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Scorsese: The Music Man
Acadamy Award winner, Martin Scorsese has proven two things over the years. He loves to make movies featuring violent characters (usually New Yorkers) and he loves classic rock.
Scorsese has given us some great movies in the past 30 years. He has shown time and time again that he is a great director, with movies like: Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and Gangs Of New York. When Scorsese is not making great movies, however he like to make documentaries about his favorite classic rock artist.
This all started in the 70’s, when he directed The Last Waltz. This was a documentary and presentation of The Band’s farewell concert. Somehow, this movie about a second rate stoner rock band is considered a classic and still gets nominated for awards and in 2003 won the DVD Premiere Award at the DVD Exclusive Awards.
He stayed away from making music based films (we will pretend he never did Michael Jackson’s Bad video/short film) until 2005’s No Direction Home: Bob Dylan. This was once again a documentary on a over rated, shitty classic rock singer. He showed us all about Dylan’s evolution from folk singer to protest singer. Absent from the film, however was the explanation of why Dylan sings like he has a mouth full of shit. This shitty movie actually won an Emmy and a Grammy.
Unfortunately, Scorsese is at it again. We know he’s working on Shine A Light, a concert film/documentary featuring the Rolling Stones, I know I can’t wait to see Mick Jagger’s lips 70 feet wide on a movie screen. Now, Variety is reporting that he is planning to direct an authorized documentary about former Beatle, George Harrison.
Interviews and early production will begin this year, and the film will take several years to complete. The movie will cover his time in the Beatles, when he wrote the classics Something and Here Comes the Sun, his usually not very good solo career, his foray into movie production (Monty Python’s Life of Brian and Nuns On The Run), his enthusiastic embrace of Eastern mysticism and his death of lung cancer in 2001.
Scorsese commented on his decision to make the movie saying: “George Harrison’s music and his search for spiritual meaning is a story that still resonates today and I’m looking forward to delving deeper.”
Harrison widow Olivia, who will serve as a producer on the film, thinks “It would have given George great joy to know that Martin Scorsese has agreed to tell his story.”
The movie was approved by all members of the Beatles - Yoko Ono, Micheal Jackson, Heather Mills-McCartney, as well as Paul and Ringo.
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4 Responses to “Scorsese: The Music Man”
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Great article, Eric.
However, I am not sure I can agree with your assertion that Harrison’s solo career was “not usually very good.” In my mind, his solo stuff is among the best out of the four Beatles. He is definitely second only to Lennon as far as solo stuff is concerned.
Thanks Ray
I agree that after Lennon he had the most talent, but I think as a solo artist he never really showed it.
He released 14 albums and I would only say that 2 of them were really good - All Things Must Pass and Cloud Nine. I also think he only had 3 great songs - What Is Life, Got My Mind Set On You, and My Sweet Lord. I think he was capable of doing much better.
I just think as a solo artist he was very erratic and his album’s seemed to lack focus.
How about “All Those Years Ago” or “When We Was Fab” or “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” or “What Is Life” or the stuff he created as part of the Traveling Wilburys?
Frankly, all of the Beatles had erratic careers after the band broke up. I personally think Harrison had the most interesting diversity in his music, took the most chances, and had a more specific message than the rest. Lennon tops him only in that Lennon happened to create a couple of songs of truly original power, while Harrison’s songs lagged slightly behind.
On a side note, Scorcese in the picture looks like a Hobbit.