Though the word “documentarian” probably isn’t the first word that comes to mind when thinking of Martin Scorsese, the man has made nearly as many docs in his career as he has fictional features, and his interest in them seems to have only grown over the years. In fact, four out of his last six directorial ventures have been rather low key docu projects, excluding his high profile Rolling Stone doc, Shine The Light. HBO Documentary Films have picked up the North American TV rights to Scorsese’s latest rock ‘n’ roll project, George Harrison: Living in the Material World. It seems very likely that the film will see it’s world premiere at the TIFF come September, but its television debut is scheduled to run in two parts on October 5th and 6th, exclusively on HBO.
Gist: Starting from his Liverpool beginnings through to the end of George Harrison’s eclectic life, Scorsese chronicles not only the legendary guitar player’s music career, but his spiritual journey, his ventures into film making, and his work as a humanitarian.
Worth Noting: The long cast list boasts names like Eric Clapton, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, George Martin, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Tom Petty, Phil Spector, Ringo Starr and Jackie Stewart. All of which knew Harrison like few could, and speak candidly about him along side an abundance of archival footage of Harrison himself telling his own story. Also working on the project is Olivia Harrison, George’s widow, Nigel Sinclair and Margaret Bodde, who both worked on Scorsese’s No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, and editor David Tedeschi, who edited Shine A Light.
Do We Care?: That is a silly question. With a history of top notch rock docs under his belt, and a former Beatle as his newest subject, Martin Scorsese has our full attention. His passion for music has always been gleamingly evident in his fictional work, and his past docs have always used that passion to put his favorite musicians in the limelight, unveiling why Scorsese himself is in love with them, as well as their long list of personal flaws and triumphs.
