On hand at today’s screening of the new Martin Scorsese documentary on the life and context of George Harrison’s life: The film’s director (Scorsese), co-producers, and George Harrison’s wife, Olivia, introduced the film, after being introduced by a NY Film Festival exec. Following the 3 hour film, which will be shown in 2 parts by HBO (beginning 5 October), the assembled panel asked questions of Harrison and Scorsese and then took some Q&A from the audience. With the lights back on, yours truly took some notes (my specialty!) and am now privileged to present this little taste of “the real George Harrison” as those who know him best portrayed, both in the film and afterwards.

Following the film, which received several rounds of applause as Scorsese took a bow from a box seat, the panel discussion began with the film’s executive David Tedeschi [snippet of him at: http://bit.ly/ofdPix ] posing a question to Martin Scorsese, about his tendency to revisit various themes in his films, and how his own interests might have led to his connecting with this particular subject matter.  Scorsese said that ever since he was 6 or 7 years old he has been intrigued by issues such as the nature of compassion, along with an inclination to question  conventional notions of secular and spiritual life. Along the way he recalls having being expelled from seminary school, going to NYU, and ending up pondering a return to seminary school. “Transcendence...  it’s what I’m drawn to”, though not necessarily on the scale of say, Silent Night or similar material which is “overwhelming” and “stays with me” though he may not be intentionally setting about to seek such deep and pithy subjects.

QUESTION to Olivia Harrison:  George had such an enigmatic quality, and seemed sincere. I wonder, what was your experience, Olivia, in having seen the film, having actually lived much of it?

Olivia Harrison: “It was shocking really - to see images that were so familiar to me arranged in such a way that... I was disarmed.” [Tedeschi spoke to the choices in sequencing the film, while Scorsese told a story about how they ended up going with a shot of Harrison framed by some flowers both at the beginning and end of the film.]  “It was very typical of his thinking [but] every time I saw a cut... it wasn’t like we were seeing someone else’s life... it was disarming.”

QUESTION: In the garden there was a sense of both focus and recording events - was there ever a sense that he wanted to leave a record?

Answer:  George enjoyed the camera. “He could just focus and people would leave him alone - like the shot framed by flowers... if he had his camera [he might say] ‘I’m stockpiling this for when I’m dead’.

QUESTION to Martin Scorsese: Could you say a bit about about how you went about shaping all the footage and interview material?  (Scorsese pauses silently/dramatically...)

Martin Scorsese: “We had long discussions about it. It wasn’t exactly a daunting challenge” because of so much existing documentary and home-made material on film. Scorsese’s over-riding goal was “to stay true to what he’s trying to express”, and after back and forth discussion the decision was thus made to bracket the movie within the flower scene in the garden. The final words turned out to be contentious somewhat, as both “death” and “God” are seen as red flags to general audience interest, but “I said do it”. Scorsese delegated some of the work, for example having David work on the background part with the Harrison brothers. Meanwhile Olivia Harrison provided Scorsese with DVD’s of news clippings and home movies.  Returning to the question of how to begin the movie, he recalled having been among those tulips, and hearing whistling and then seeing the emergence of George’s face. They played with the idea of “Tip Toe Through The Tulips” on ukelele.  (Speaking of which, in the film Tom Petty told a funny story of George, circa Traveling Wilburys time, opening a trunk full of ukeleles and insisting that Petty take 3 or 4 to have around, as you never know when they’ll come in handy.)  Aside from music, there were issues about where to fade in and out various sound clips, such as the World War II veteran singing “Who Wants to Die?”

And back to the issue of organizing and sequencing, Beware of Darkness was given much thought as to placement, given the treatment later on in the film of the break-in and attack on the Harrisons in their own home, and other considerations. And then, aside from the images of the flowers, there was the final ending, (The End in Beatles lingo) and the quotes by Olivia Harrison on how George's ultimate shedding of his physical body “lit up the room”. And this too was a poignant part of what Scorsese knew was to be an epitaph; “We knew that’s where we’re headed”.

