AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL, BLU-RAY, DVD on MAY 10
VIA iTUNES, APPLE TV, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, GOOGLE PLAY and More
DOCUMENTARY BEHIND THE BAND AND ITS IRRESISTIBLE SONG
THAT HAS AMASSED 1 BILLION YOUTUBE VIEWS, 1 BILLION SPOTIFY PLAYS
AND COUNTLESS TIK TOK IMITATORS
Four decades after it all began, the story of a runaway hit and how it turned three Norwegian youths into international superstars is told in a-ha: The Movie, which will be available on digital services (including iTunes, Apple TV Amazon Prime Video and Google Play), DVD and Blu-ray on May 10 following a successful theatrical run. The critically acclaimed documentary chronicles the metamorphosis of “Take On Me” and the group’s whirlwind rise to fame, then reveals how their iconic hit was only just the beginning. The song’s enduring popularity has amassed 1 billion views on YouTube and 1 billion streams on Spotify, but it’s the band’s unwavering dedication to their craft that has kept them one of the world’s most popular bands ever since they first hit the top of the charts. a-ha fill arenas around the globe each year, have released 16 albums and sold more than 55 million copies, won eight MTV Awards, earned both a Grammy and an American Music Award nomination, held a Guinness World Record and were granted knighthoods. Directed by Thomas Robsahm and distributed in the US by Lightyear Entertainment, a-ha: The Movie premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2021 to rave reviews and played in theatres throughout the US in April.
Order the film HERE.
From a small town in Norway, the synth-pop trio featuring keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, vocalist Morten Harket, and guitarist Pål Waktaar-Savoy became global sensations and heartthrobs overnight when they released “Take On Me” along with its groundbreaking pencil-sketch animation video in 1985. They soon learned this newfound fame overshadowed their original dream to make music and, in the years that followed, each of them embarked on separate roads to get back to what they loved most. The film features candid interviews with the band along with previously unreleased behind-the-scenes footage that reveals the depth of their musical talent, skill and ambitions that were often hidden away behind their popstar image.
“It´s 1985 and a-ha is number one on Billboard with ‘Take On Me.’ It´s the first time for a Norwegian band or artist. A childhood dream came true,” Robsahm starts out, before taking viewers inside the soul of a band whose unbreakable artistic bond overcame any personal differences that stood in their way. 40 years after forming and 35 years after their first hit, “They still tour the world, (but) in separate cars and separate wardrobes. They only meet on stage, doing the one thing they all love. This collective loneliness – within a mutual love affair with music – is fascinating to observe.”
Driven by their love for the music above all else, a-ha have remained global superstars since that first irresistible pop song and groundbreaking music video, releasing 11 studio albums and 5 live albums that have sold over 55 million copies combined, performing to crowds so large that they previously held the Guinness Book of World Records title for largest paying audience at a pop concert with 198,000 people. “Take On Me” continues to be wildly popular across generations. After hitting #1 in the US in 1985, the song was sampled for Pitbull and Christina Aguilera’s “Feel This Moment” in 2013 (watch Harket join them onstage at the Billboard Awards HERE) and has over a billion views on YouTube and a billion streams on Spotify. In 2012, Furuholmen, Harket and Waktaar-Savoy were appointed Knights of the 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav.
Directed by: Thomas Robsahm
Director of Photography and Co-Director: Aslaug Holm
Cast: Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket, Pål Waaktaar-Savoy
Produced By: Yngve Saether & Thomas Robsahm
Co-Produced By: Tore Buvarp, Matthias Greving & Clementina Hegewisch
