The Philippine Online Chronicles

As the subject would have quietly approved of, a larger-than-life documentary was crafted in three years like a swift breeze. Filmmaker Martin Scorsese gave one great shot at the life of George Harrison, in commemmoration of the tenth year since he left the material world. Aptly titled "George Harrison : Living In The Material World", the film started off with a bunch of garden flowers slowly swaying, and then the face of a quiet man, the ex-Beatle, whose deadpan smile manages to hide a pair of sad eyes for a few seconds.

The title track kicks in,“sunrise doesn’t last all morning”, with snippets of George in his younger years - leather jacket, long fluffy hair. Voice overdubs of the sixties interspersed with still shots, with Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Ray Cooper, and son Dhani Harrison, talk about their association with the erstwhile silent member of the most famous band of the century.

The “Silent” Beatle

Being ‘silent’ may be misconstrued as being detached or mediocre. George was definitely not one of those - he wowed self-appointed ‘Quarrymen’ bandleader John Lennon atop a Liverpool double-decker bus when he played “Raunchy” as an audition piece. The audition master would, in later years, become the most famous Beatle, and a student of guitar licks, with a much younger George as mentor.

The story went on with the young Harrison struggling for his place in a quartet where two dominant forces carried the load of musical artistry. The lanky 17-year-old, who had to fake his age to get through a gig in Germany, refused to be just a regular go-to guy when his guitar playing was needed most. He ventured into his own creativity and songwriting.

“Don’t Bother Me” was the very first song he wrote, finding its place in the ‘With The Beatles’ album. However, it didn’t make any dent compared to “Something”, which Frank Sinatra in later years would refer to as one of the best love songs ever written.

As George traversed the path to artistry, he would occasional interweave Indian influences into his sound, with the sitar, non-stop Mantras, and the influence of his friend Ravi Shankar. Sgt. Pepper’s “Within You, Without You” was clearly influenced by Ravi and his clean shaven troop. “My Sweet Lord” signaled off our star’s spirituality, blended with pop, which would be fully realized in his solo years. Some bluesy tunes like “Give Me Love” and “Isn’t It A Pity” were also born.

Friends and family

Dear friend Eric Clapton paid homage to the man all throughout the film, talking about their guitar-picking jams, his reluctant sessions with the Beatles at George’s invitation, and even sheepishly relating how he gently stole his wife, Patti Boyd.

The film showed how Harrison slowly defected to his mantra and spirituality, turning away from the Beatles. “I wouldn’t want to return to any of these”, he said, if given the chance to do his life all over again. He picked himself up after the Fab Four broke up, and wrote a whole bunch of songs which Phil Spector would refer to as totally different from one another.

George's manor, a giant country-inspired estate, would bare witness to his years as a content man, but also to the sad notes in his later life, including a terminal illness, and an attempted murder.

Olivia Harrison, in solo spot interviews, related her 30-year experience with her man. Her love shone through voice overdubs over the picture of her husband’s attacker, who she beat black and blue with a fireplace poker, which helped George got to his feet to fend him off.

Paul did some friendly recollections of the man, despite being filmed in one of their petty bickerings in the Abbey Road studio, while finalizing the ‘Let It Be’ album. An impatient George told him, “just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it – tell me to stop doing it, and I will. I will do whatever pleases you.” This is just one of the many tensions which led to the Beatles' break up. But Paul obviously loved George as all of them did.

Too bad John was no longer around when Martin thought of this project. He would have made some tearful remarks, too. But Yoko appeared in the film with panache, relating how John would look after George, insisting that “Something” be released as a single from Abbey Road, backed with “Come Together.” Yoko would declare “John always cared for George...they had something going on.”

Ringo, for his part, recalled all the funny parts but tearfully closed the Harrison life story. The drummer recalled his last visit to George, who was already greivously sick. After a friendly chat, Ringo bade him goodbye, telling how he hated to leave George, but had to catch a plane to be at the bedside of his daughter, who had brain tumor. George quietly whispered, ”would you like me to go with you?” Tears broke at this point and the funnyman simply lost control.

The documentary rolled on and on, leaving the viewer craving more, leaving much to be desired about knowing how the man lived and later left, at the age of 58. Like many others, Martin Scorsese and I will remain fans, George fanatics, forever.

“What I feel, I can’t say...but my love is there for you any time of day!” – (What Is Life, 1970)

Dedicated to my wife Divina, on her 55th birthday, and daughter Ofelia, who pushed me into this.

Poster used here for purposes of review. Copyright is believed to belong to the graphic artist or the film's distributor.