On October 13th, Taylor Swift brought her record-breaking Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour to movie theaters all across the globe. In a full-fledged concert experience, the film consisted of two hours and 48 minutes of singing and dancing. In its opening weekend, the film grossed an estimated 97 million dollars. I proudly contributed to the film’s success and went to the theaters to watch it. Buying the Eras cups and bucket, dressing up in my best Taylor merchandise, and singing along to every song, I had the time of my life watching The Eras Tour.
Before the tour even kicked off, Swift knew that she wanted to provide some sort of experience like the concert film. Due to the unprecedented demand of “The Eras Tour,” many fans were unable to attend the concert. Swift had troubles with the ticket-selling company, Ticketmaster. In its debacle, Swift told fans that she wanted to make up for it.
“To those who didn’t get tickets, all I can say is that my hope is to provide more opportunities for us to all get together and sing these songs,” Swift said in a statement.
A mere eleven months later, Swift lived up to her promise with the release of the film, allowing fans to experience the concert from their local cinema. The film was recorded over three nights in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium in early August. It is a full showing of the concert in its entirety. Well-almost.
Fans, including myself, were upset when some songs were cut for the sake of time. I had read the news before seeing the film but I still missed some of my favorite songs. Swift cut “Tis The Damn Season” from one of her COVID albums evermore which was one of my favorite songs on the setlist. Another song cut was “Long Live” from Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). This song being cut was shocking because it was specifically written for the fans. It’s about Swift’s relationship with Swifties and the experience of touring with them. Footage from the performance was also included in the trailer which also caused confusion. However, Swift made up for it by including the studio version during the credits.
Besides some of the missing songs, Swift was recorded at her best, performing hits and deep cuts from all ten of her eras. I was fortunate enough to see this tour live in Chicago over the summer and I can safely say that this concert film so accurately depicted the live concert. Each era was beautifully filmed and the stage visuals were shown in the way they were meant to be seen.
One era that specifically stood out to me was the reputation era. That era has always been a divisive one amongst fans but the way that it was shot in the movie left no room for criticism. The reputation era depicts Swift as this pseudo-villain. Swift puts on a performance that showcases a darker side of her. The camera perfectly catches the essence of this. A specific moment that encapsulates the reputation era so well is the transition from “Don’t Blame Me” to “Look What You Made Me Do.” The camera does a circular pan around Swift and captures the moment that she turns into a complete villain.
Not only did the concert film provide the best possible visual and sonic view, but it gave the viewer the complete experience of going to the concert. Swifties were encouraged to dress up and treat the film as a true concert. When I went, every person in the audience was in their best merchandise or era costume. We all traded friendship bracelets with motifs from the Taylor Swift universe, just as people do in the stadiums. Everyone was super nice to each other as we bonded over our love for a blonde cat lady.
The Eras Tour concert film truly gave the best representation of what the live concert was like. From its visual and sonic effects, the concert environment is curated inside the theaters. Fans and critics alike are loving it, as it has earned a 100% critic score and 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. If there is one thing that this film proves, Swift’s undeniable talent can shine through any medium of art.
