The quiet Beatle is the subject of Martin Scorsese's George Harrison: Living in the Material World. Clocking in at three and a half hours, the documentary sprawls like the Beatles' White Album. Watch the trailer below
The Beatles story is pretty well told already, but it's great to see the light shine on Harrison, who had to leave the group for his enormous talent to truly emerge. The author of such Beatles classics as "Here Comes the Sun," "Something" and "Tax Man" had such a hard time getting his songs on Beatles albums (usually one per) that he'd accumulated a large stash before the band split up and each Beatle embarked on solo careers.
Harrison was also the spiritual Beatle. He encouraged the group to take LSD and seek enlightenment in the mountains of India. "It was fantastic," he says in one of the many vintage clips. "I felt like I was in love with everything. Everything was perfect."
But after a bummer visit to Haight Ashbury, Harrison began steering away from the drug culture. "That's when I stopped taking the lysergic and got into meditation," he explains.
We watch the guitarist as he masters Indian rhythms and time signatures (thanks to Ravi Shanker). His four albums from 1970 (All Things Must Pass) to 1974 (Dark Horse) are peak Harrison - a smart mix of Beatles-style melodies, uplifting lyrics ("My Sweet Lord," "What Is Life," "Give Me Love") and sitar-infuenced rock. Harrison is also credited with organizing the first large-scale fundraiser - The Concert for Bangladesh. While it was indeed a landmark show, featuring Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, Billy Preston and Shanker, this all-star benefit was not the first of its kind.
When the Monty Python boys lost funding for Life of Brian, their followup to Holy Grail, Harrison stepped in with cash. He founded HandMade Films, expanding his reach across England's entertainment industy. As Harrison's career wound down, he joined ranks with Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne and Dylan to form the Traveling Wilburys, his last significant musical hurrah.
Harrison's final years did not go well: In 1997, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Two years later, he was nearly killed in a knife attack by an intruder inside his home. By 2001, Harrison left the material world.
Stringing together interviews (Paul McCartney, Starr, Clapton, Eric Idle, Petty, Phil Spector, Olivia Harrison, Dhani Harrison), lots of clips and a generous serving of Beatles and Harrison solo music, there's little missing in this affectionate doc (co-produced by Olivia Harrison). Clapton openly discusses his affair with Harrison's first wife, Patti Boyd; Olivia tells the sad story of the home invasion; and Yoko Ono acknowledges that Harrison was always nice to her, unlike other Beatles.
