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Post by Kapitan on Nov 20, 2021 2:02:02 GMT
This thread might include spoilers. Continue at your own risk.
Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road was released for broad screening and streaming on November 19, 2021.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 20, 2021 12:21:31 GMT
I said in the main forum thread that I think this is the best of the Brian Wilson documentaries, and I think that's true. I had grown a bit cynical about the whole thing over the years of waiting, but within the first 10-15 minutes, I was already all-in.
First and foremost, I just thought it was a good documentary, a good film, regardless of a person's fandom status. The pacing was good. The storytelling was good, following the narrative arc of his life without just slipping entirely into cliches. The archival footage, music, interviewees, etc., fleshed out the typically frustrating brief, or even monosyllabic, contemporary answers.
But those short answers were less frustrating than usual because of the context they were given: as B.E. noted Wirestone as having said elsewhere, the cameras didn't leave his face. We heard the questions or subject, heard the answers ... then heard the silence, saw his face through the silence, and occasionally got the follow-up answers. Brief as they are, they were still really telling, not in a "detailed history" way, but in a "where is Brian on this topic" way.
Some of it was surprising. The scene in which he learns Jack Rieley had died was very surprising. Maybe it isn't SO surprising that he wasn't aware of it (or had forgotten?), but that he gets so emotional over it startled me.
Along those lines, I liked that he at least somewhat responded to questions about, or offered comments about, some of the times in his life and career he has previously tended to ignore. The Radiant Radish. Rieley and Holland; hanging out and doing drugs with Dennis in the late '70s and early '80s; being in the Landy regime in Hawaii. Granted, it leaves you wanting more. But what's new...?
That he claims never to have heard most of Pacific Ocean Blue was a little surprising. I know he has said that before, but he has also said he liked it. And, for example, when he acted as if he hadn't heard "River Song," that seems contrary to reality: he discusses it in a mid-70s interview, when it was still in progress and under consideration for a Beach Boys record. However, when they play it for him, he doesn't seem to recall it: the reaction isn't "oh yeah, I remember that," but "oh yeah, I like this! That's fucking great!" Whether he had heard it before is irrelevant, because he believed he was hearing it for the first time.
The film definitely did a great job of showing that the idea of Brian as brave, or Brian as hero, doesn't mean he's Superman. He is sick. He is, to a large degree, damaged or broken. You cannot watch this documentary and come out of it thinking Brian Wilson is the same person he was in 1965, that he's still on top of everything, etc.
But it also shows (without quite telling) that there is something to be said for continuing once your super powers are mostly gone. For continuing when you still, after all these years, hear voices telling you they want to kill you. That you still go into the recording session when you just admitted you're scared to do so.
The recording session footage was also interesting. I don't think it meant to give you the "he's still the 'Stalin of the studio!'" impression, but rather that he does come to life to some degree. When he's barking instructions at Mertens over what to play, when he takes over the piano, that doesn't strike me as the sort of scripted schtick I have suspected in the past. Note, I don't believe that's how he is all the time, taking control of each detail. Rather, I think it's an environment in which he is likely to become animated, to begin to assert himself. Not how he used to, but how he still can. It was really interesting and kind of fun to see. That said, we move into the playback of the track and watching his face is almost disturbing. He does not seem to be just listening to the playback, and one can't help but suspect he's hearing voices.
The qualms I had about it, I'm going to hang on to for the time being. There is an eternity to pick it apart. For now I'm focused on the fact that this documentary was very good, and that I really enjoyed it.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 21, 2021 13:38:17 GMT
After seeing Brian's reaction to the years-later news of Jack Rieley's death in the doc, I can't help but think of how he is reacting to the news of Billy Hinsche dying. It can't be easy for him.
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Nov 23, 2021 21:15:44 GMT
I saw it on Friday with my girlfriend and parents at a small theater. There were 12 other people aside from us, and I was expecting less, honestly. I agree about it being a good film regardless of if you are just getting into the band or are a longtime hardcore fan. Maybe what I liked most about the film is that we see Brian open up, if ever so slightly. I got a kick out of the diner scene where he pulled out his card to pay, but someone else told him they were paying. The studio scene at the end of the film was another highlight as we see Brian "in control."
My eyebrow raised when I heard him tell Jason he doesn't have any friends and doesn't get to "shoot the shit" with people. Maybe I'm just making too much of it since I haven't noticed anyone else comment on it.
As you mentioned, I thought the cameras staying on through the at times almost awkward silence was interesting. My dad commented that he wondered what Brian was thinking in those moments.
This is a must see regardless of your fandom status and I look forward to buying a physical copy and watching it again in January. 9/10
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 23, 2021 21:32:45 GMT
My eyebrow raised when I heard him tell Jason he doesn't have any friends and doesn't get to "shoot the shit" with people. Maybe I'm just making too much of it since I haven't noticed anyone else comment on it. Honestly, when I said I had some qualms, that was first and foremost in my mind. I wanted to be sure to get across my generally (even overwhelmingly) positive impression first. And I suppose we can get into it sooner than later, too--but I hope this won't scare off anyone, or serve as "damning evidence" of any of the typical negative speculations. Because the film IS good, and that line IS just one line out of god-knows-how-many hours of footage.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 23, 2021 14:04:00 GMT
This doc was the title and lead entry in a local story over what to watch over the holidays. Brief (befitting the story genre of little tidbit suggestions) but positive.
New Brian Wilson documentary will make you smile What to watch (and skip) on TV this weekend
'Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road' Brian Wilson won't be joining the Beach Boys when the band plays Treasure Island on Dec. 29, which is a little like ordering surf and turf without the steak or lobster. His contributions to popular music are well represented in this highly personal documentary, much of which consists of Wilson tooling around Los Angeles with journalist Jason Fine, reminiscing about a legendary career. There's also a remarkable moment when Wilson hears his late brother's solo album for the first time. Bruce Springsteen, Linda Perry and Elton John are among those paying their respects. If you want an even deeper dive, seek out 1995's "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times." Both available on demand.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 12, 2022 18:36:02 GMT
(Asking forgiveness in advance if anyone already referenced this, but I don't recall seeing it.)
