Surprise songs and what Swifties should expect from 'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour' concert film (original) (raw)

Swifties, are you ready for it?

By "it," of course we mean the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film, which is now streaming on Disney+ after a theatrical run last fall that earned almost $262 million worldwide. If you missed it then — or just want to watch again and again — here's what you need to know about the concert film.

For instance, the movie, which was filmed across the first three nights of her six-night stop in Los Angeles in August, includes almost all the songs from the Eras Tour setlist as it appeared at that point in time — below, we'll dive into which songs didn't make the final cut like Taylor dove into the trap door of that stage every night.

The film — directed by Sam Wrench, who has worked with everyone from BTS to Lizzo to Billie Eilish, and even American Idol — was a massive box-office success before it even hit theaters, earning more than 100millioninadvanceglobalticketsales,surpassingtheentirerunof2011′sJustinBieber:NeverSayNever,whichpreviouslyheldtherecordforhighest−grossingconcertfilmwith100 million in advance global ticket sales, surpassing the entire run of 2011's Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, which previously held the record for highest-grossing concert film with 100millioninadvanceglobalticketsales,surpassingtheentirerunof2011′sJ​ustinBieber:NeverSayNever,​whichpreviouslyheldtherecordforhighest−grossingconcertfilmwith99 million. Demand was so high, in fact, that prior to the movie's premiere, Swift and theaters agreed to add more early showings.

But, true to form, Swift remained cryptic and Machiavellian about some the film's key points before it opened. For instance, each of the three nights the concert was filmed, she performed two different surprise songs during the acoustic set, meaning there were six different possibilities for the film in that section of the show. Fans speculated for weeks about which two would appear in it, or if Swift would do a shortened medley of all of them, or something else entirely. Fans also wondered if the Eras Tour film would contain bloopers or behind-the-scenes content like the Reputation tour film did? Or maybe she would announce something at the end?

EW attended the world premiere of the Eras Tour concert film in October, where we swapped friendship bracelets and got to shake it off sitting just rows away from Swift as she danced along to the concert. Here's what we learned about the film.

Taylor Swift on stage during the Eras Tour. Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images

As mentioned above, Swift performed six different songs during the acoustic "surprise song" section of the setlist while the movie was being filmed. Those six songs are: "I Can See You," "Maroon," "Our Song," "You Are in Love," "Death by a Thousand Cuts," and "You're on Your Own, Kid." Ultimately, just two are in the film: "Our Song" (on guitar) and "You're on Your Own, Kid" (on piano).

Why is the film shorter than the concert? Was anything cut?

Though the massive, career-spanning tour setlist clocks in at over three hours and 15 minutes, the film is only listed at around two hours and 45 minutes. As expected, outfit changes and transitions were shortened. And five songs that she performed at the L.A. shows didn't make the final cut: "No Body, No Crime" with Haim; "Long Live" in the Speak Now era; "Wildest Dreams" from 1989; "The Archer" from Lover; and Folklore's "Cardigan."

Is there a blooper reel or any behind-the-scenes content?

While the L.A. performance of "Long Live" wasn't included, the credits rolled over a recording of the song as we see footage of fans and bloopers from the tour — like Swift's hand getting caught on her dress, and when her dress flew over her head as she twirled.

What is new in the concert film?

The joy you feel watching it over and over again.

When and where is the film streaming?

The concert filmwas available for VOD rentals on Swift's birthday on Dec. 13, and the new version of the film featured the performances of "Wildest Dreams," "The Archer" and "Long Live" tacked on at the end, but not the other two songs missing from the theatrical version, "No Body No Crime" and "Cardigan." On March 14, the Taylor's Version of the film was released to streaming on Disney+, and this time, it features all of those tracks placed in their rightful order in the setlist, with the exception of "No Body No Crime," presumably since it was a performance with Haim unique to only a small handful of Eras Tour dates, and the concert film is more inclusive of the tour as a whole. The new streaming version also includes all of the surprise songs Swift filmed over the first three nights in L.A. as part of a special "acoustic collection" at the end of the credits. That consisted of "You're On Your Own, Kid," "Our Song," "I Can See You," "Maroon," "You Are in Love," and "Death by a Thousand Cuts."

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