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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
A fantastic documentary that explains the curious, tragic life of Brian Epstein -- the man behind John, Paul, George and Ringo -- makes a rare U.S. appearance.
Apr 29, 2004 | "If anybody was the fifth Beatle, it was Brian."
-- Paul McCartney
Since almost anything having to do with the Beatles has a built-in audience, and since "The Brian Epstein Story" won the prestigious BAFTA award for best arts documentary, you might have expected the acclaimed 1998 BBC production to follow an easy route to PBS or BBC America or even to a theatrical release. But though the film, directed by Anthony Wall and produced by Debbie Geller and Diana Mansfield, is also one of the great documentaries of the last 20 years, few people outside Great Britain have had a chance to see it. (The 44-minute butchering that ran as an A&E "Biography" -- 100 minutes shorter than the original version -- hardly counts.)
There is a mystery at the heart of the Beatles' story, a mystery shared by all of the great tellings of that tale: Philip Norman's biography "Shout!"; Iain Softley's 1994 film "Backbeat"; and now "The Brian Epstein Story," which New York audiences can see in a rare screening on Thursday, April 29, at Manhattan's Jewish Museum. The mystery is how the greatest moment of communal euphoria in the history of popular music gave way to what feels like the saddest story in the world.
"The Brian Epstein Story" tells such an important part of that tale that it's startling to realize it hasn't been told before. Every fan knows the usual dribs and drabs about Epstein: born to a prominent Jewish Liverpool family; went to work in the family's furniture and appliance store and made a roaring success of its small record department; was prompted to see the Beatles perform at the Cavern by the interest in them among his teenage customers; became their manager and, despite nearly universal lack of interest, propelled them to fame in the U.K. and then in the rest of the world; became manager of a stable of pop acts that included Gerry and the Pacemakers and Cilla Black; was a closeted gay man who likely loathed his own homosexuality; died of an accidental overdose in August 1967 that has produced its share of shadowy rumors. "The Brian Epstein Story" makes you realize just how piddling those meager facts are. (Although the film is not yet available on video or DVD, Geller and Wall have published a book of interviews culled from the documentary called "In My Life: The Brian Epstein Story.")
"The Brian Epstein Story"
Directed by Anthony Wall
More than any other account of the Beatles' rise, this film makes the case that had it not been for Epstein's persistence there is no evidence that the group would have become known outside of Liverpool, let alone outside the U.K. Epstein persisted in his belief that the Beatles would be bigger than Elvis when there was no reason to think they'd be even as big as Cliff Richard. Epstein rated himself only fair as a businessman: "The Brian Epstein Story" understands his genius was as a visionary.
This was a man raised on classical music with no previous management experience who, on the basis of one lunchtime session at a dank, filthy Liverpool club, foresaw the success of the Beatles. To Marianne Faithfull, who is seen in newsreel footage being interviewed by Epstein on the American pop-music show "Hullaballoo" and in contemporary interviews in the full flower of her bohemian regality, Epstein was a "synthesizing force," someone who understood he was at the beginning of a new era and wanted to foster the connections between its pioneers. Faithfull, in her memoir and in interviews, has gained an enormous authority, refusing to condescend to her past or give in to false nostalgia about it. She speaks of the '60s as someone might speak of Paris in the '20s, which is why it carries tremendous weight when, speaking of Epstein's failure to secure a lucrative licensing deal for American-produced Beatles' merchandise, she says, "I don't think it's bad to not be good at that." Her statement takes your breath away: It repudiates everything that has come to be thought important in the arts -- the deal making, the percentages, the grosses -- and puts the focus back on the work itself. That quote is the key to the way Wall and his producers have seen the real importance of Brian Epstein.
