Give My Regards to Broad Street - фильм и альбом

Раньше я этого фильма не видел, как-то пропустил. И теперь, в записи (конечно, я во время показа спал) посмотрел с удовольствием. Сюжет, конечно, чепуховый, но на молодого Пола, особенно одетого под-Пушкина, было посмотреть очень приятно. С 71-по по 84-й, когда снимался фильм, он очень мало внешне изменился, поэтому и воспринимался прямо каким был в Битлз. Хорошо, что много показали репетиций записи альбома, до этого мы нечасто видели битлов за работой, а все больше с эпатажем, разными ужимками, и хохмами. Почаще бы таких фильмов и не только глубокой ночью.

Сори а с каких таких пор фильм начал называться Give.My.Regards.To.Broad.Street????
Вы конечно простите, может я что путаю но мне казалось всегда что он назывался "Праздник на Броэд Стрит"...

Give My Regards To Broad Street
Fox // PG // $14.98 // April 20, 2004
The Movie

In what is probably my favorite of all the reviews I've written for DVD Talk, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, I remarked about how that particular cinematic abortion film in question had earned the distinction of being - and I quote - "perhaps the most singularly awful embarrassment to be ever associated with the Beatles." Well, I had yet to see Paul McCartney's 1984 pet project Give My Regards To Broad Street. Which is a rather odd statement, given that I've been a raving Beatlemaniac since I was 10 years old. I scarfed up anything even remotely Beatle-related like hopheads at a Shoney's buffet. I begged my Dad to take me to see A Hard Day's Night at a local arthouse in 1982, stayed home from watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom on opening day to catch a local showing of the 1968 film The Magic Christian, featuring not only Ringo Starr in a major role but a scene that featured two big, hairy, sweaty heavyweight boxers passionately making out, a scene which emotionally scarred me for years. Years , I tell you. Thanks Ringo.

So anyway, by all rights I should have seen Give My Regards To Broad Street in 1984. I remember Paul had a hit song from the movie with No More Lonely Nights, which received some pretty heavy rotation on MTV and contemporary radio. But the reviews were positively scathing. It was reviled as being a boring, meandering, pretentious mess with some occasional entertaining musical performances strung around a plot as inconsequential as Cliff Notes for a Dan Brown novel.

So I avoided Give My Regards To Broad Street entirely. Well, not entirely; I caught a few scenes on cable once, but they didn't leave much of an impression as being entirely entertaining or utterly without merit. So here we are - twenty years later after the film's release - and I finally sat down and gave the film a good old college try.

The verdict?

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band doesn't have to worry. Its infamous distinction as the most colossally revolting Beatles-related embarrassment remains intact.

But Give My Regards To Broad Street came close. Very close. As in, the two shared the Green Room right before the ceremony.

And that's not to say that the film is particularly cheesy, overwrought, cringeworthy, or the type of disaster that makes you feel sorry for everyone involved and three generations of their ancestors. The sad truth is that Give My Regards To Broad Street is, quite simply, a bore. The plot - and I use the term loosely - is an inconsequential, threadbare, and utterly uninvolving storyline through which the viewer trods through in order to get to the songs. The story deals with Paul McCartney trying to track down the missing recordings to his latest album, stolen away by an unscrupulous business associate, while fellow ex-Beatle Ringo strikes up a romantic pursuit with a reporter, played by his real-life wife Barbara Bach.

The cast doesn't look like their buying into it, either. Sir Paul seems game but none-to-enthused about the entire affair. Ringo might have been there for the paycheck alone, who knows... There are also appearances by Bryan Brown and Tracy Ullman, who add some flair to their roles, but overall this is a staid and lifeless affair. If you have any interest in the film, it's most likely for the music. Paul and company do some pretty impressive work here and there; he has the good sense to open with Yesterday and performs many beloved Beatle chestnuts along the way, including For No One, Eleanor Rigby, Here There and Everywhere, Good Day Sunshine, and The Long and Winding Road. Hmm... that's four songs from Revolver alone! Where's the love for Rubber Soul?! Unfortunately, all of this is countered by what appears to be an Andrew Lloyd Webber-inspired rendition of McCartney's Silly Love Songs, in which he and a group of face-painted musicians perform this "classic" alongside a very 1980s breakdancer in a piece of work that, upon retrospection, would have fit right in with the Sgt. Pepper's movie. And then there's this godawful ballroom dancing sequence that would have been that much more entertaining had it been awful in a campy, cheesy way. Instead, it was little more than a quizzical exercise in ennui.

By any discernable means, Give My Regards To Broad Street is a bust. Even the rather impressive cinematography featured in the "Jack The Ripper/Eleanor Rigby" sequence does little to polish this turd. Beatle fans who have been avoiding the film since 1984 can just keep on keeping-on.

