Product Details

• Actors: Pete Ham, Joey Molland, Tom Evans (IV), Mike Gibbins
• Directors: Gary J. Katz
• Format: Color, Special Edition, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Music Video Distribu
• VHS Release Date: June 10, 1997
• Run Time: 86 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304514182
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #324,524 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The tragically brief career of '70s British pop group Badfinger is a story of a chaotic band in need of structure. As a rockumentary, Badfinger is an equally unfocused affair desperately in need of historical context and, worse, a narrator. For a few years in the early '70s, Badfinger rose from the shadow of the Beatles and emerged as pioneers of infectious power pop. Bridging the gap between the British invasion and American indie pop bands like Big Star, Badfinger crafted beautifully melodic tunes like "Day After Day," "No Matter What," and "Come and Get It" (penned by Paul McCartney).

While director Gary Katz obviously has affection for the band's contributions to rock history, he unfortunately hasn't a clue as to how to present them. Instead, we get a jumbled mix of interviews with the band's two surviving members, Joey Molland and Mike Gibbins, not to mention Molland's wife, cut together with far too many lip-synched "live" performances. While the footage gives intimate looks at the band, Katz really needs narration to explain just why we should even bother watching the film.

Badfinger is known as much for the tragedy that hit the band--their crooked manager emptied their band account and disappeared, causing two members to commit suicide later on. However, by the time Katz gets there, the story is so underdeveloped that it feels like an afterthought. After viewing this, you can't help but think that the band deserved better. --Dave McCoy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Badfinger's "Anthology", December 21, 2003

By 

The Man On The Flaming Pie (The Foothills of the Headlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Badfinger [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The terms which this movie is billed as, "emotionally gripping" & "riveting," may be overselling a little, as the story is quite enjoyable up until the unpleasentness discussed in the last 10 or 20 minutes. The first thing you may notice is that the story is unnarrated and told via interview footage in the style of the Beatles Anthology. However, seeing as how there is not an endless supply of photographs & video footage of Badfinger like there is for the Beatles, this creates a problem of seeing the same pictures a few too many times throughout the video. (For instance, a black & white photograph of evil manager Stan Polley is shown at every mention of his name, which gets a little irritating.) The only other real problem is that, because of the lack of narration, you pretty much have to already know the basic gist of Badfinger's story to know what's going on.
The interview portions with Joey Molland & Mike Gibbins are pretty good. Entirely unprofessional, but at least they're not phony. Mike can be a little long-winded, but it's all right because you learn a few minor facts that you might not have already known.
What this collection is most valuable for, however, is the live performances. Before buying this, I was under the impression that the performances were all lip-synced (the album version plays as it shows the band performing "live"). That turned out to not be the case, save for two performances at the beginning. You get to hear Badfinger's biggest hits played live in footage taken from TV shows: "Come & Get It," "No Matter What," and "Baby Blue," as well as a rocked-up version of "Suitcase" where Pete Ham's lead & slide guitar sound awesome. The performances are all complete and without any annoying voice-over interruptions.
If you already know all there is to know about Badfinger, you won't find too much of interest here, but for anyone else who is a fan of their Apple days' music and wants to know a little bit about this band, I give this tape my full recommendation.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Badfinger is a sad, moving, frightening, exciting film..., December 15, 2003

By 

Leslie Karen Rigsbey "Leslie Rigsbey" (WOOD RIVER, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Badfinger (DVD)

This documentary on my favorite band doesn't quite capture the right atmosphere that it needs, and that is the least of its problems. There should be more live video performances, lip-synched or not, "Without You", "Day After Day", "Rock of All Ages", "Midnight Caller", "Name of the Game", and especially "Carry on 'Til Tomorrow" (there are others I could list) should all have been included here-fans want that stuff! It is very sad and unfortunate about Pete Ham and Tom Evans' suicidal decisions to hang themselves, but if you read Motavina's 'Without You' book you'll see there was a lot more to their problems than having no money. Why does this band always get the shaft? No one can seem to get out a simple sentence about them without mentioning the Beatles (that's the real tragedy). This band had a life of its own, and even though the interviews are awkward and the film is just one more reel away from disappointing its audience, it represents some rare footage of the group and a heartfelt discussion of their outcome. They deserved a better (and longer) movie tribute, but this movie is the only salvation for fans who can't yet let it be.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Video offers rare chance to see Badfinger performances, November 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Badfinger (includes Additional Footage) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

As a video documentary of the band Badfinger, this video is invaluable becuase it is the only one to date. It offers a rare chance to see Badfinger performing all of their hit songs, and tells the story of their rise to fame and tragic demise at the hands of the unscrupulous record industry. Interviews with surviving members Joey Molland and Mike Gibbons are interesting, although a bit too plentiful. On the downside, Pete Ham and Tommy Evans were the main contributors to the band, and it would have been nice to see some interview footage of them. Joey Molland seems to want to rewrite the band's history to increase his importance, and his wife's comments served no purpose at all and should have been left on the editing room floor. It would have been nice to have had a little more on later Badfinger, especially the death of Tom Evans. Defininely worth watching, but could have been better.