“The Judge.” A figure based on a particularly terrifying character from the 1982 film, ‘The Wall.’
 
In 2003, Stevenson Entertainment Group put out the first of two collectible figure sets based on some of the more memorable animated characters from Alan Parker’s film adaptation of Pink Floyd’s 1979 double album, The Wall. If this is news to you, as it was to me, I’ll give you a minute to process this revelation before we get on to learning a little bit about the original concepts for the animations before you get to peep the rest of these incredible figures based on them.

Parker enlisted the formidable talents of English illustrator Gerald Scarfe to create the animated scenes in The Wall. The band had been working with Scarfe since the early 70s after the’d seen his film, Long Drawn-Out Trip on television. They reached out to Scarfe in the hope that he would create illustrations for the band, which he did. According to an article published on the Illustration Chronicles website last year, Scarfe admitted that when Floyd first came calling, he didn’t actually consider himself to be a fan of the band. Reluctantly, the artist would attend a performance by Pink Floyd at Finsbury Park while they were out supporting Dark Side of the Moon. Scarfe’s opinion of the band changed instantly, and it would be the beginning of a very successful working relationship for everyone involved. After creating images for various Floyd-related materials such as stage animations and tour books, Scarfe and Floyd would get to work designing the unique, unforgettable illustrated visuals for The Wall that would also be used during the band’s live performances.

When it came to the movie, Parker has admitted that despite its critical acclaim, it was one of the most “miserable” experiences of his professional career. The working relationship between Parker, Roger Waters and Scarfe was strained at best. To make matters worse, the members of Floyd were also on the outs with each other, quarreling about money and other contentious issues. Many great things are often born from the volatile combination of strife and passion, and The Wall is a good example of this age-old scenario.

When it comes to the figures themselves, they are somewhat difficult to obtain these days as you might imagine, though not impossible. Occasionally single packaged figures become available, as well as the six-figure box-sets that will run you anywhere from $100 for one figure to around 400 bucks for a complete Series One or Series Two box-set. I’ve posted images of each figure below as well as links to where you can hopefully still pick ‘em up.
 

“The Prosecutor.” Get him here.
 

“Mutant Human” figure.
 

“Mother cradling Pink.” Get her here.
 
More after the jump…

A behind-the-scenes images of Bob Geldof as ‘Pink’ and actual skinheads from the 1982 film ‘Pink Floyd - The Wall.’
 
I don’t know how many nights I spent in my youth tripping balls on acid in a dark movie theater with 100 or so of my stoned out peers watching 1982’s WTF film Pink Floyd - The Wall for the 20th time (I guess I answered my own question there: 20). It was truly a rite of passage where I grew up back in Boston and I know that wasn’t the only place where young minds were getting blown apart by visions of marching hammers or a bloody, soon to be eyebrowless Bob Geldof screaming “TAKE THAT FUCKERS!” as he tosses a television out of a window.

Before I continue, I’ll give you a minute to recover from that mini-flashback you just had.
 

Bob Geldof being transformed into your worst drug-induced nightmare.
 
If you are following the news at all these days (and I wouldn’t blame you if you and the “news” are on “a break” right now as most of it makes me want to hide under my bed) you’ve likely seen some of the comparisons from last week’s GOP Convention to scenes from director Alan Parker’s brilliant adaptation of Pink Floyd’s 1979 conceptual masterpiece, The Wall. As I am about as nostalgic as they come I decided to watch the film once again (sans acid this go ‘round) and it should be of no surprise that despite a lack of chemicals cavorting around in my head the film is still quite impossible to look away from. It is also quite possibly even more terrifying to watch now when you allow yourself to consider the parallels some scenes seem to run with the ugly rhetoric spewing from the mouths of elected officials and a man who is currently vying to occupy the highest political office in the United States.

But as I often do, I’ve once again digressed away from the point of this post which is to share with you some remarkable behind-the-scenes photos from The Wall that I had never seen before as well as an interesting tidbit about the film’s star Bob Geldof. Apparently Geldof (who’s allegedly the leader of a new liberal political “party” in England called the “Sneerers” in case you were wondering what he’s currently up to) couldn’t swim and was also massively phobic when it came to blood. So when it came time to film the scene where Pink is bleeding out in a swimming pool, the reluctant Geldof was placed on top of a see-through plastic body mold so he could appear to be floating in the pool among a cloud of his blood for the sequence. Yikes. Many of the images in this post can be found in a must-own book for any Floyd fan by David Appleby, Pink Floyd - Behind The Wall.
 

 

Director Alan Parker on the set of ‘The Wall’ with ‘Little Pink’ played by actor David Bingham.
 

Alan Parker and an eyebrowless Bob Geldof.
 
More glimpses behind ‘The Wall’ after the jump…