Remember Brian saying in the doc that he hadn't listened to Pacific Ocean Blue? I know I referenced it in this thread, and I'm pretty sure we discussed it more in another one. Anyway, I happened to pull out my copy of his second autobiography to look for something else, and happened upon this:
"After Dennis died, people used to ask me all the time what I thought about his solo record, Pacific Ocean Blue. I have said that I never heard it, that I won't listen to it, that it's too many sad memories and too much for me. That's sort of true, but not really. I know the music on it. I was around for much of the time in the mid-'70s when Denis was cutting the record. I loved what he was doing. My favorite song he ever made was on it. [Kap notes: "You and I"] ... But I haven't ever put the record on and listened through it the way I have with other records, or the way that other people have with that record. If I want to know what Dennis's soul sounded like, I can just remember the songs ..." (I Am Brian Wilson, p. 143-144)
Thought I'd mention it, because while I suspect we all doubted that he'd literally never heard it, here he seemed to have at least somewhat come clean about that. His denials were at least partly dishonest, and he knew it. He hadn't forgotten it, and neither had he really avoided it. He just hadn't listened front to back.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 20, 2022 18:18:12 GMT
I assume the physical release is what has them running new reviews.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 24, 2022 17:45:54 GMT
Another new story (as of Friday), and in fact, an interview. Alas, The Times requires a membership, so I can only read the intro. If anyone is a member of the site, I'd be curious whether there's anything interesting in it.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 26, 2022 20:34:05 GMT
New review from American Songwriter. Honestly it's more of the typical stuff. 4.5/5 stars.
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 19, 2022 0:33:30 GMT
This is now running on PBS, and my mom actually texted me about it. She watched it. While she's really of Brian's era, she wasn't ever a fan until I became one and she saw something, probably the IJWMFTT doc, where the narrative of mental illness struck a chord. (There is a significant amount of depression in my family that she related to.) Anyway, point being, her mentioning having seen it got me to rewatch it tonight.
While I'm just a few minutes in, I want to note something I liked from Jakob Dylan. It's unbelievably simple to the point it could be mundane. But it also captures a lot of the truth without being hyperbolic. It's something like:
"There's a certain amount of songwriting you can learn how to do, you can educate yourself. It's just a fact that some people are just better than other people. And Brian's just one of those people who is just better than other people."
It could be much more a vanilla statement than what I hear. But I like it a lot, because it strips away the silliness, the magic. It's something I wonder whether being the son of another person who's "just better than other people" lend an insight to. You know? Michael Jordan didn't become Michael Jordan because he was cut from his varsity team in 10th grade or whatever. Maybe it is relevant, but it's not WHY. Brian Wilson isn't Brian Wilson because of his dad, or because of LSD, or because of magic. But he's extraordinarily talented, and the circumstances led to what happened. He was gifted. And he worked hard. And styles of music collided thanks to his surroundings. Blah blah blah all of it, presto. The Beach Boys. (But at some level? Brian Wilson was just better than other people.)
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 27, 2022 19:58:14 GMT
I happened upon this May 2022 podcast featuring Brent Wilson discussing this doc. I'm enjoying it. It's not too boilerplate.
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Post by lonelysummer on Aug 28, 2022 2:50:21 GMT
This is now running on PBS, and my mom actually texted me about it. She watched it. While she's really of Brian's era, she wasn't ever a fan until I became one and she saw something, probably the IJWMFTT doc, where the narrative of mental illness struck a chord. (There is a significant amount of depression in my family that she related to.) Anyway, point being, her mentioning having seen it got me to rewatch it tonight.
While I'm just a few minutes in, I want to note something I liked from Jakob Dylan. It's unbelievably simple to the point it could be mundane. But it also captures a lot of the truth without being hyperbolic. It's something like:
"There's a certain amount of songwriting you can learn how to do, you can educate yourself. It's just a fact that some people are just better than other people. And Brian's just one of those people who is just better than other people."
It could be much more a vanilla statement than what I hear. But I like it a lot, because it strips away the silliness, the magic. It's something I wonder whether being the son of another person who's "just better than other people" lend an insight to. You know? Michael Jordan didn't become Michael Jordan because he was cut from his varsity team in 10th grade or whatever. Maybe it is relevant, but it's not WHY. Brian Wilson isn't Brian Wilson because of his dad, or because of LSD, or because of magic. But he's extraordinarily talented, and the circumstances led to what happened. He was gifted. And he worked hard. And styles of music collided thanks to his surroundings. Blah blah blah all of it, presto. The Beach Boys. (But at some level? Brian Wilson was just better than other people.)
Well, it's something Jakob Dylan should know a little about. Arlo Guthrie says songwriting is a lot like fishing, and nobody fishing downstream from Bob Dylan ever caught much of anything".
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Post by kds on Aug 14, 2023 12:23:11 GMT
I'm very late to the party here, but last night, I finally watched Long Promised Road.
I found it an enjoyable 93 minute documentary, after watching the deleted scenes, I think they could've easily made it a longer doc.
As noted, it was interesting seeing Brian hear POB for the first time, and his reaction to Jack Rieley's passing. It was also interesting to see his reactions to listening to Carl sing the original LPR.
All in all, I thought it was a nice approach to an already familiar subject. I honestly could have done without the gushing talking heads, and as I feel like that's been done to death. But, that's a minor quibble.
Also random question, when did Don Was become Dr. Teeth?
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