Mr. Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne & ELO (2012)
Documentary which gets to the heart of who Jeff Lynne is and how he has had such a tremendous musical influence on our world. The story is told by the British artist himself and such distinguished collaborators and friends of Jeff as Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Tom Petty, Joe Walsh, Olivia and Dhani Harrison, Barbara Orbison and Eric Idle. The film reveals that Lynne is a true man of music, for whom the recording studio is his greatest instrument. With access to Lynne in his studio above LA, this is an intimate account of a great British pop classicist who has ploughed a unique furrow since starting out on the Birmingham Beat scene in the early 60s, moving from the Idle Race to the multi-million selling ELO in the 70s and then, with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and George Harrison, as a key member of the Traveling Wilburys.
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Reviews
There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
The part of the title "The story of Jeff Lynne" does not describe the film very precisely.I have always seen Jeff as probably a very nice and very reserved person and that impression only grew stronger by this movie which in essence does not really tell much anything about Jeff as a person. It's about "Jeff, the songwriter-producer and some comments about working with him". That is the reason I felt it honest to take off some stars from the rating. Music-wise it's what everyone knows: Doen't get sweeter than what Jeff's done in his musical area , 10/10. But the storytelling in this movie is the usual documentary patting on the back kind of thing while it oddly enough leaves out a huge portion of ELO and the members of ELO and Jeff's family-/personal-/emotional life is left out of the equation.It is definitely worth a watch and will be very enjoyable for people who either know his music or in general like old school melodic music.
I grew up loving the music of ELO and always admired Jeff Lynne, in part because I remember reading somewhere that he actually could neither read nor write music, (though he might have learned since) so I eagerly tuned into the program only to discover that it was not a history of ELO at all, and barely touched on the records or the band's background. Travelling Wilburys? yes, Beatles Reunion? ... yes... ELO? I got the impression that maybe the other band members, other than Richard Tandy, no longer talk to him so wouldn't make the documentary. It was fun to watch but as an ELO fan, disappointing and left me feeling cheated.
The superlatives never stop. The stories are all just a little to perfect be believable. Several of the interviewees appeared to be reciting from a script. For several, it didn't feel like it came from the heart.There is absolutely no insight into his life outside of playing an instrument and singing (he seems to live like some kind of immortal musical hermit in his mansion above the city). I couldn't shake the feeling that this was just one gigantic narcissism project by the subject himself. Which by the way culminates in a digitally created jam session with the subject playing all the parts (not very subtle).All that aside, the music is excellent and was a joy to hear. I would have preferred fewer awkward interviews and simply more of the tunes. If you are a music geek; you will certainly envy his home and lifestyle.
The documentary is obviously of Jeff Lynne. It features stories from people he's previously worked with, and is an all around enjoyable film. Whether you're familiar with Jeff's music or not, the documentary is fun to watch. Jeff Lynne seems to have always gone under the radar in terms of the musical industry, because he really isn't trying to achieve fame or fortune. What he's doing is really what makes him happy. It's a shame there aren't more videos like this, and from what I hear, it is coming to DVD, and hopefully Blu-ray in very early 2013. Jeff Lynne really should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and this documentary just proves it. With all of the accomplishments Jeff Lynne has made, it's a wonder he isn't in there already.