Meanwhile, sequences and edits continued, while “Olivia would show us stuff” they hadn’t seen already, and adjust. (Scorcese hadn’t seen any details surrounding the home stabbing before). 

QUESTION to Olivia Harrison:  This film is just... so candid! Was there ever any question of how much is going to be public? Was anything off-limits, from the start?

Olivia Harrison: “EVERYTHING was off-limits!” at the start (this project has taken years). Yet, “I knew George wanted to leave a record. But I had a hard time parting with anything."

Martin Scorsese: There may have been times she was reluctant, but eventually agreed...

Olivia Harrison: “They dealt with me in a very compassionate way. And my son Dhani helped a lot.”

Co-producer: I can recall showing Olivia bits and she was initially a bit reluctant, but she warmed...

[Some context for some of the upcoming questions: In the film there was an extended interview with a wide-eyed and verbose Phil Spector; also there were some very personal but touching discussions about personal relationships, such as frequent interviewee and Harrison friend Eric Clapton cheerfully describing how he came to take Harrison’s wife after earlier-years of girlfriend-swapping.]

QUESTION:  When did you shoot that Phil Spector scene?

ANSWER: Not recently! (Laughter).  Before the trial, around April 2008.

QUESTION: This will be on HBO tomorrow, we know (5 Oct 2011), but will there be any kind of theatrical screening? [This was shown on an IMAX sized screen with Lincoln Center acoustics and sound system - definitely beyond what one might experience on a home TV!]

ANSWER: Yes, there will be several theatrical screenings, large-screen, here and in England for the next 2 weeks.

QUESTION: Was there anyone who declined to participate, to give an interview?

ANSWER: Really no. “We were lucky. People were extraordinarily generous”. The interviews with Paul and Ringo were “extraordinary” (and warm, gracious, even teary-eyed). Tom Petty gave us a 4-hour interview and was moved to tears, at least twice.

QUESTION to Olivia Harrison: 1) Is there anything in George’s life which you feel was not captured well? and 2) Are there still more “Beatles Stories”, more George anecdotes, to come out?

Olivia Harrison: “Well, George won’t tell them now... ”There is not really anything missing from this documentary that I feel is important.”  The film truly does capture “his inner self”.
“There isn’t anything missing. It’s all there.”

Finally, Martin Scorsese was asked to reflect briefly, after all his successful movies, on what has influenced him and what he enjoys now.  He spoke about his early experiences in having “learned story-telling”. Describing some of the classic directors such as John Ford, he re-iterated how “the best shot of the world” is inherently through the human face. Documentary-style film, as he supposes it is now politically correct to call it, can take advantage of this. (Parenthetically he noted that he is not producing “non-fiction”, because while using documentary material, some of the order is changed so it is not literally accurate, and moreover in his view “nonfiction film is not factual; it’s a twisting of the facts.”)

As for realism, “there is nothing like the drama of something real happening”, which gets captured in a compelling way, on film. “It energizes me”, Scorsese said. “Especially the ones with music, like Public Speaking”.  Although working from film here rather than on a set, “we had no release date” and he enjoyed the luxury of being able to “go a longer time to get more footage- like Dylan, No Direction Home...”

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And there it is. The above discussion reflects how it (the movie) is truly “all about George”.

There are bits and pieces of Beatle-mania, the initial context of history and family, but the largest component is video scenes of, or interviews with or about George.  One gets a sense of the man, aspects of his seeking peace and harmony with music and spirit and material world. Through the loving and almost familial interviews with Ringo and Paul (and Yoko briefly too), as well as relaxed and super-candid conversations with Clapton and Tom Petty, one gets a sense of the funny, intense, guitar-in-hand George Harrison - a man who loved music, women, and “spiritual harmony”.  His love and respect for Eastern music - and Shankar’s mastery especially - shine through as a major theme in the movie.

If you are at all a Beatles and/or Harrison fan, this is a must. If possible, see it on a large screen with a great sound system! Turn up the volume, and immerse yourself...  This is the real George Harrison, and a film made by a real master. Enjoy.