Synopsis

Duran Duran's Arena combines live concert footage from the band's 1984 Sing Blue Silver tour with a surreal science-fiction storyline. After crash-landing on Earth, Dr. Durand Durand discovers that crowds of teenagers are chanting his name and becomes entangled with the band bearing his name. Performances of songs including "The Reflex," "Rio," "The Wild Boys," and "Save a Prayer" are intercut with theatrical scenes, creating a hybrid of concert film, pop spectacle, and playful Barbarella-inspired adventure.

Factoids & Trivia

• Released in 1985, Arena was designed as more than a conventional concert film. Its fantasy narrative and stylized interludes reflect Duran Duran's highly visual approach to pop promotion during the MTV era.

• The central character, Dr. Durand Durand, was played by Milo O'Shea, who had portrayed the same character in the 1968 science-fiction film Barbarella. The band's name originated with that film.

• Concert sequences were filmed during the band's 1984 North American tour, including shows at the Oakland Coliseum. Additional footage was filmed at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre and at Twickenham Studios in London.

• The separate television concert As the Lights Go Down was assembled from the concert material in Arena, with the storyline and theatrical sequences removed.

• The live performance of "Save a Prayer" was filmed in Oakland. Simon Le Bon dedicated the song to Marvin Gaye, who had been killed the day before the concert was recorded.

• Arena was released alongside a broader group of Duran Duran projects connected to the 1984 tour, including the Sing Blue Silver documentary and the live Arena album.

• A two-disc DVD edition appeared in 2004 and included additional material such as a trailer, television commercial, video megamix, live footage of "Save a Prayer," and an interview with Simon Le Bon.