On October 13, Taylor Swift released her musical documentary, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, in theaters after a seven-month-long tour. The film runs for 2 hours and 49 minutes and contains 40 songs. It is organized by each Taylor Swift era (what she calls each of her albums), starting with Lover, Fearless, Evermore, Reputation, Speak Now, Red, Folklore, 1989, and Midnights, as well as two acoustic surprise songs.
The Eras Tour is Swift’s first time touring in five years since her last tour, Reputation Stadium Tour. Swift surprised fans with this movie theater experience just after finishing up her U.S leg of the The Eras Tour. Soon after this experience was announced, AMC, Cinemark, and Regal theaters began to offer special dining collectibles for Swifties. With the purchase of a ticket, moviegoers and Swifties could snack in style with limited edition collectible popcorn buckets, tins, cups, a free poster, and even a light-up baton while supplies lasted.
This was to be no ordinary movie experience. In the past weekend that it’s been out, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour has drawn masses with this rare experience. This allowed Swifties to pretty much break all cinema etiquette rules. Dancing, singing, recording, and even getting up out of their seats was encouraged. Additionally, fans were able to make and trade friendship bracelets, wear merchandise, and dress in accordance with her albums. Fans treated it as though they were attending the live show.
The movie is extremely popular and has brought in crowds from all over to come and see it in their local cinema— however, only on the weekends. Swift has chosen to make it so that this movie can only be experienced on weekends, as it is not available to be seen on any day of the week (with the exception of Thursdays, and Fridays). This decision aims to bring an exclusive element to the experience, boosting crowds, as well as box office performance.
While some were fortunate enough to have a full, lively theater crowd, some did not get the pleasure of sharing this experience with a lot of other people. Even with a sad crowd, that didn’t stop anyone from having a good time and being immersed in the fun during this movie.
“There [were] only two other people in this theater with me that wasn’t my family,” said Reyna Rosa Emela Padillo, a senior at Mark Keppel High School. “I was able to jump, scream, [do] as much as I wanted to, just like an actual concert.”
As if this experience wasn’t immersive enough, Swift’s stadium tour documentary was provided in IMAX. With the IMAX sound and the audience’s reaction, it would almost make you feel as if you were there with Swift herself. Some fans noted that some songs that were in the actual tour’s setlist did not make the movie. The songs that did not make it into the movie were “The Archer” from the Lover set, “no body, no crime” from the evermore set, “Long Live” from the Speak Now set (although it was featured during the credits), “Wildest Dreams” from the 1989 set, and “cardigan” from the folklore set. The cut songs were likely removed from the movie to adjust to the movie’s runtime, but it did not take away from the experience at all.
For those who were unable to be at the concert, the movie’s release made it more accessible to a wider audience. The once-in-a-lifetime experience was captured in the film just as it would be in person.
Set List:
Lover: “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince”, “Cruel Summer”, “The Man”, “You Need To Calm Down”, & “Lover”
Fearless: “Fearless”, “You Belong With Me” & “Love Story”
evermore: “willow”, “champagne problems” & “tolerate it”
Reputation: “…Ready For It?”, “Delicate”, “Don’t Blame Me” & “Look What You Made Me Do”
Speak Now: “Enchanted”
Red: “22”, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”, “I Knew You Were Trouble” & “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”
folklore: “invisible string”, “betty”, “the last great american dynasty”, “august”, “illicit affairs” & “my tears ricochet”
1989: “Style”, “Blank Space”, “Shake It Off”, & “Bad Blood”
Midnights: “Lavender Haze”, “Midnight Rain”, “Vigilante ****”, “Bejeweled”, “Anti-Hero”, “Mastermind” and “Karma”
Surprise Songs: “Our Song” & “You’re On Your Own Kid”