The DVD

Video:

Give My Regards To Broad Street is featured in both its original 1.85:1 widescreen theatrical aspect ratio and a full-frame 1.33:1 transfer. The widescreen transfer has been anamorphically enhanced for your widescreen-viewing entertainment. The transfer definitely shows signs of age. There is noticeable speckling and wear on the print; nothing excessive or too detrimental, but it's there nonetheless. Color levels are somewhat spotty: certain scenes look strong, lush, and satisfying, while others appear muted and washed out. Image detail varies as well, with the best scenes looking reasonably well-rendered, while others come across fuzzy and soft. So the best I can say about the transfer is that at its best it's slightly above average, and at its worst it's slightly below.

Audio:

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 4.0, with accompanying Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks in both French and Spanish. Separations are pretty standard, although there is surprising hollowness to the fidelity. The soundtrack feels slightly forced and artificially expanded, resulting in a score that seems unnecessarily hollowed out. Dialog levels are somewhat muted. It's not as if anything the characters are saying really matter anyway, but we'd still like to hear it nonetheless. There is some punch to the LFE channel, giving the music some well-needed sonic boom, and engaging use of the surrounds, but overall the soundtrack never really takes off. It doesn't really disappoint by any means, but it far from impresses.

Extras:

The only extras on this DVD are the film's theatrical trailer and international trailer.

Final Thoughts


Honestly, it's difficult to write-off Give My Regards To Broad Street as really being a Beatle-misfire. This sucker is Paul's vanity project throughout. He stars in the film, wrote the screenplay, and performs the music on the soundtrack. Everyone else is pretty much along for the ride. Nonetheless, there's so little compelling material to be found here that even diehard Beatlemaniacs will be bored to tears. And given that they constitute probably the only people who might be interested in the film, it stands to reason that this movie really isn't worth anyone's time. Sure, some of the music is really good, but that's why the good Lord invented CDs. For the curious, maybe this DVD is worth a rental, but one can pretty much steer clear of this bore.

Сегодня его взял в Легионе - цена 536 рублей. Бонусов практически нет - только два рекламных ролика и все.

Недавно в одном из магазинов в Москве видел этот фильм на ДВД - это ремастированная версия?

Вчера очередной раз переслушал этот диск. И еще раз хочу выделить песни Not Such A Bad Boy и No Values - ИМХО, это настоящий гаражный рок, в лучших традициях Игги Попа, и такая музыка была редкостью в то время! И хочется сказать самые добрые слова о гитаристах Дэйве Эдмундсе и Крисе Спеддинге.

2Sitaradio: да, это ремастер

Великолепный альбом, замечательная песня No more Lonely Nights...Интересно что он начинается с этой песни и заканчивается её версиями...Здорово.
No more lonely nights,
No more lonely nights.
You're my guiding light,
Day or night i'm always there.

--->LL
--->Андрей Beatleman

Фирменную кассету можно купить здесь (осталось 2 дня):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20828&item=4023060641&rd=1

Когда покажут опять? Кто знает?

2 semiotov: спасибо

--->LL
Помощь в покупке нужна? Извиняюсь за вопрос, если сочтёте его некорректным...

Press Kit с официальным пресс-релизом фильма

Вчера вечерком вдруг вздумалось посмотреть видеозапись фильма с первого канала. И только сейчас обратил внимание - рекламы-то нету!!! Наверное, именно поэтому показывали глубокой ночью. Может оно так и лучше...

Тут вот вспомнилось... То ли читал, то ли кто рассказал, как снимался эпизод с уличным музыкантом возле станции метро Leicester Square. Снимали скрытой камерой. Народ подходит кидает мелочь. Проходит - не узнает. Или узнает, но стесняется. И тут подходит панк (!!!). Тогда это движение было очень актуально. Стоит, долго и внимательно смотрит. Денег не кидает. Затем, видно, просек фишку и спрашивает: "Ты что, МакКартни?". Тот ему в ответ: "Да нееее, ты чё...". Панк в замешательстве медленно уходит.

Этот эпизод в фильм не вошел, как вы уже, наверное заметили.

Кстати, был выпущен и такой вариант Picture disc...

Как оказалось, существует ещё и книга, посвящённая созданию этого фильма. Данный экземпляр (судя по штампам и наклейкам на нём) был попросту "приватизирован" из публичной библиотеки Торонто :)

Книга богато иллюстрирована фото со съёмок, содержит тексты всех песен с комментариями, много фактического материала...

...и даже подробных чертежей и схем декораций к фильму. Автомобиль, на котором ездил Пол, тоже подвергся рестайлингу сторого по дизайнерским рисункам Пола.

Я думаю, что многих может заинтересовать содержание этой книги, а посему предлагаю перевести её в цифру, как это сейчас делается с "Eight Arms To Hold You".

да, наша, торонтайская книжка. Теперь я знаю, куда деваются потерянные библиотечные экземпляры :-))) Правда, ее могли выставить в розничную продажу, как не сильно востребованную, там имногда попадаются удивительные вещи за сущие гроши.

А перевести в цифру - дело святое.