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Wham!
Directed by Chris Smith
Produced by
Starring
Edited by
  • Gregor Lyon
Music by
  • Tim Atack
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 17 June 2023 (2023-06-17) ( DocFest)
  • 27 June 2023 (2023-06-27) (United Kingdom)
  • 5 July 2023 (2023-07-05)
Running time
92 minutes [3]
Country
  • United Kingdom [4]
LanguageEnglish

Wham! is a 2023 documentary film about the English pop duo Wham! consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. The film marks the 40th anniversary of their 1983 debut album Fantastic. It is directed by Chris Smith and relies primarily on rare archive footage and audio commentary by the duo, private home video and outtakes, provided by friends, band members, record producers and family. A British venture, the film was co-produced by Netflix and Ventureland with Altitude Film Distribution and Netflix serving as distributors. [5] [6]

Wham! had its world premiere at the Sheffield DocFest on 17-18 June 2023 and was given a limited theatrical release in the United Kingdom on 27 June, by Altitude Film. It will be released globally to stream on 5 July 2023 by Netflix. It received generally positive reviews from critics. [7]

Synopsis

Wham! covers the journey of the pop duo George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, featuring private home video and archive footage.

In 1982, the best of friends and still teenagers - George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley as WHAM! set out to conquer the world. By June of 1986 they played their very last gig at Wembley Stadium having done exactly that. Now for the very first time, told in their own words, the amazing story of how in four years they dominated the charts around the world with timeless and classic pop songs. Hit after hit - Club Tropicana, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, Freedom, I’m Your Man and of course Last Christmas. Their time in the spotlight was white-hot, becoming the very first western pop act to play in China. It was a time that both encapsulated and epitomised not just their youth, but also those of the many millions of fans that adored them. [8]

Production

Development

In June 2022, it was announced that a documentary film about the band Wham! was in production and had the official support of Andrew Ridgeley, with Chris Smith signed on to direct. The official social media of Ridgeley and Michael announced and asked the public for any footage they may have. [9]

Music

Composer Tim Atack was in charge of the film’s musical score. Some examples of used concert footage and studio cut excerpts of the following tracks:

  1. " Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)"
  2. " Club Tropicana"
  3. " Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"

Release

Wham! held its world premiere at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England for the 30th Sheffield DocFest on 17 June 2023 with a Q&A session after the screening with the film’s director Chris Smith and Wham! member Andrew Ridgeley, both via video call. On 18 June it was given another DocFest preview at the Showroom Cinema’s Warner Chappell Production Music screen. [10] An advanced BAFTA screening followed on 20 June 2023 with Smith, Halfon, Battsek, Ridgeley and Wham! backing dancer Shirlie Holliman in attendance for a Q&A session hosted Louis Theroux by at BAFTA's Piccadilly headquarters in London. [11]

Wham! was released theatrically on 27 June 2023, in the United Kingdom by Altitude Film Distribution and is scheduled to be released on Netflix on 5 July 2023.

Marketing

An official trailer was released on 15 June 2023 and featured the songs " Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" and " Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". [12]

Reception

Critical response

Upon its premiere at the 2023 Sheffeil DocFest, the film received positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 5 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10. [13]

Screen International film critic Fionnuala Halligan wrote "The quality is far above the norm for this type of memoir assemblage, even if the substance is full of air bubbles..." [14] In a positive 4/5 star review for the London Evening Standard, El Hunt called it an "illuminating film" with it being "Cleverly stitched together and drawing on a vast archive of audio recordings, their narrative does not shy away from reappraising the band’s past and even calling themselves out." [15] Wendy Ide from The Guardian gave the film 4 stars out of 5, said "The film, which creates a dialogue between recent interviews with Ridgeley and older archive recordings of Michael, pays tribute to the close bond between the two Bushey Meads school friends who found themselves living the dream." [16]

Kevin Harley, writing for the Radio Times gave 3 stars, saying "While the film can seem somewhat shallow, it works best as a warmly nostalgic celebration of fleeting youth and friendship." [17]

example

External links

  1. ^ "'Wham!' Documentary To Make World Premiere At Sheffield, As DocFest Reveals 30th Edition Lineup". Deadline. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  2. ^ "'Wham!' Documentary To Make World Premiere At Sheffield, As DocFest Reveals 30th Edition Lineup". Deadline. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Wham!". British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  4. ^ Halligan, Fionnuala (17 June 2023). "'WHAM!': Sheffield Review". Screendaily. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  5. ^ "'Wham!' Documentary To Make World Premiere At Sheffield, As DocFest Reveals 30th Edition Lineup". Deadline. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Wham!". Sheffield DocFest. June 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  7. ^ Halligan, Fionnuala (17 June 2023). "'WHAM!': Sheffield Review". Screendaily. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Wham!". Netflix Media Center. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  9. ^ Edwards, Chris (7 June 2022). "New Wham! documentary featuring Andrew Ridgeley in the works". NME. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Wham!". Sheffield DocFest. June 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  11. ^ "BAFTA Screening: WHAM! Photocall and Q&A". Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  12. ^ Blistein, Jon (15 June 2023). "Friendship and Creative Fire Fuel Wham!'s World-Conquering Pop in New Doc Trailer". Rollingstone. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  13. ^ "WHAM!". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  14. ^ Halligan, Fionnuala (17 June 2023). "'WHAM!': Sheffield Review". Screendaily. Media Business Insight. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  15. ^ Hunt, El (23 June 2023). "WHAM! documentary review: there's a refreshing lack of hyperbole". Evening Standard. Evening Standard Ltd. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  16. ^ Ide, Wendy (25 June 2023). "Wham! review – the truth behind the mahogany tans and catchy songs". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  17. ^ Harley, Kevin (22 June 2023). "WHAM!". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
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