Monday, October 1, 2007

Martin Scorsese to direct George Harrison documentary

For fans of The Beatles, there was good news recently when it was announced that Martin Scorsese will direct a documentary about the life of George Harrison.

Scorsese is one of the best directors of his generation and has a successful track record when it comes to documentaries involving rock and roll figures. He directed "The Last Waltz," which recorded the farewell performance of The Band (though they resurfaced in various forms after that). He also directed a well-received documentary about Bob Dylan in 2005 titled "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan."

As for Harrison, the "quiet Beatle" may finally get the attention he deserved during his life. The other three Beatles had more extroverted personalities and that guaranteed he would be lost in the shuffle somewhat.

However, one of the most interesting aspects of The Beatles' story was how Harrison began to flower as their career progressed. Early on, he seemed almost content to stand in the background. Slowly, he began to help shape their sound by introducing instruments like the sitar.

By the time the band was nearing its break up, he was writing songs that were as good as John Lennon's and Paul McCartney's. On the "Abbey Road" album, how many of their songs measure up to Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun" or "Something"? Not many. Certainly, Lennon's "Come Together," but Harrison's songs hold up better than just about any other song on the album.

Hopefully, this documentary will give Harrison the treatment he deserves.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This should be interesting. Although i've never seen one of his documentaries, i was a huge fan of The Departed. I don't expect Harrison to be depicted as a crime lord or bad cop, but i think it may be worth seeing anyway.

I'm a huge fan of "I'm Only Sleeping". One of my top Beatles songs. The Vines do a nice cover of it as well.

Anonymous said...

Five favorite George Harrison songs:

1. Here Comes the Sun
2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
3. Taxman
4. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth).
5. My Sweet Lord

Chris Martin said...

Here are some other Harrisongs that are worth sampling: 'If I Needed Someone' from the 'Rubber Soul' album; 'The Inner Light'; 'Isn't It a Pity' and 'What is Life' from the 'All Things Must Pass' album; 'I Me Mine' from the 'Let It Be' album; 'Piggies' from the 'White Album.