Martin Scorsese’s documentary ‘George Harrison: Living in the Material World’ will air on HBO as a two-part presentation on October 5th and 6th,… and it sounds promising with extraordinary footage from the Beatles era and post-60s period era, as well as commentaries from Harrison’s personal friends.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, ‘Scorsese doesn’t try to make a case either for Harrison being as an important an artist as Dylan or his band mates John Lennon and Paul McCartney, or for his having been somewhat neglected. But that the film entirely commands full attention for 209 minutes is itself testimony not only to its quality but to the idea that the public may have underestimated this old schoolmate of Paul's whose voice wasn't that great, who wasn't as cute as the other two original Beatles, didn't contribute many songs at first and got into that weird Indian sitar stuff but had perhaps the most diverse and unusual life journey of any of them.’
209 minutes is a long time and it follows the quiet Beatles during the very early days when the first incarnation of the Beatles was playing in Hamburg clubs, then during Beatlemania, then during the sitar days and Harrison’s sincere dedication to Eastern spirituality.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, a major exhibition on the life and music of George Harrison, sharing the same title than Scorsese’s film, will open on October 11th at the Grammy Museum, who has been working closely with Olivia Harrison.
The exhibit, like the movie, will be focusing on Harrison both during his Beatles years and his solo career, and will feature guitars, stage clothing, handwritten lyrics, personal journals, sketches and photographs taken by him.
Robert Santelli, the Grammy Museum’s executive director said to the LA Times: ‘As a Beatles fan, working on this exhibit has been a fascinating journey for me personally, I came to realize George Harrison was a more deeply complex musician than I previously knew, and a beautifully spiritual man whose interests touched not only songwriting and music, but also included photography, filmmaking and book publishing.’
‘Hopefully, the exhibit will bear this out, enabling other fans of George Harrison to see him and hear his music in a brand new light.’
Olivia Harrison has been enthusiastic about the project, declaring: ‘Bob and his team have brought a great deal of passion and commitment to the project; their collective efforts have resulted in a wonderful exhibit. We look forward to sharing our memories of George with his fans through this first major exhibition about his life.’
Harrison died from lung cancer on November 29th 2001, and it’s hard to think it has been 10 years ago already,… strangely, I remember exactly what I was doing, I was driving and I heard the sad news on my car radio. It was a very cold and rainy day in Los Angeles.