# The Return of Duran Duran (the story of Dr. Duran and the band) # "

Is There Something I Should Know? "Is There Something I Should Know?" is the eighth single by British pop band Duran Duran, released on 14 March 1983. The song was released as a stand-alone single and became the band's first UK number one record. It debuted in the number on ...

" # "

Hungry Like the Wolf "Hungry Like the Wolf" is a song by English new wave band Duran Duran. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Colin Thurston for the group's second studio album ''Rio'' (1982). The song was released on 4 May 1982 as the band's fi ...

" # "

Union of the Snake "Union of the Snake" is the ninth single by the English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 17 October 1983. It was the lead single from the band's third album ''Seven and the Ragged Tiger'' (1983), and preceded its release by one month. I ...

" # " Save a Prayer" # " The Wild Boys" (Uncut Version) # "

Planet Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...

" # " Careless Memories" # "

Girls on Film "Girls on Film" is the third single by English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 13 July 1981. The single became Duran Duran's Top 10 breakthrough in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at Number 5 in July 1981. The band personally selected th ...

" # "

The Reflex "The Reflex" is the eleventh single by English new wave band Duran Duran, released in 1984. The song was heavily remixed for single release and was the third and last to be taken from their third studio album '' Seven and the Ragged Tiger'' ...

" (a remix version of the song) # "

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

" (with the film credits overlaid) Running Time: 60 minutes

''The Making of Arena''

# Introduction # Concepts and windmills # Costumes, choreography and make-up # Hanging around with robots # Milo and stilts # Blowing it all up Running Time: 49 minutes

''Extras''

# ''Arena'' TV ad # ''Arena'' trailer # ''Arena'' video mix # "Save a Prayer (Live)" # Simon Le Bon interview

References

External links

* {{Russell Mulcahy Concert films Duran Duran video albums Films directed by Russell Mulcahy 1985 video albums Live video albums 1985 live albums