“A Hollywood High,” now playing in select theaters worldwide, captures Duran Duran near the start of what would become a heady year for the band, and it arrives just in time for its biggest honor.
Tonight, Duran will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a recognition that’s the pinnacle of many big moments. This year alone, Duran has toured the U.S. in support of the critically acclaimed “Future Past,” played a concert celebrating the royal Platinum Jubilee, headlined at Hyde Park, and opened the Commonwealth Games. Leading up to the rock hall honor, Duran handily won the fan vote.
But before all of this happened, Duran played an exclusive show on the rooftop of the Aster Hotel in Los Angeles, in March. The 12-song concert was filmed for a television release. It is ultimately being presented in movie theaters with a brief career synopsis focusing on the band’s ties to LA and its ongoing 40th anniversary celebration.
“A Hollywood High” is not a career-defining movie (and wasn’t sold as such). Neither was the last Duran film to play in theaters: the David Lynch-directed "Unstaged.” But “A Hollywood High” serves up an enjoyable appetizer before tonight’s main course.
The short documentary-like opening of the film touches on the band’s career highlights in LA: early shows at the Roxy, the infamous press conference as seen in “Sing Blue Silver,” its deal with Capitol Records, and its star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It even includes a shoutout to ex-guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, something that has been sadly missing from other recent documentaries on the band.
The concert features Duran in top form, playing an intimate show highlighting many newer songs and a few old hits. The visuals are at times stunning: the Capitol Records building illuminated in the colors of Ukraine’s flag, a neon sign flashing, “Fame is fleeting. Perfection is forever.” (“Just don't scratch the surface.”)
The show is bookended by two of the band's biggest hits: “A View to a Kill” and “Hungry Like the Wolf.” In between, it’s mostly a showcase of the singles off “Future Past.”
“Paper Gods” single “Pressure Off” feels fresh after a few years have past. “White Lines” proves it’s the crowd pleaser that just won’t go away. But “Ordinary World” is the highlight, with the blue-and-yellow backdrop that eight months later is sadly still timely.
One can hope Simon Le Bon sounds as good on the song tonight, which the band will inevitably play. A long-deserved honor will finally come to fruition, in Los Angeles, of all places.
Duran Duran has been around for more than 40 years and is once again in the limelight. It’s time to celebrate.
