Stuart Sutcliffe - The Lost Beatle
by Steve Cole (IV)
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DVD details
Actor: George Harrison, Horst Fascher, Paul McCartney, Paul Morley, Rosie McGinnityDirector: Steve Cole (IV)
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 60 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-07-25
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Kultur Video
DVD Reviews of Stuart Sutcliffe - The Lost Beatle
DVD Review: "All my dreams come true..."
Summary: 4 Stars
STUART SUTCLIFFE: THE LOST BEATLE highlights the life and short-career of one of The Beatles' founding members, Stuart Sutcliffe. This is one of rock and roll music's subtle mysteries about the first bass player of the band who carried a James Dean-like persona, but was poetic as he was artistic. His life ended tragically at the age of 22 years old as a result of a brain hemorrhage, which may have been caused by a blow to the head. However, through interviews of family, Stu's sister, Pauline Sutcliffe and Astrid Kirchherr and friends, Klaus Voorman, Tony Sheridan, Allan Williams, and Rod Murray, who knew him, there still exists skepticism to what may have truly happened between childhood friend, John Lennon and Stu, which may or not be linked to Stu's illness.
Nonetheless, the documentary is impressive and well done. Director Steve Cole and Producer Chris Hunt, and the editors and researchers do a good job beautifully displaying the life of one of the lesser-known Beatle. The photographs, artwork, and quotes from letters are interspersed within the film by and of Astrid Kirchherr and Stu are quite revealing, and undoubtedly show Stu's contribution to the art world. Indeed, there did exist a bulk of creative spirit behind those brooding eyes who produced avant-garde and modern abstract artwork filled with a range of emotions, and those closest to him, such as his sister Pauline, still wonder what he may have been thinking of when he painted the pieces.
Overall, the documentary provides a balanced history of the early Beatles years and the memory of Stuart Sutcliffe. Although no original Beatle tracks are played, Beatles imitators, The Prellies, exceptionally provides the soundtrack to the film to capture the energy and sound of the period. And ironically, the documentary concludes with John Lennon's "Jealous Guy." For those who still cannot get enough of Beatles history, this is a nice addition to one's collection.
DVD Review: Could have been so much MORE!
Summary: 3 Stars
This gives the initial viewer a sense of what the original Beatles bass player was like. But I felt with all the exceptional interviewees that we would learn a lot more. And there just were NOT enough photos of Sutcliffe to see who he really was. The same old photos -- no movies exist of him -- at least that is what has been said. Astrid Kircherr took thousands of photos of him with the Beatles but has only released a few. For someone involved in this project one would have thought that she'd have opened up her files and show them.
DVD Review: Founding Father
Summary: 5 Stars
This film about original Beatles member Stuart Sutcliffe was manna to a baby boomer Beatlemaniac like myself, who was 13 when Hard Day's Night was released. At that time the Beatles were much more than a top band; they WERE us, representing and leading all our creative urges, anti-establishment feelings, desire for something new, different, hip. And the imagery was (like much of the film's imagery) in black and white: the movie, Pop Weekly magazine, tv appearances, newspaper photos. Black Cuban-heeled boots, black narrow knitted ties, black polo neck sweaters, grey mohair suits.
Stuart Sutcliffe's contribution to the Beatles was considerable. A highly talented artist and creator, he bolstered John's considerable imagination and lent an artsy, more sophisticated influence to what could otherwise have conceivably remnained just another garage band. It was Stuart who bonded with Hamburg hipsters Astrid and Klaus Voorman (who drew the cover of Revolver); the impact of this pair on the band was significant. There's a reason he's on the cover of Sgt. Pepper, unlike the unfortunate Pete Best.
It was quite a treat to see Tony Sheridan - the celebrated bad influence and main attraction on the Beatles' first ever recording - looking very well, given his reputation at that time as a speed and alcohol maniac guitarist. Astrid herself of course is present, as well as Klaus Voorman, Allan Williams, their first manager, Horst Fascher, killer bouncer and Beatles protector at the Hamburg clubs, and other figures from that misty past. If you enjoyed the Beatles biography Shout - to my mind the best book written about them - you'll find the film enthralling.
Also included, a very interesting gallery of Stuart's art, much of it from the Hamburg days, and VERY good.
Description of Stuart Sutcliffe - The Lost Beatle
At art college in Liverpool in 1959, Stuart Sutcliffe met John Lennon and they soon became close -with Lennon persuading Sutcliffe to use the proceeds of a painting he had sold to buy a bass guitar and join his band, along with Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Before long, with drummer Pete Best in the line-up, they won a contract in Hamburg playing sleazy clubs in the seedy Reeperbahn area of the city, amidst the casual sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll of the era. The newly-christened Beatles were on their way.With the band on the brink of success, Sutcliffe left the group to concentrate on his first love, art, and his new love, German photographer Astrid Kirchherr. But Stuart's health soon began to decline. On the 10th of April 1962, Stuart suffered a seizure and slipped into a coma. As Astrid cradled his head in her hands, Stuart died of a cerebral hemorrhage, cutting short the life of the promising young artist.
Interviewees include Stuart's fianc?e and Beatles stylist/photographer Astrid Kirchherr, early Beatles manager Allan Williams, Stuart's sister Pauline Sutcliffe, Liverpool flatmate to Sutcliffe and Lennon, Rod Murray and esteemed American art historian and writer Donald Kuspit.
Stuart Sutcliffe: The Lost Beatle explores the mystique surrounding the Beatles' original bassist, who left the band to follow a different muse and died from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 22. Told via interviews with an impressive array of Sutcliffe's family and friends--and through uniquely descriptive quotes from his letters--this hour-long documentary reveals a lot of intimate detail about Sutcliffe's transition from promising art-school student in Liverpool (and best friend of John Lennon) to reluctant musician (pressed into service by Lennon) to determined painter within the German avant-garde scene. A lot of Stu's story, as Beatles fans know, is set in Hamburg, during and after the days the group was a house band in the city's red-light district. Familiar tales of friction between Sutcliffe and Paul McCartney abound. But these are offset by a tremendous amount of fresh insight and detail offered by such important Beatles-saga figures as rocker Tony Sheridan, Klaus Voormann and--most crucially--Astrid Kirchherr, the photographer who influenced the Beatles' look and who became Sutcliffe's lover until his death.
A very nice bonus is a gallery feature with a sizable collection of Sutcliffe's early and late paintings. On the downside, The Lost Beatle never mentions the severe head trauma Sutcliffe experienced following a beating by Teddy Boys in Liverpool (an incident that probably led to his death and which has been documented in detail, as recently as Bob Spitz's 2005 book The Beatles: The Biography). Instead, the film tacitly endorses (based on unsubstantiated hearsay from Sutcliffe's sister) an old allegation--dismissed by Kirchherr--that a beating Stu supposedly took from Lennon in Hamburg was, ultimately, the cause of his death. --Tom Keogh
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