Comments | wytchcroft: once upon a time

wytchcroft

once upon a time - or maybe twice...

Feb 05, 2010 19:19

How many films about the Beatles does the world need?

The band split 40 years ago and Lennon himself died 20 years back and yet, what with Paul McCartney's touring theme-park of concerts, the never ending repackaging of material (Let it Be Naked, Love, One ad infinitum) and the steady flow of dramas and documentaries, it's as if they never went ( Read more... )

review, nowhere boy, john lennon, film, the beatles

Comments 11

cowboy_r February 5 2010, 20:19:07 UTC

I confess that I never really understood the cult of personality that grew up around Lennon. I never found much admirable at all in the man, let alone fascinating.

wytchcroft February 5 2010, 20:47:27 UTC

i went with a friend who feels the same as you - and they really enjoyed the film. i think the family situations and the growing up stuff - well, they're universal issues.

pointedview February 8 2010, 15:30:14 UTC

Honestly, I always preferred the Beatles to John Lennon ... he always seemed a bit self-indulgent to me. However, wytchcroft's assessment was an enjoyable read, and perhaps a film like this would help me understand why he was the way he was. I had no idea, for example, that so many family members had died prematurely.

The film sounds like it might be worth checking out, but I hope they don't keep going to the well over and over again any more than has already been done, as they have with the Sixties/Woodstock in a more general way in the US.

Sixties/Woodstock in a more general way in the US. wytchcroft February 8 2010, 15:48:22 UTC

This.

Yep - myth building. Everybody does it.

And i think you might enjoy the film for the reasons you mention, it does present a Lennon that is interesting because of his background, (although a couple of vital things are missing) aand if he seems less 'BEATLE JOHN LENNON' and more, 'one f--ked up guy' it puts his life and music into context, and on a level with the rest of us ordinary people.

How many? rottenshworz February 5 2010, 20:40:22 UTC

One and only "yellow submarine" is 100% enough :)

Re: How many? wytchcroft February 5 2010, 20:48:29 UTC

don't forget The Rutles!!! :))

vivid_corners February 6 2010, 23:47:08 UTC

The older I get, the less I feel connected to John. Growing up I was obsessed with him, and when his name is mentioned I still get a dopey smile on my face, but he seems less and less of an amazingly unique visionary and...well, more like the rest of us. I also used to think he was, without a doubt, the best Beatle, even the most important. But even though I like his solo work better than any other band members, none of it comes close to the work they did when together. I have never seen a Beatles movie that was not made by the Beatles themselves (other than the Anthology I guess), I don't really see the point. Especially because I've read so many of Lennon's biographies, I don't find movie versions necessary. I feel like the stories stand alone so well that any attempt to mass market them into entertainment is going to do them a disservice ( ... )

wytchcroft February 7 2010, 00:29:42 UTC

that's very interesting and i sort of agree in that i think growing away from your formative influences is a natural enough process.

Lennon pretty much kept me alive during my school days and his music and life still act as a touchstone for me... but not in the same way anymore, not with the same intensity.

i'm glad about that, not only does it mean i have my own life (ha ha!) it also means i see the reality and humanity of Lennon's life, warts and all.

And if some uniqueness and freshness are lost, i still appreciate the wonderful things generated by a bunch of boys from an average suburb in an average town in an average country at a profoundly average point in time - if anything they seem all the more extraordinary in that way.

Lennon in fiction? well there are Beatle fan-fics of every kind on the web though i've hardly read any, but there's an interesting couple of stories by Poppy Z. Brite that turn up in anthologies now and again. :)

vivid_corners February 7 2010, 01:23:08 UTC

Agreed. I didn't mean to take a piss on our main man ;P He was essential to my childhood/adolescence too and I have no idea who'd I be without him or The Beatles. I think now, I have more affection for the Beatles than I do for John specifically, and less of an affection for the sixties as well as the things that came from it. The beauty in their sound is something that still stands alone though, and I hope for me it always does.
I feel silly saying I didn't know there was Beatles fanfic, but I know there is fanfic for *everything* lol.

beatle fics wytchcroft February 7 2010, 02:05:49 UTC

well i feel silly for knowing abut that stuff! LOL!

*gazes around warily*

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