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Bring On the Night (film)

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Bring On the Night
DVD cover
Directed byMichael Apted
Written byMichael Apted
Produced byDavid Manson
Starring
CinematographyRalf D. Bode
Edited byRobert K. Lambert
Melvin Shapiro
Music bySting, Sergei Prokofiev for Russians, Alex Atkins, J. B. Lenoir for Been Down So Long.
Distributed byThe Samuel Goldwyn Company
Release date
  • November 8, 1985 (1985-11-08)
(United States)
Running time
97 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
United States
LanguagesEnglish, French
Budget$2.5 million[1]
Box office$1.9 million[2]

Bring On the Night is a 1985 documentary film directed by Michael Apted, focusing on the jazz-inspired project and band led by the British musician Sting during the early stages of his solo career and first solo tour. Some of the songs in the film appeared on his debut solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. The film won the Grammy Award for "Best Music Video, Long Form" at the 1987 Grammy Awards.

Much of the film takes place inside the French Château de Courson outside of Paris, where the band met, lived and rehearsed for nine days. Near the end of the film the band plays their first concert at Théâtre Mogador in Paris. The final scene shows Sting attending his wife Trudie Styler as she gives birth to Jake, their second child and Sting's fourth.[3] Sting said he "resisted" Apted's suggestion of filming the birth, but then he "realized there's a tenuous link between the band being born and the baby, so it fit."[4]

The film was named after the Police song "Bring On the Night" (1979),[3] it is also the title of Sting's 1986 live album featuring music recorded during the 1985 tour chronicled in the film.

Cast

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Apted is heard in the film, asking interview questions, but he is not visible or credited.[5] Seen on screen:

Production

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Unusually for a documentary, Apted shot the film in 35 mm, focusing primarily on band rehearsals, musician interactions, and interviews with every musician in the band.

The Samuel Goldwyn Company acquired the film in September 1985.[1]

Release

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The film opened on November 8, 1985 on 409 screens in the United States and Canada and grossed a disappointing $1,132,112 in its opening week.[1] It grossed a total of $1.9 million in the United States and Canada.[2]

The film was released on DVD in 2005.

Reception

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The New York Times noted that Sting appeared "aloof" and "elitist" at the beginning of the film, but loosened up with his new black bandmates through a series of rehearsals. Sting's "pushy" manager Miles Copeland III is seen frequently in the film, complaining about the backing vocalists, and venting his displeasure to Colleen Atwood, the costume designer.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Gold, Richard (November 27, 1985). "Sting Pic Stung In Wide Break; Plan New Strategy". Variety. p. 7.
  2. ^ a b Bring On the Night at Box Office Mojo
  3. ^ a b Montee, Chris (10 November 1985). "Sting: A new movie, a new band, a new birth". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  4. ^ Plume, Janet (8 November 1985). "Pop star Sting goes jazz". The San Diego Union-Tribune. UPI. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b Maslin, Janet (8 November 1985). "Screen: Sting in 'Bring On the Night'". The New York Times. p. C-12.
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