Blu-ray Review: George Harrison: Living in the Material World

By Robert Beames / October 10, 2011

Made in a similar style to 2005 Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home, the great Martin Scorsese has turned his documentary camera on this most reluctant and private member of The Beatles. As a George Harrison fan - and as one of the few people that actually owns early 80s albums like Gone Troppo and Somewhere in England - it's been a long time coming. The underrated guitarist, who passed away after a long battle with cancer in 2001, deserves some love and Marty gives it to him over a shamelessly celebratory 3 1/2 hours of archive footage, interviews and beautiful still photographs divided into two parts. Entitled George Harrison: Living in the Material World, it's today released on Blu-ray. The first part concerns the young Harrison: growing up in Liverpool, becoming a Teddy boy, joining the band with John and Paul - after impressing Lennon with his skills as a guitar soloist on the top deck of an double-decker bus after being encouraged to play by his older school friend McCartney - and spending the 1960s as a slightly reluctant member one of the world's most famous foursome. A 1 1/2 hour feature in its own right, this first section of the documentary is likely to be the biggest crowd pleaser as it tells a familiar story - albeit from a different point of view - and charts one of the most exciting and influential times in popular music. The second, slightly longer, part is one for more hardcore fans and is more rewarding. It tells Harrison's post-Beatles story: All Things Must Pass, his pioneering Concert for Bangladesh (cited as the first rock benefit concert of its kind) and his other interests in this period - as a movie producer, motorsport enthusiast and avid gardener. Here we hear Eric Idle describe how Harrison formed Handmade Films (later producing such movies as Time Bandits, Mona Lisa, Withnail and I and The Long Good Friday) just so he could see Monty Python's Life of Brian get made (another interesting detail, coming from the singer of "My Sweet Lord"). Idle says "he paid $4 million because he wanted to see it, which is still the most anyone has ever paid for a cinema ticket." Though this section is more revealing than the first one, though there are still huge gaps in the narrative. As with almost every retrospective on Harrison, most of his music after his first three solo albums is ignored (fairly or unfairly). Not even the decent and high-selling 1987 effort Cloud Nine is mentioned, with the documentary skipping past that and straight onto the formation of super-group The Travelling Wilburys the following year. This is a disappointing omission for a fan looking for a reappraisal of his more obscure catalogue that may never come. However to fixate on this would be to miss the point of Marty's excellent and emotional film, which is as much about Harrison's spiritualism as it is his music. Living in the Material World - like the album it's named after - is a tender portrait of Harrison the man. It partly debunks the myth of George as the quiet, gnomic figure seen on the album cover to All Things Must Pass and reveals him as a more complicated individual. It's clear from diary entries (read by his son Dhani) that Harrison had a fearsome temper, starting fights with policeman and photographers during his early years touring with The Beatles. Most importantly, this revelation of George as a conflicted character sheds new light on his lyrics. When he sings a song like "Beware of Darkness" or, in "Run of the Mill", the words "Everyone has choice when to and not to raise their voices" it seems infinitely less preachy if you consider he's really counselling himself. Likewise, "I'd Have You Anytime" becomes a more interesting song after George's widow Olivia reveals the subject was the singer's relationship with Bob Dylan (the song's co-author). Fittingly, it's the songs themselves that really come to the fore over the course of this film, and Scorsese gives many of them room to breathe. I felt like I was hearing "Dark Horse", with the singer's scratchy vocals, for the first time with my ears open, whilst in the context of celebrating his life songs like "All Things Must Pass", "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun" (seriously, what a great songwriter) reduced me to tears every time. As did Olivia's account of the 1999 incident in which an intruder broke into his home and stabbed the singer, which is horrifying and touching as the wounded Harrison retained his sharp sense of humour in adversity. Equally moving is Ringo's account of visiting his frail friend in his Swiss home weeks before he died. With this film, Scorsese has shed light George Harrison: his temperament, his understanding of faith and love of music. More than that though, he has given the songs themselves a fresh airing and perhaps cleared a path for others to get into this music.

Extras

Considering the final film is 3 1/2 hours long it's a surprise to find almost an additional hours worth of musical sequences and interview footage in the special features. These include contributions from ELO frontman, Travelling Wilbury and record producer Jeff Lynne, an extended chat with Sir Paul and also a long section detailing Harrison's passion for F1 racing, with driver Damon Hill interviewed and showcasing lots of fun home video footage taken by Harrison behind the scenes as the races. For me the highlight though is a look in a mixing room with George Martin and his son Giles (who oversaw the 2009 Beatles remasters) as they show Dhani Harrison alternate takes of "Here Comes the Sun", revealing a previously unheard guitar solo axed from the final song. In all there are 7 additional interviews and 4 musical clips, which include live concert footage and some shots of Harrison indulging in his passion for the ukulele in his home. Overall it's a very nice package indeed. George Harrison: Living in the Material World is released on Blu-ray and DVD today. The film is also currently on a limited theatrical release in the UK.