The Concert for Bangladesh (1972)

That was an excellent one.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The Concert for Bangladesh (1972) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Concert film of the August 1st, 1971 benefit concert held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. George Harrison put together this all-star benefit to gather money for the issues going on in Bangladesh. The first part of the show featured Ravi Shankar performing some Indian music and then the more well-known artists hit the stage. Joining Harrison we get Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and towards the end Bob Dylan. Countless other musicians join the cause as the two shows were edited down to this one film. Overall I can't see how anyone would be disappointed in regards to the music because it's of the highest level from start to finish. Even if you overlook Ringo messing up his lyrics "It Don't Come Easy" the music is just so refreshing and of the highest level. Harrison really hits a home run on numbers like "My Sweet Lord," "Here Comes the Sun," "Something," and "Bangla Desh." Other highlights including a rocking version of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" from Russell and a show-stopping number by Preston. With all of that said, the greatest moment of the concert comes when Bob Dylan walks onto the stage. You can easily tell that the producers thought this was the high point as well considering they included four of his songs here. This was only Dylan's second live show since the notorious electric tour of 1966 so you can tell he's nervous but as a die-hard fans it's usually these moments where he shines the brightest. He delivers wonderful performances of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," " Blowin' in the Wind" and perhaps one of the greatest live performances of "Just Like a Woman." On a technical level the music sounds extremely crisp and for the most part the video footage is just fine. Fans of these musicians will certainly want to check this film out as the music still stands up strong all these years later.

After a bit of rambling about the reasons for the concert (which, it has to be said, are typically simplistic), George Harrison introduces Ravi Shankar to the stage. After telling off the audience for making noise and asking them to just be patient and concentrate on the music he is about to play (great way to sell yourself Ravi), he then asks the audience not to smoke and then launches into 20 minutes of music that I must confess didn't do a great deal for me. Perhaps I was just a bit off by him tell me (the audience) to pay attention to the point where he seemed to lack faith in his own music but I almost laughed out loud when he asked for no-smoking during the gig – was the bit where he told them where the fire exits were edited out of the film? Either way I mustn't have been patient or quiet enough because I didn't like Shankar's bit and was very grateful when he finished. He was followed by artists who didn't feel the need to apologise for or pre-warn the audience for the audience about the music they were about to play. At this point the music got better and I enjoyed it even if it wasn't that great. The appearance of Dylan at the end livened it up for me and generally the music was enjoyable but I was surprised, given this was a high-profile concert, that it wasn't actually that memorable.Of course the delivery of the film doesn't help it that much either though. The static cameras maybe feel a bit less hectic that some concert films but they rob the film of atmosphere, focusing on one person at a time with only a bit of zooming in and out to show that anyone is awake at the wheel. Occasionally we'll get a crowd shot but this is not the film to come to if you want to get a feel for the atmosphere at the gig. The "cast" are mostly very good. Harrison leads things well and he has good support from the various musicians with him, although the highlight for me was of course Bob Dylan's arrival near the end.Overall then, a reasonable concert film that is worth a look for fans of Clapton, Harrison and Dylan. The delivery of the film lacks atmosphere and, as has been said by others, isn't the nicest picture you'll ever see, but it is the music that makes up for it mostly. I didn't like anything about Shankar at the start (his attitude or his music) but after that things got much rockier and better, even if most of it wasn't that memorable.

..yet this concert is nowhere to be found......Damn. Ok, I'm the only reviewer here who hasn't seen the rockumentary, but I can assure you that it's not like I haven't been trying. Just don't know where to find the friggin' thing...If anyone knows, please e-mail me at [email protected] anyone's curious as to why I am so interested and desperate to see it-well I'm Dylan's #1 fan and heard the live recording of "Mr Tambourine Man" -sung during this concert, and wow..just hearing it was an experience I'll never forget. RIP George!

This legend movie is specially with Harrison,Dylan,Russel and Clapton one of the concerts you must see.They are all in a good mood and if you want to see some history of pop music you will have to see this concert.