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List Price: $14.98Amazon.com's Price: $13.49 You Save: $1.49 (10%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0012236125846
Format: Best of, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
Label: Lions Gate
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Lions Gate
Region Code: 1
Release Date: December 17, 2002
Running Time: 172 minutes
Sales Rank: 22468
Studio: Lions Gate
Theatrical Release Date: August 27, 1995
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
A magnificent DVD pairing for Beach Boys fans, these two stylistically different films here pretty much represent the two sides of 'America's Band.' First up is The Beach Boys: An American Band, made at the height of their Reagan-era resurgence after then Interior Secretary James Watt banned them from performing at the nation's capitol on the 4th of July. A colorful, upbeat film, it doesn't entirely gloss over the more downbeat aspects of the Beach Boys saga (parental abuse, mental illness, uncomfortably tight pants, loads of drugs, and Charles Manson), though it does go out of its way to give the story a happy ending, despite the recent death of drummer Dennis Wilson and the group's complete creative standstill. However, what it lacks in perspective, it more than makes up for in priceless footage, including Smile-era studio outtakes, the unreleased 1967 concert in Hawaii, numerous TV appearances, and extensive interview footage from the mid-'70s.
I Just Wasn't Made for These Times, on the other hand, goes more out of its way to show the long dark path of head Beach Boy Brian Wilson. While Wilson is now acknowledged as the Mozart of the late 20th century, director Don Was gives us a stark black-and-white portrait of a troubled artist still struggling to get his life back. His reminiscence of dad Murry Wilson's beatings is chilling, and Wilson is as comfortable as he'll ever be in front of the camera bragging up his drug use ('Cocaine... the works... put me in jail') and randomly quoting Arthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon. Through it all, Wilson comes across as a complete original, and if the reworkings of his classic songs don't quite match up to the originals, give the guy a break--he just wasn't made for these times. --Kristian St. Clair
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Beach Boys /anAmerican band
Anyone wanting to know the story of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys should get this dvd.It gives you the history from the beginning and is very informative.Brian holds nothing back about his involvment in the band .This dvd really shows you the great person songwriter and musician that Brian is and how he formed the band into the great group that they became and the music that will last a long time to come.Any BB fan should have this in their collection
Rating:  - Art History
First up on this DVD is "An American Band." Own it because it's a wonderful historical and musical record of the Beach Boys from the very beginning. But don't expect a detailed, "warts-and-all" biography of the band. The full story of the Wilson family is as rife with tribulations as a Gothic novel. "An American Band" doesn't delve into the dark stuff except superficially; primarily, it's a feel-good infomercial for the Beach Boys through 1985 (a year or so after Dennis's death). Dennis's impossible ... Read More
Rating: - Good Beach Boy History
This was a truly interesting look at the Beach Boys. I enjoyed it very much.
Rating: - I'd recommend "Endless Harmony" and "Smile" instead.
AMERICAN BAND
Simply because I've seen "An American Band" and think its a bad way-in to the Beach Boys simply because their studio recordings are immortal yet this documentary stubbornly opts every time for the live version where the BB's slaughter the delicate arrangements they weren't allowed to play in the studio (Brian had studio musicians do the parts in the band's peak era (circa All Summer Long-Pet Sounds, 1966). Many Americans may know the BB's as a great touring band - but I see ... Read More
Rating: - not bad
i baught both of these on vhs, a pretty good find. I must say, I just wasn't made for these times was great. a very interesting look into brian's life. i just hate how most documentries completely disregard what happened in the 80s/early 90s in regards to brians life. i know there wasn't much, but i would have liked to see it all. but still that was great. now, for an american band, that was ok. it wasnt as good as ijwmftt but it had some interesting footage. most of when brian was in the bed was interesting, ... Read More
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