The best I can say about this film (not the music!) is: If you're a real fan, avoid it like the plague.
It ran on network TV. So consider how that impacts the storytelling. Also, the sign-off required for this whitewashed narrative from all four camps.
It was apparently drastically re-cut. What's left reeks of a powerless director and money grabs for a Beatle or two. It rehashes a number of false Beatles narratives, and not subtly. The Lennon mythologizing is strong, despite featuring many of his bitchy '70s bitter interview clips...a wide-ranging dose of finger pointing and complaining.
Many of the performance clips are overdubbed to a distracting degree: The vocals don't begin to match the video. We hear far too much from George Martin and, especially, Neil Aspinall, who comes off like a mumbler thirsty to elevate his role.
Did the director somehow fail to see all four Beatles come off badly? Was sharing 25+-year-old fresh gripes(!)-some revisionist and/or selective-used to get defensive present-day reactions from another 'brother' on camera? Or does it just play that way?
If you're after old performances and early Beatles pressers (often *hilarious*), there's plenty of good quality stuff on YouTube that beats this experience.
My two stars are largely for the fun audio clip of an early daylong recording session that really catches their flavor-going fast as hell, laughing like crazy with in-jokes and slagging off their bad takes, endearingly obnoxious with each other.
It's miles away from the rearing egos, posturing and pettiness that are rife in the present day interviews.
Anthology embarrassed me for all involved. I'll be shaking it off for a while...
It ran on network TV. So consider how that impacts the storytelling. Also, the sign-off required for this whitewashed narrative from all four camps.
It was apparently drastically re-cut. What's left reeks of a powerless director and money grabs for a Beatle or two. It rehashes a number of false Beatles narratives, and not subtly. The Lennon mythologizing is strong, despite featuring many of his bitchy '70s bitter interview clips...a wide-ranging dose of finger pointing and complaining.
Many of the performance clips are overdubbed to a distracting degree: The vocals don't begin to match the video. We hear far too much from George Martin and, especially, Neil Aspinall, who comes off like a mumbler thirsty to elevate his role.
Did the director somehow fail to see all four Beatles come off badly? Was sharing 25+-year-old fresh gripes(!)-some revisionist and/or selective-used to get defensive present-day reactions from another 'brother' on camera? Or does it just play that way?
If you're after old performances and early Beatles pressers (often *hilarious*), there's plenty of good quality stuff on YouTube that beats this experience.
My two stars are largely for the fun audio clip of an early daylong recording session that really catches their flavor-going fast as hell, laughing like crazy with in-jokes and slagging off their bad takes, endearingly obnoxious with each other.
It's miles away from the rearing egos, posturing and pettiness that are rife in the present day interviews.
Anthology embarrassed me for all involved. I'll be shaking it off for a while...