George Harrison: Living in the Material World

2011

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

8.1| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

He was part of the most famous rock-'n'-roll quartet in history. But George Harrison was much more than just a member of The Beatles.

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Reviews

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.
ShangLuda Admirable film.
Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
classicsoncall When all is said and done, the viewer comes away from this documentary knowing more about George Harrison than one did before, but I couldn't help thinking that there was just too much of a stream of consciousness approach to getting it all down on film. I can't tell you how many times the narrative got muddled with clips of Harrison presented in no semblance of chronological order. You would see him alternately with a beard, clean shaven, mustache with no beard, lean in appearance and then heavier with age, all within a short time span as he reflected on his role with The Beatles and discussing other areas of his life.But even for long time Beatles fans, there are probably enough nuggets of new information to make the nearly four hour effort worth your while. Most of the first disc in the two disc set talks about the Beatles years, but with somewhat of a superficial gloss to a handful of topics that in some cases seemed to apply more to Paul and John. What particularly interested me was how George entered the post-Beatles phase, delving into Indian philosophy and spirituality. I was happy to see the transition to The Traveling Wilburys period. To this day, I think it's some of the finest music one can listen to from an incredibly talented assemblage of performers.When I think back upon my own life and recall the history of The Beatles as they first emerged on the music scene, I feel kind of bad for those who missed that experience simply by being born too late. It's easy enough for seasoned citizens like myself to pick out contemporaries in the documentary like Donovan, Twiggy, Petula Clark, Billy Preston and Leon Russell, but because their appearances are so fleeting without being identified, they become just nameless faces in the crowd for casual viewers. For some reason it makes me a little sad.One thing I had long forgotten about was the attack on Harrison's home in England by a deranged 'fan'. Harrison's wife Olivia opines on that event in frightful detail. Other folks who have things to say about Harrison throughout include Paul and Ringo, Eric Clapton, other Harrison family members, and a whole host of performers who shared the stage with the former Beatle. I found it particularly ironic, only due to my timing in watching the film, to hear Tom Petty speak about the phone call he got from George the day after Roy Orbison died. Harrison's only words were "Aren't you glad it's not you?" With Petty's own death a mere month or so ago as I write this, it won't be long in the grand scheme of things for all these musical icons to eventually move on to a better place. Quite sadly, those that have passed on are already terribly missed.
Mobithailand I will always go out of my way to see the work of certain actors and directors – a select few, who, in my opinion, can do no wrong. I will always watch an Al Pacino or a De Niro film – even if it is a bad one, as by their very presence, they will somehow drag it out of the mundane and make it a pleasurable experience.One of my favourite directors is Martin Scorsese and to me, he can do no wrong, ever since I saw Taxi Driver all those years ago. Since then, he has followed up with masterpieces such as Goodfellas, Casino and Gangs of New York. Recently, his production and directorial contributions to the TV series, Boardwalk Empire has elevated it to the echelons of all time TV greats, such as The Sopranos. Scorsese also has also directed a number of notable documentaries through the years, almost always connected in some way to his love of music and music performers. His latest, about the life of the Beatle George Harrison, is a feast for the eyes.To Beatles fans, lovers of popular music, or just someone interested in the life and times of this fascinating and talented man, this documentary is a 'must see'. I sat down to watch it at around 10 p.m and sat transfixed, hardly realising that the clock was almost at the hour of 2 a.m by the time the final credits rolled down the screen – along with a few tears rolling down my cheeks… There is no narrator - no quoting of dates or facts - just a cinematic account of the life of George, from his earliest days in the Beatles right up to the day of his death from cancer in 2001. The story is 'told' through mainly previously unseen footage and magical interviews with so many friends and family who knew him and lived through the same life and times as he did. I have a new respect for Paul and Ringo who clearly gave very honest, heartfelt and sometimes surprisingly vulnerable accounts of themselves and their relationships with George and their times with him – both good and bad. There many others; Eric Clapton, John Lennon, both of George's wives, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Tom Petty, Phil Spector, Yoko Ono, Jackie Stewart and so many more. Some of these people were interviewed especially for the film and other interviews were taken from archive footage, much of it never seen before. At the top of the list of interviewees is George himself, speaking from his very early Beatle days, almost up to the time of his death. George was a fascinating man who lived a very full life, from his music, to his film production, to his love of cars, to garden design and to his almost fanatical involvement in Indian mysticism and trans-meditation. Through the years, this quiet but highly charismatic person acquired an incredible array of devoted friends from all walks of life. I particularly loved the videos of the impromptu sessions shot at Bob Dylan's home recording studio in New York when members of the 'Travelling Wilburys', (George, Tom petty, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison), collaborated on a new song. It is pure magic. But there again, there are so many magical moments. This wonderful documentary is a film not to be missed.
