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(More customer reviews)The first time I had seen this film was the summer of 1978. I was 7 years old, really into the music of The Beatles and had to see this movie. This film was not a tribute to The Beatles, nor did the actual members of the group have anything to do with the movie. It was a fantasy film about the fictitious characters that The Beatles used in their songs off the "Sgt. Pepper" and "Abbey Road" albums.
The story takes place in the make-believe town of Heartland where we are introduced to the original Sgt. Pepper and his Lonely Hearts Club Band. Twenty years after Sgt. Pepper dies, his grandson Billy Shears (Peter Frampton) decides to form a new Lonely Hearts Club Band with his friends, the Henderson Brothers (The Bee Gees). The film continues with the success of the Lonely Hearts Club Band, the problems the citizens are having in Heartland with Mean Mr. Mustard (Frankie Howard) taking over the town and the Lonely Hearts Club Band helping Strawberry Fields (Sandy Farina) recover Sgt. Pepper's instruments that Mean Mr. Mustard stole. They encounter many obstacles and hardships, but in the end, evil is overcome and everyone is happy.
This film was not well received when it was released in 1978. Actually, everyone, including the critics and the public, hated the movie. The film was produced by Robert Stigwood (of 'Grease' and 'Saturday Night Fever' fame) and executive produced by Dee Anthony. Stigwood wanted to make his name associated with modern day musicals and had sunk 12 million dollars into "Sgt. Pepper." He approached the project with a lot of enthusiasm and publicity. When it was released, it was a big let down in the eyes of the critics and adults (who were teenagers when the original "Sgt. Pepper" was released) who went to see the movie. According to Paul Nelson of 'Rolling Stone' magazine (October 5, 1978) "...Stigwood and Anthony not only produced one of the worst movies ever made, but also managed to trash whatever rock and roll reputations such seventies artists as Peter Frampton and The Bee Gees..." Two reasons for the dislike of the film is the fact that no one spoke during the duration of the film (except for the narration done by the late George Burns who played Mr. Kite) and old Beatle songs were redone by popular seventies artists. The run of the film in some cities was "...so short...that those who were lucky enough to blink may have missed it," according to 'Rolling Stone' magazine (October 5, 1978). I have never read a review on this movie from a critic who actually liked it. Only myself, my friends and my parents seemed to like this movie.
While watching this movie and reading so many bad reviews about it, I still liked it and thought it was done creatively. Musicals usually have dialogue with the songs to help move the plot along. In this musical, the only spoken words are the late George Burns' narration of the storyline. The Beatles' songs and the plot are intertwined and that's what tells and moves the story along. The songs communicate to the audience whether a character was good ("Strawberry Fields Forever") or bad ("Mean Mr. Mustard"), it emphasizes what is happening in the scene ("She's Leaving Home"), how a person feels for another one ("I Want You, She's So Heavy"). The songs also show feelings of cheerfulness ("Good Morning, Good Morning") and sadness ("Golden Slumbers" and "Carry That Weight"). What a way of putting a movie together by telling a story through musical dialogue! I don't agree with the statement made by 'Rolling Stone' magazine that "...Sgt. Pepper is better on vinyl than it was on film." I thought that for remaking some of the Beatles' classic songs, these artists did a good job. Some that I find particularly good are Aerosmith's "Come Together" and Earth, Wind and Fire's "Got To Get You Into My Life." The finale tops off the film with the entire cast and many other superstars such as Tina Turner, Bonnie Raitt, and Robert Palmer singing the reprise of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
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