The Beatles are one of the cultural touchstones of the 20th Century and their story has been told many times across numerous formats. It is refreshing then for director Martin Scorsese to look at this in a different light by examining the life and times of perhaps the most interesting member of the group, George Harrison in his new documentary Living in the Material World, which is today's flick of the day.
Music, and particularly that which he enjoyed in the 60's and 70's has long been an important part of the work of Martin Scorsese. There is an obvious love there for his favourite artists which comes through in his use of music. This passion is put to good use in this enjoyable and in depth look at George Harrison's life. It opens with his youth in Liverpool, a warm and loving family upon which he built his life. Moving on to his life with the Beatles, we see in depth how it shaped him as a man. Each of The Beatles look impossibly young at the beginning and haggard by the end, perhaps a metaphor for their time together. It becomes apparent that it was but a small part of Harrison's life. For his part, he set out to live his life in a spiritual manner and his life after The Beatles was at the heart of this. Scorsese is at pains to emphasise this aspect of his life and it shines through as the strongest aspect of the film.
If Harrison had a credo, it was to live life to the fullest and just the once. He would probably have no time at all for people sitting around dissecting his every decision. However, this is the level of depth the documentary goes into without really giving us great insight. There is a wealth of footage, and any fan will find much to enjoy as each major event is well documented and ultimately what you are left with is a portrait of a man who lived life to the full, made the best of his gifts and was rich in friends. The number of people who speak of their love for George is an incredible cross section of talented individuals. From Eric Clapton to The Pythons to Jackie Stewart, he seemed to attract people from all walks of life.
All in all, this is a worthy look at an interesting man and if the picture has a flaw, it is that despite all of the footage and the interviews and an obvious attempt to examine his spirituality, you aren't left with a complete portrait. Yet it comes in at over 3 hours and 20 minutes running time, leaving you with a feeling that focusing on less in more detail might have created a fuller portrait of the man. That said, there is much here to enjoy and Scorsese seems to really care about Harrison, rarely is their a negative word about the man. We never really examine his heavy drug use post The Beatles and rarely are events stitched together with the kind of cogency required of great documentaries. However, it is fascinating all the same and well worth a look.
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