LeonLouisRicci On the Beatles Albums most of the Songs were Written by Lennon/Mccartney (and other covers of RnR and R&B standards) but there was usually one that was Penned by a Fella named Harrison. That one Track was always Stack-able next to the others and was not just a throwaway or token Inclusion. The song was just as Cool and Rocked along with the others, and if one Listened Closely it did have an Ethereal and Otherworldly Feel that was not only from the Heart but linked to the Soul with a Mystical Presence Apart from the other three minute Teenybopper Soaps.That was George Harrison. Even before, even He, knew that there was more..."it's just things", he would say, "it really doesn't matter". But it turned out It Did Matter as He would Discover. While the Juggernaut of John and Paul was Prolifically Pounding out a stream of Wonderful, Timeless little Ditties of Poetry with a Back-Beat, George was Gently Pushed to the Peripheral and as it turned out, that is where His Clever Cultivation Occurred. The Results were Not as Numerous but just as Substantial as His Mates.This was His Essence, the Spiritual seeking and the Oneness of it all that became His Belief and it proved to be rather Reflective in Retrospect.Part of the Sum of the Parts as to what the Beatles without the Fab Four could Never have been. It's like Paul says in the Film..."A square with four corners, remove one and it is gone".So the Documentary Lays Bare that in this corner we have George, and it (He) is clearly Exposed as the most Self-Conscious, Introspective of the Group and Shows the Band to be simply...John the Mind...Paul the Heart...George the Soul...and Ringo Wrapped it together on the Skins.The Film is Not all Encompassing, what could ever be?. The Film is Not always Entertaining, no One Life ever is. The Film is a Long Exposure of a Moving Snapshot. A Look in on the Life and Times of a Man, a Dreamer, an Artist, and a Sensitive Soul that tried to figure it all out by being..."IN the Material World...but not OF the Material World".The Movie is a Stark and Welcome Compendium and a Compilation of Images, Thoughts, and Feelings about an Interesting Fella that can still "Light Up the Room".
David Allen "George Harrison" (2011) documentary it the best "trip" back to the 1960's era mentality Harrison never abandoned! See it and you'll experience "the 60's"...the noblest era of modern times! ---------- See this noble documentary by Marin Scorcese! It will take you back to the fabled "1960's" and everybody needs to re-visit those times, including people like me who remember it well, and also people never part of it, or who were there but left it when the calendar changed and "modern times" after the "60's" started up and continued to the present (2012).The famous movie titled "My Dinner With Andre" (1981) asked the important question "What if the '60's were the best years ever to have happened, and it's been all down hill after that?" Worth thinking about! The "'60's" were a highlight in human history of great importance, a benchmark of cultural and human excellence.They somehow got disappeared, and more to the sad point, never properly or adequately explained or communicated after the times changed, and glory of the '60's died.George Harrison was an icon of the 1960's, and his life after the '60's was devoted to ideals part of the high water mark times of the '60's.....and we see his important life in this wonderful documentary movie.....created in 2011 by Martin Scorcese.Scorcese attended NYU Film School in the mid-1960's and was a senior camera crew tech guy for the "Woodstock" (1969) documentary when Scorcese was still in his 20's. He was there for all of it, and never forgot it."George Harrison: Living In The Material World" (2011) is a memorial to the whole decade as well as to Mr. Harrison who was and is a remarkably representative person part of the 1960's.You had to be there to understand it, and remember it.No adequate documentary or other cinema art work effort ever came near to communicating what the 1960's were all about, why they were so important, and truly different than times before or since.....not until this documentary.See it, and you'll see the 1960's ideals and way of life, mentality.....so important and beautiful and worth preserving and studying.The 1960's were more than "flower power" and "social protest" times and events......those years, for some people, were a way of life never to be forgotten or abandoned.Yet, they are hard to describe......memories supported by visual and sound images need to be presented about the 1960's.This documentary is the very best effort doing that...succeeds as no other documentary about those times has ever done, to my thinking.You'll "feel" the 1960's........if you screen this documentary movie....and that's a worthwhile experience...one worth repeating often until you "get the point" and then start working to bring it back...somehow.----------------- Written by Tex Allen, SAG actor. More about Tex Allen at WWW.IMDb.ME/TexAllen. Email Tex Allen at TexAllen@Rocketmail.Com