ABBA w Studio 2

ABBA: The Movie (Konsertfilmen) is a 1979 concert film featuring the Swedish pop group ABBA performing different songs in a staged setting while lip-synching to the original recordings. The concert footage from the performances is interspersed with clips of scenes shot on location backstage during the filming of the concert sections at the Sveriges Television studios in Stockholm. Despite the filming and editing being finished in early 1979, the film remained unreleased because of the unexpected death of Stig Anderson's financial collaborator.\r\n\r\nIn 1979, the film was ultimately shelved due to a family tragedy occurring within the band involving Frida Lyngstad's ex-husband, Rafael "Raffe" van der Lubbe, and her children. Lyngstad's daughter, Ann Lise-Lotte "Lotta" van der Lubbe, died in a car accident and, as a sign of respect, licensing and releasing the concert film were stopped before it went on sale.\r\n\r\nTime passed until finally in October 2013, the film was unearthed following its rediscovery in the Universal Pictures archives. Universal contacted Polar Music International to arrange the transfer of the digitized original film elements to Sweden where they oversaw its complex and painstaking restoration underway. The restored version, augmented by a host of archival material, including newly compiled interviews, was released in Swedish cinemas in Summer 2014, followed by its initial DVD, Blu-ray and vinyl releases.