Customer Reviews

Beatles Collection (3DVD)

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This documentary was a big disappointment. It is ameture video of 2 - 3 guys who were old class-mates of MaCartney and Harrison, walking around Liverpool, showing the places they used to frequent (in the 50's & 60's). No Beatles music. no relevant history of the band. Just, "this apartment was John Lennons for a few months". Its kind of funny, because in a few places, they are commenting on some landmark but only one of them has a microphone, so there is just a blank pause where the un-miced guy is commenting. Its THAT ameturish. I guess they didnt bother to watch what they recored, let alone edit it.

Received this collection in the mail a week or so ago. just watched the 3rd disc, "the concise John Lennon's New York", so I cannot comment yet on the other two, "the concise Beatles London" and "the concise Beatles Liverpool", so I will review just the one I have viewed so far and add to the review later. please excuse the inconsistant use of capitals, but I am having one of those lazy days for typing. admit it, we've all had them!

o.k., so I just finished watching the disc of John and NYC. I'll try to be as honest as I can, without hurting anyone's feelings. first, I enjoyed seeing all of the places associated with John's life in NY, but thought that some of the places should have been left out, or perhaps briefly mentioned, but not featured. places like the Daryl Roth Theatre, where a play was produced years after John was killed depicting his immigration problems and the Nixon administration's vendetta against him. Although this was a significant time in John's life, the creation of the play was not. Most of the information given was things most people with an interest in John would already know, but there was one or two things I wasn't aware of.

one of the narrators had a monotonous drone to her voice, which at times was tedious. I felt that the other was a little preachy sometimes, but they both were trying to be engaging and informative. I love NY, and enjoyed seeing it again, even if it was on my t.v. Many of the places I had visited already, and some I had not, so I enjoyed seeing some of the places I had not yet been to, or wasn't quite sure where they were located. I especially loved seeing "Cafe LaFortuna" that has since been torn down and replaced with a hardware store! What a tragedy! Everytime I went to NY, I would spend many happy moments at La Fortuna, and was so saddened to discover it had been closed down. I especially miss the woman who would always wait on me there, and often wondered what became of her after LaFortuna was closed. (hope you are well and happy, if you read this!)

The background music was, for the most part, horrible, and all through the movie I kept thinking, "who is that? This song is horrible!" I found out at the end that it was David Peel. I'm sure he is a very nice person, but sorry, the music was awful! Wish they would have left it out entirely. It was so bad, it was distracting. Sorry.

Overall, just seeing the various places of interest in John's life was enjoyable to me and that's why I gave it 2 stars, but it could have been better. If you don't expect a fantastic production, I think most people would find it worth a look.

I'll add to the review when I see the other two DVD's. Remember, this is just my opinion, and I am a firm believer in seeing things for yourself, and then forming your own opinion. No one can really tell anyone what they will like and what they won't. I just hope this gives you an idea as to what to expect.