At least to someone from a later generation, George Harrison
always seemed like the reticent Beatle, less enamored with the fame their
success had brought them and more taken with the deeper powers of the universe.
Master filmmaker Martin Scorsese, whose skills are no less impressive in the
realm of documentary, takes us through Harrison 's
life in an intimate portrayal largely told by the man himself in audio
recordings taped before his death. In a two part film, Scorsese dedicates the
first and lesser half of the film to his childhood in Liverpool, formation of
the band with classmate Paul McCartney, early riotous shows in Hamburg , and the phenomenon of Beatlemania, which caused
George to turn to India
for meditation. We reach the real heart of the subject in the second half of
the post Beatle's years which includes George's solo career, his producing
ventures with the Monty Python troupe, and his formation of the Traveling
Wilburys. In addition to an incredible wealth of stock footage and imagery and
George's commentary we also hear from the likes of his family and friends which
includes his wife Olivia, Paul, Ringo, Tom Petty, Eric Idle, and Terry Gilliam.
Though not quite as fascinating as Scorsese's "No Direction Home",
which profiled Bob Dylan (why didn't he appear for this), "Living in the
Material World" paints a rich portrait of a mysterious and often
underappreciated artist.
