2011 biographical documentaryRating: 16/20
Plot: An exhaustive look at the life, the work, and the spirituality of the best Beatle.
There's an honesty to this film that I really like. I know George Harrison didn't make this documentary about himself, but the accumulation of all this previously-unseen footage was his, so although the decision to not hide a lot of the scars just feels like his decision to me as much as it was his wife's or Scorsese's. And yeah, a lot of this does almost feel like a 3+ commercial for George Harrison, almost like a visual essay detailing all the reasons why George should be Saint George Version 2.0 or something. The one who wouldn't dare hurt a dragon. But instead of only painting a picture of Harrison as this mystical figure and focusing on how spiritual he was, it refuses to hide his shortcomings. Still, I would think it would be nearly impossible to watch this and not respect and like the guy, maybe the best example of a human being who is so perfectly flawed.
I thought this seemed a little scattered at the beginning, and I wasn't really sure where Scorsese was going with things. We had a description of George's Beatles "audition" on a double-decker bus, stuff about the break-up, and a little about his boyhead in the first ten minutes, and I wondered if this whole thing was going to be this frustratingly disjointed. It isn't though, just straightforward chronological stuff that thankfully ignores a lot of the stuff that's been covered or shown again and again in other Beatles documentaries. There are a lot of touching moments, especially the stuff at the end about his death and the relationship with his wife, and since George was the funniest Beatle, there are a lot of funny parts, too. My favorite moment might have been Ringo's joke: "How many Beatles does it take to change a lightbulb?" Pause. "Four!" Lots of Ravi Shankar. I love that guy and the other "giggly little Indian guy" too, and I really enjoyed Ravi's description of god and devil music. Also the applause after sitar tuning at Bangledesh. Oh, my other favorite moment was a story Tom Petty told about ukuleles. "He had a lot of ukuleles in his trunk."
I'm not sure there's anything all that revealing in this documentary, and it is really long. Beatles fans, and especially fans of the best Beatle, will like it just fine. I did learn that Phil Spector might be the ugliest lesbian that I'll ever see. See? Maybe if I had learned to be a better person by watching this documentary about a guy I'm convinced was a really good person, I'd have given this a 20.
By the way, there's this quick footage of a random guy wearing a bow tie and manically singing a song where he asks "Who wants to die?" I'd love to know who that is.
Paul is the best Beatle...always has been, always will be.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this documentary, I kind of had to since the subject matter is so important to me, but it was really disjointed and directionless. Much like Georges music, it lost its way for long periods of time. (The explanations of Georges affection for Sitar music and the scenes with Ravi Shankar just go on forever.)
What makes the entire thing enjoyable are the little stories sprinkled throughout. Pauls story about the turban. (With Paul so casually cursing.) George singing along with old film of the Beatles performing. Eric Clapton talking about his slow pursuit of Patty Harrison, and how he still felt like an invisible man whenever any of the Beatles were around. It was especially interesting to see Dhani Harrison, who seems about as well adjusted and happy as anyone who is the child of a Beatle could be.
I probably give it a 17...it really is too long and too unfocused, but the subject matter is simply compelling.
As long as you don't say Ringo, we're not going to argue...
ReplyDeleteBesides not having the good taste to understand that John was the best Beatle, I agree with pretty much everything both of you said (I do agree that without Paul's boundless commercial needs and obsession, there wouldn't have been as many albums where he spurred John's genius required to keep him in his place). My favorite moment by far was when Ringo teared up. I thought "Ringo doesn't cry!". That told me as much about the real George as anything I have seen. A 16 (deducted 1 point per hour).
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