Customer Reviews

Badfinger

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Only because the music they made was so brilliant, not because of the direction of the feature. Editorial reviews are dead-on accurate when they say the film needed narrative for the audience. I'm familiar with the band's tragedies, but several of my friends were not, and the direction provided by Gary Katz (?) left them confused about time periods, time frames, the number of albums produced, those that were not released, and overall confusion about the band. I also cannot believe that there were not anymore live performance available for this feature. There are WAY too many lip-synced performances being shown in this film. There is, however, those truly great pop songs which is the only reason this release rates 4-stars. I'll give the direction 2-stars. Once again Badfinger gets the shaft. If Katz has a bone in his back he will MAKE SURE another cut of this film is released. He should want to for his own reputaton. In closing: Badfinger music = sublime Gary Katz Direction = Horrible.

Badfinger's documentary is a gem. Although it's not made to the same quality standards as, say for instance the Beatles Anthology, it contains many rare clips and some incredible insight into one of Rock's most tragic stories. Pete Ham, Tommy Evans, Joey Molland, and Mike Gibbins were one of the finest Pop bands of their era. Bands of lesser talent have certainly walked away with far more from the music industry, and this video tells the story. With extensive interviews with Joey Molland, his lovely wife Kathie, and Mike Gibbins, you feel as if you're getting the inside scoop on the real story. Interviews are done in comfortable home settings and alternate with some wonderful clips of the band playing. The video documentary gives you a real feeling of disgust for the band's American business manager Stan Polley, and makes you wonder why one or more of Badfinger's powerful friends (namely members of the Fab Four) didn't come forward and help the guys when it was obvious they were being ripped off. Primary songwriter Pete Ham tragically commit suicide in 1975 over his realization that his was robbed blind until he was penniless, and after 8 years of dealing with this, Tommy Evans ended his own life the same way (in his backyard - in shouting distance from the garage where his partner hung himself.) The video is well put together, and the interviews are both facinating and complete. I'd recommend it to anyone, and feel totally grateful that it was even made in the first place. Thank you Mr. Katz. Your film has left me with the feeling that someone needs to be held accountable for the Badfinger tragedy. Long live their awesome legacy of gorgeous music.

This probably isn't a video/DVD you'll watch very often: Badfinger's story is a tragic and depressing one. Still, it's a story that needs to be told, and this video does an admirable job.

Badfinger should have had a long, successful and prosperous career. They certainly had the talent, and they got the early breaks they needed: They were signed to Apple Records, and their first big hit, "Come And Get It," was written especially for them by Paul McCartney. Unfortunately, the young and (relatively) naive band members made some bad decisions along the way, their worst being putting their trust in a manager whose ethics would have made a weasel look good by comparison: He chewed them up, spit them out and vanished in the night with their hard-earned money, but not before sabotaging Badfinger's relationship with two different record labels. The band's downward spiral couldn't have been more swift, or the end results more tragic. The story of Badfinger is one you're not likely to forget.

An absolute rush to be able to see these guys preforming live again albeit one or two songs are lip synced. If there were more songs played, I would have rated this DVD a five. The interviews with the the surviving members of badfinger were informative, but a little drawn out. Lets hope a major movie will be made about this extremly talented group and the tragedy that befell them through greedy and unscrupulous managment!!

There is so little available about this band, especially video. I was very fortunate to find a least this VHS copy to remind me of the remarkable music that these guys were responsible for. They have seemed to disappear from the radio, outside of hearing "Come and Get it" once in a blue moon. This video is already out of print as is the one great book written about their tragic history. I hope that one day someone will rectify this situation, release this wonderful documentary on DVD, perhaps bolstered with a few more clips and interviews and awaken everyone to a sadly underestimated terrific band. If you can find this GET IT !!!!!

I love Badfinger. Earlier this year I attended an event called "Hippiefest" which featured a bunch of nostalgia acts from the '60s and '70s. Among the featured performers was Joey Molland. His set featured "No Matter What," "Come And Get It," "Day After Day," and "Baby Blue." Of course, Joey Molland is the last living member of Badfinger, and I was very anxious to see how they souned in their heyday.

This documentary showcases the talent of all original members, which is great to see. You will even get some footage of their pre-Badfinger days, when they were known as The Iveys. The interviews with Joey Molland and Mike Gibbons are very informative, and there are some funny stories to keep you entertained.

We all know the tragety of the band - the poor manegement and two suicides - so I won't go on about that. If you like Badfinger, get this documentary. It's very well made. And if you ever get a chance to see Joey Molland, take my advice: go. It is a lot of fun.

Badfinger is about the early to mid-seventies rock band of the same name whose fame was cut short due to corrupted management and the suicides of two of its members.

With a lead in like that it seems unlikely that a documentary based on the band could not evoke a strong emotional response in the viewer(or at the very least be interesting). Yet this film manages to miss on both counts.

There is no reason to identify, or even feel pity toward the two above mentioned members, as we learn virtually nothing about them. It is inconceivable that director, Gary J. Katz, couldn't contain locate any archival footage of the band being interviewed or examined at the height of their profession. Yet, materials of this kind are glaringly absent.

The only saving grace to this film is the generous use of various video and television appearances of some of the group's well known hits.

In all, the film relies way too heavily on the same stock photos (used repeatedly) and the testimonies of the living band members who really don't have that much too say.