SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (1978)
SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND video artwork
PETER FRAMPTON.....Billy Shears
BARRY GIBB.....Mark Henderson
ROBIN GIBB.....Dave Henderson
MAURICE GIBB.....Bob Henderson
GEORGE BURNS.....Mr. Kite
DONALD PLEASENCE.....B.D. Brockhurst
STEVE MARTIN.....Dr. Maxwell Edison
Directed by MICHAEL SCHULTZ
Written by HENRY EDWARDS
Produced by ROBERT STIGWOOD
REVIEW BY GENE SISKEL
The other recent big event in the movie world was the release of the much-publicized Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
In a word, the film is a mess. The Yellow Submarine treated some of the same songs (When I'm Sixty-Four, Fixin' a Hole) with much more imagination and sensitivity to the lyrics.
Just about everything is wrong with Pepper. The people chosen to reinterpret the Beatles' songs don't sing as well as the Beatles. The visuals intended to depict the lyrics are embarrassingly simple-minded. During The Long and Winding Road, for example, we see Peter Frampton, the so-called "Farrah Fawcett-Majors of Rock," awkardly walk along a slightly winding road.
The Bee Gees suffer the most in the film. Because the movie is told only through voice-over narration and song, and without dialogue, the three Bee Gees (who play a rock band) are forced to give silent reaction shots to much of the action. They are awkward, to say the least. They prove just how difficult it is to act in front of a camera. These guys are rank amateurs, and it shows in their every movement.
Sgt. Pepper thus represents a major gaffe in the entertainment empire being built by Robert Stigwood, the producer of Saturday Night Fever and Grease.
The next film from Stigwood will be Moment by Moment a love story with Lily Tomlin and John Travolta, due for Christmas. That film may reveal that Stigwood's greatest asset in moviemaking is Travolta and little else. Pepper, which did not feature Travolta, is just that bad.
Note: This review is the second part of a double-bill film review. The first half was a review of THE END, which starred Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise. I did not include that part, because I did not think Pleasence fans would be interested.
Review © 1978 THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE. All Rights Reserved.
Video artwork © 1990 MCA HOME VIDEO. All Rights Reserved.
Title and logo designed by Karen Rappaport
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