★ 10 / 10
Definitive documentary about The Beatles’ chief collaborator. Do
R T
Definitive documentary about The Beatles’ chief collaborator. Do not expect a pure Beatles flick. First appearance by a Beatle happens 25 minutes in!
Definitive documentary about The Beatles’ chief collaborator. Do not expect a pure Beatles flick. First appearance by a Beatle happens 25 minutes in!
The Fab fifth
dbdumonteil
The importance of George Martin in the field of producing is incalculable and is equaled only by Phil Spector's.Martin ironically points out that " let it be"…
The importance of George Martin in the field of producing is incalculable and is equaled only by Phil Spector's.Martin ironically points out that " let it be" was produced by himself ,then re- produced by the wall of sound master.This is a documentary which possesses considerable appeal for fans ,for the Beatles'recorded work in the shaping of rock-as-we-know-it influenced virtually everyone.And Martin's role was vital ,as he translated his protégés' ideas into music.The first third is given over to the producer's childhood,in a poor part of town,where his mom could not even buy him an ice cream;his promise to her that he would come back from war ;his debut as EMI staff producer for Parlophone label,and his comedy albums by Peter Sellers and others.The coming of Cliff Richard was important for the producer because it urged him to surpass his extraordinary popularity in the Pre - Beatles era.Richard's career is still buoyant in the UK though he never made it in America.Several Beatles' records are talked about."Yesterday" ,the score of which is framed on the wall of his mansion,"was naive but it worked"."Rain" ,probably Ringo's best drumming of all time shows Martin's technical expertise."Eleanor Rigby " is highly praised and depicted as half McCartney half Hermann ("psycho").Oddly " a day in the life " is passed over in silence,whereas it's arguably the Beatles/Martin's most impressive achievement.The last part proves ,all the same ,that ,unlike some anti-Beatles such as Piero Scaruffi claims, even without Martin,the Fab four would not have been playing stuff like "love me do " all along their career.Proof positive is given by the records the producer made with America which were anything but innovative.But Martin produced Jeff Beck and Wings' "live and let die" has remained memorable .George Martin is an endearing personality ;considering the career he made ,he seems a very modest man.He never made that much money in the Beatles years,which we already knew ,and he tells us how unfair it was ,and indeed it really was.Paul,Ringo ,his son Giles and Cilla Black are featured .The new arrangement father and son wrote for "while my guitar gently weeps" is mind-boggling and makes up for the absence of the sadly missed George.Everybody interested in the Beatles (that is to say : interested in rock music) should see this absorbing biography.
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★ 7 / 10
When Exactly Did He Meet His Wife Judy?
TheFearmakers
This documentary wasn't good... until I began liking it. Started out really awkward, going into his early days at some studio or another... talking to his wife…
This documentary wasn't good... until I began liking it. Started out really awkward, going into his early days at some studio or another... talking to his wife who...Okay, here's the first critique... The old woman with George had been married to him for many years, and it made it sound like she was the secretary at the studio from when he began... It really made it seem like they'd been married for his entire career working in studios from a very young age...It turns out, Judy was his second wife, who he married in 1966, and he had divorced his first wife Jean in 1965...So basically, Judy was his mistress, obviously, who worked at the studio... but the son, who was behind making this documentary, really made it seem like mom and dad had never been apart...Anyhow, the thing flows better once he gets into The Beatles since none of the previous work, with Peter Sellers, etc., really translates anymore...It's also pretty interesting after The Beatles... but if any famous person needs a marriage counselor for a director of a documentary, well...
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80%
AUDIENCE
7.6/10
270
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@Packard75 - "Arena" is a long running BBC TV arts documentary series in the UK. This was an episode of Arena first broadcast on BBC TV in 2011. Because of commercial interest in George and The Beatles, the TV documentary was packaged with extras as a DVD by Eagle Rock and released in 2012. So both Arena in the title and 2011 as date seems fine I think.