There was loads of great footage to watch, but despite the overly long run time, this danced around so much that it was by no means definitive. Apparently he didn't make any music between Living in the Material World and The Travelling Wilbur's or after Roy Orbison died... ??? There was mention of "faults" but an unwillingness to go deeper and you never got past the "he was a spiritual dude" level. I'm not the biggest fan, so this was more of an entry point, but for anyone that was, I can see this being a little disappointing.

First up, a music documentary on a music celebrity can be measured by content and insight. On the first point Martin Scorsese knocks the ball right out of the park. There is no bigger Martin Scorsese fan than myself, but this does not have a Scorcese feel and by the end I just didn't feel I knew George Harrison any better than before. Let's face it folks, his role in the Beatles has been told many, many times. There was nothing new in the movie that hadn't already been published but the very short interviews with his siblings at the beginning left me wanting to know much more.There was no narration to carry the movie so it was essentially a grab bag of items made from interviews and clips without explanation. The closest we get to a voice-over is Dhani Harrison reading excerpts from his father's diary and letters to his Mom. Having said that, there were moments of joy and beauty. It is worth a watch and I did appreciate him more after watching and many fans will find it awesome

I can't claim direct knowledge of the topics addressed by many reviewers here, but I can say that I have read just about every significant book published about The Beatles in general, and Harrison in particular. I totally understand the issues people express about this film: long without being either balanced or comprehensive; curiously silent on some key events (perhaps Olivia Harrison's wishes are a factor here?); missing some key points of view (though getting Dylan, for example, to talk about anything in a useful way is notoriously difficult). But I feel I must address a couple of points raised. 1. Re: Concert for Bangladesh. The amount raised by the concert itself was about a quarter of a million dollars. Sales of the iterations of the album and the movie raised about 12 million, to be administered by UNICEF. The money DID go to refugee relief, BUT was delayed by 11 years because of the failure of organizers to apply for tax-exempt status. So... bad planning, but not a scam or a failure. 2. Re: Harrison's relative contribution to the Beatles. On the one hand, the evidence is quite clear that Ringo was far more crucial to the Beatles sound in the studio than Harrison - the band simply did not function well with any other drummer (rumors of McCartney sitting in are based on photos, not the meticulous records kept by Abbey Road; when Ringo quit for 6 weeks in 1968, numerous replacements including Ginger Baker were tried, and no one was able to provide the subtle and generous and dare I say feminine approach that the Beatles suddenly discovered was a key ingredient in their process, causing them to beg for his return). Harrison was great at coming up with carefully planned, often double-tracked parts, which added beauty and flavor at a higher level than McCartney or Lennon could offer (the 15 seconds or so of Harrison on Getting Better, e.g., truly makes the recording). But he was an indifferent electric rhythm guitar player in my opinion. His songs were only occasionally as good as L&M's, however there is no denying the fact, attested to by Martin, Parsons, and others, that Harrison got short shrift in studio time to realize his ideas. It is essential to keep in mind that L&M were given INCREDIBLE amounts of time for the era, virtually unlimited takes after 1965, to get the basic tracks right, and then to try dozens of approaches to the sweetening and vocals. Harrison was never given this opportunity until the last two real albums produced (White Album and Abbey Road), and suddenly his work shows a massive uptick in quality, both of writing and execution (Savoy Truffle, Piggies, Something, Long Long Long, Here Comes the Sun, While My Guitar Gently Weeps - all of these outclass his earlier work by miles). It can't be a coincidence that once the Beatles essentially stopped being a team and became each others' session players, Harrison flourished. Also worth noting that he produced the first truly satisfying album as a solo artist, All Things Must Pass - overly long, but a big hit and a good listen, using in part songs he had been carrying around for a few years. With regard to the contradictions between his lifestyle and his purported spiritual values - in what way is this unusual or even notable? Seems like standard operating procedure for entertainment celebrities to either need a frame of self-justification, or to have trouble avoiding the temptations of riches, or both. I obviously appreciate Harrison's work, but I'm not an uncritical fan - his "middle period" of solo work is pretty awful, just a few songs are keepers; and even Cloud Nine is really a few good songs surrounded by oddly paced, indifferently written material. His last album, Brainwashed, is weird but really interesting, and at a higher level lyrically than anything he had done since All Things Must Pass. He was who he was: not a genius on the level of L&M, but an ingredient in their recorded output that would be sorely missed were we somehow able to remove it. And there is an argument that his presence and his influence enriched the Beatles philosophically, lyrically and musically. They were very competitive: if George was spiritual, well by jove they were going to be spiritual too. A thin veneer of spirituality perhaps, on lives that were primarily about fame and money and art, but again an ingredient that, if not present, would have made the Beatles a very different band.

Martin Scorsese has put together a beautiful documentary tracing the life of the most underrated member of the Beatle's, George Harrison. With a run time of over three and half hours, Scorsese is able to explore the various layers that went towards forming Harrison's absolute identity. Through the use of personal letters, pictures, home-videos, and never-before-seen interviews, the viewer is given the rare opportunity of discovering Harrison beyond The Beatles.The documentary is essentially divided into two parts, the first of which follows the formation and success of The Beatles. Whilst the second focuses on Harrisons spiritual journey to find meaning beyond the capitalist world he found himself trapped in.Through the careful selection and juxtaposition of archival footage and documents, Scorsese emphasises the bittersweet realities of The Beatles rise to fame. Unfolding the story of four naïve British lads torn between childish excitement at their growing success, and apprehension towards the zealous fan-base it gained them. This clash of ideals is exemplified by Harrison in a letter to his parents: "Dear Mum and Dad – The shows have been going great with everyone going potty…everywhere we go we have about 20 police on motorbikes escorting us".The fervent behaviour of the fans escalated to the point that all four Beatles decided it was best to avoid any public outings. Frustrated by the confinement fame had enforced on him, Harrison became disillusioned by the material world, and seemed to experience a displacement of the self. In an interview he stated: "you see yourself in the paper but don't actually realise it's you".This displacement of identity led Harrison to pursue a spiritual path in the hopes of attaining the meaning of life through philosophy. Under Guru Ravi Shankar, Harrison learned to use Indian spiritual music to become one with a greater philosophical being. His friendship with Ravi also led Harrison to fund and organise the first ever benefit concert: The Concert for Bangladesh, which raised funds for refugees from East Pakistan following the 1970 Bhola Cyclone.Scorsese also uses the documentary as a medium through which Harrisons song writing credentials can be measured against the Lennon/McCartney partnership. "George was a loner and had to work on his own" states George Martin (Producer of four of The Beatles original five albums).It was therefore inevitable that Harrison would get lost in the shadows of the superpower that was the Lenon/McCartney writing team. Scorsese traces the anatomy of Harrisons body of (solo) work, highlighting in particular their spiritual origins. Whilst Lennon/McCartney's work exemplified masterful popular music, Harrison's engaged with his spirituality, and search for meaning in life. Scorsese incorporation of Harrison's solo work in the documentary illustrates the importance it holds to understanding his psyche.Scorsese's documentary excels in exposing hidden dimensions of Harrisons life and personality; from his love triangle with Pattie Boyd, and Eric Clapton, to his financial funding of Monty Python. Bringing together a multitude of Harrisons professional and personal acquaintances (including Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Terry Gilliam, and Eric Idle), and artifacts from his personal archive, Scorsese creates a colourful mosaic capturing the diversity that constructed George Harrisons life, and personality.