Life in the Material world, a review!

   
Hey there, Pandora here after a long absence but trust me it'll be worth it.

I have just finished watching George Harrison: Life in the Material world. I'm a massive Beatles fan, and a lot has been done on The Beatles as a group, and John Lennon as a solo artist, but there seems to be an absence of recent out put about the others. This is often explained by the sad loss of John at a young age, and although this is true (and tragic) I feel that this isn't completely fair. George Harrison, in my opinion, was an amazing guitarist and song writer. So when Life in the Material World came out I was intrigued, although I have to admit it did take a while to get round to watching it. At a whopping 208 minutes, its not exactly something you watch any time. So here goes, my thoughts on George Harrison: Life in the Material World.
   
    First off that run time. Although it seems long, none of it drags and it really didn't seem all that long to me. There was a lot to cover through his life and none if it rushed, or drawn out. Surprisingly more time is dedicated to the end of The Beatles career than the start. This may be due to the latter having the more profound effect on George. It also covers very sensitively the struggle George had within The Beatles to be recognised as a song writer on his own merit. Also, a lot of time is dedicated to his time with the Maharishi, again something that had a profound effect on his life and beliefs. I was genuinely thrilled that it has been balanced in such a way that the things that mattered to George where the things that got the most screen time. This shows how important it is to have someone who knew the subject of a documentary intimately is to the quality of the final product. It is also not afraid to cover things like his experience with drugs, which surprised me a little as drugs these days are kept off screen unless it's to enforce a negative image.

    The interviews were amazing, well balanced but personal. No one tried to paint him as perfect or a saint, Olivia for example mentions his affairs quite candidly. As well as talking about George as a person they also spoke about the impact George had made on there lives. Which, to me, is just as important. The idea of a documentary on a persons life is so you can know them better, and knowing the impact George Harrison had on so many people better explained the kind of person that he was. There is a good mixture of funny and moving stories, some have been previously publicised others are more personal. Even the more well known stories, for example the end of his first marriage and the break in at his home, are given new dimension by the personal touch the interviews add. So even if you think you know everything about George Harrison's life, it is still worth a watch.
   
    The visuals for this documentary I found quite strange. The mix of archive footage and interviews was fairly standard for a work of this type. The archive footage being a mixture of interviews and public appearances and home movie footage. The thing that I found strange, and this might just be me, was the slide show type sections of still images, often displayed with music over the top. I can understand the inclusion of the stills, but I feel that this would have been more effective if there was a story behind them being told. Slightly off topic, the use of Dhani Harrison for the voice over section for letter's was a great idea, he looks and sounds exactly like George.

    The only thing I have to say that is quite negative is I'm not sure what the mass appeal of this would be. I went into this as a fan of George Harrison and wanting to know more about him, however I'm not sure what a casual viewer would take away from this. This is a documentary not a biography, so it might be difficult for someone who knows little about The Beatles to enjoy. Maybe this is true of all documentaries, and an existing knowledge is presumed. Olivia Harrison was quoted as saying she wasn't sure she wanted people to see the documentary, but I for one am very glad I did.