George Michael: The Faith Tour – Movie Review
Restored from over 60,000 feet of unseen 35mm footage from the 1988 Paris performances of George Michael’s record breaking ‘The Faith Tour’, directors David Austin and Andy Morahan bring to life a concert experience thought to be lost to time and memory that fans of one of the biggest rock-pop stars of all time will not finally get to see on the big screen.
Over a few nights at the Palais Omnisports de ParisBercy, 16 35mm cameras captured the alluring, electric and record shattering show as George Michael unleashed his solo career onto the world with much acclaim. The footage sat undiscovered for almost 40 years before Austin and Morahan took on the painstaking task of restoring the footage, upscaling it to 4K quality, and syncing a radio deck audio recording of the shows – a process over four years in the making.
George Michael: The Faith Tour begins with a short documentary called Finding Faith, from director Mary McCartney, which uses photographs of Michael from the time along with audio snippets from a candid interview the singer did that brings the audience into his mindset during the transitional time in his life as a 24-year-old who is leaving one of the most successful groups in WHAM! to begin his solo career. It’s an intimate and fascinating entry into the soul of the performer, and the care and passion he put into this album and tour, that very much so prepares the audience for something singular to come with this concert.
Then for 100-or-so minutes, Michael completely electrifies the stage and screen with a tremendous show. ‘Faith’, ‘Father Figure’, ‘One More Try’, and ‘Monkey’ are just the headlines for a concert film that does a brilliant job of transporting an audience in 2026 into the atmosphere of a 1988 concert. The footage restoration is sharp and clean, while the audio mix is loud and immersive, giving a full technical experience that is worthy of viewing in the cinema.
It’s also how Austin and Monahan bring the Paris audience into the film that exacerbates the pure hypnotic effect that Michael had on his fans, backing up that feeling with a hell of a performance.
George Michael: The Faith Tour is a must-see for fans of the phenomenal musician, as this is not just a fantastic restoration of a lost concert, but a time-capsule that solidifies the impact this talented artist had on a massive, influential era of music.
George Michael: The Faith Tour is in Australian cinemas November 12
