Dennis Wilson documentary to premiere in UK on Feb. 26th.

[Andrew G. Doe]

One thing that deserves mention - not once in the whole 60 minutes did I mutter to myself "nope, that's wrong": there may have been opinions that some would debate, but no factual errors to my knowledge. Impressive.

I did notice towards the beginning it stated that after BW went to bed it was Dennis to took over leadership of the band - not strictly accurate? Wasn't Carl who played a major role in guiding the BBs through their studio enterprises and, presumably, live gigs etc?

I'd call that more a difference of opinion. Depending who you speak to, Brian went to bed in 1971, 1972, 1973... or not at all ! Were I writing that script, I might have rephrased it as "on the withdrawl of Brian from active participation in the band, Dennis emerged as the major creative force".  Something like that.

[The infamous Baldwin Organ]

Would you have let Dennis be in charge of guiding the Beach Boys activities? 

If I were Carl, Mike, Al, Bruce, Ricky, Blondie, David, Murry, Billy Hinsche, Ed Carter, et al., I certainly wouldn't have! 

[punkinhead]

What songs were in the doc?

[JCarson]

I watched this avidly on Friday night and have the programme taped to watch again in my own time. A great documentary which will hopefully bring Dennis Wilson's music to the attention of even more people. I got the impression of a vivid character, exciting and unpredictable, but also very challenging to work with. That clip of the Beach Boys sitting on the couch on Morning America (was that the show?) with Dennis hungover and out of it made me feel a great deal of sympathy for Mike Love and the rest. Actually, I thought it was Carl who looked most uncomfortable! I guess Dennis was too head-strong a character for there to be the kind of intervention that ultimately saved Brian from self-destruction. I thought the most heart-breaking clip of Dennis was of him croaking "You are so beautiful" at the 1983 4th July concert. Still, the message of the film was not to dwell on the tragic end of Dennis's life, but to celebrate and enjoy the powerful and beautiful music he made (and I type this listening to Bambu).

[Nicko]

I got the impression of a vivid character, exciting and unpredictable, but also very challenging to work with. That clip of the Beach Boys sitting on the couch on Morning America (was that the show?) with Dennis hungover and out of it made me feel a great deal of sympathy for Mike Love and the rest. Actually, I thought it was Carl who looked most uncomfortable!

Yeah, I thought the same thing.

[Beach Boy]

I watched it and to be honest at the beginning I was quite dissapointed but then the docu won over me and I loved the last 20 minutes especially. It was really sad to watch it though.

BTW I found one mistake: At the 4th of july concert in 1983 the Beach Boys didn't do YASB. The footage was from another gig, I think august '83. But the documentary really made me want to get the Real Beach Boy book.

[markcharles75]

This was very well done.  Filmed beautifully...the part where Dennis talks about Brian's mental illness and says "I would go daily to  his house and beg what can I do to  help you?" was very touching.  So many great moments in the film.  A MUST see. I was very moved by this film.  Congrats on a job well done.  After years of listening to Dennis' music, strangely with this film, it casts it in a fresh new light for me.

[Howie Edelson]

Matt really had an unenviable job in cutting this thing down to size. Some of the interviews ran for well over an hour -- and literally, each one was just as fascinating, informative, hysterical and heartbreaking as the the next. With what we got during the interview sessions, coupled with Ed's archive -- I believe -- Matt could easily add another two hours to the doc and wholly cover new ground. I think one of the reasons why the interviews work is that unlike other talking heads in rock docs, these people weren't just involved in one specific avenue of the subject's life. With Dennis you were in full on; his life, his art, his career. I've never worked on a project where it was a true labor of love for everyone involved.

[Nicko]

Sorry if this has been asked already, but as Brian asked to participate? Any reason given as to why he declined?

And were Al's interviews newly recorded? There were a couple of comments from him about the early years but it's a shame that there were none from any of the BBs about the later years.

[Howie Edelson]

Brian, unfortunately, was out of town on vacation during the entire L.A. shoot.

[Paulos]

I was a little surprised that there were no inetrviews with Mike and Bruce, is there any reason for this?

[Howie Edelson]

As far as the BBC doc goes, the plan was to talk to people who've mainly remained out of the spotlight in major documentaries. This was made with a decidedly "DW" rather than "BB" spin.

Speaking for myself, in my personal interviews with Mike, we have discussed Dennis and Mike is clearly not comfortable talking about him for personal, rather than political reasons. From what I can gather, it's not through malice, or hatred, but but out of real frustration and grief -- and also because let's face it, he knows that anything he says publically about Dennis -- due to their history and what's known about their relationship -- it will be poured over, and ultimately analyzed in a fashion that will undoubtedly make him look bad. In my interviews we've discussed his collaborations on "Sound Of Free," "Only With You," and "Pacific Ocean Blues" and the vibe changes immediately. He's seems really pained talking about him. That clip that Boyd got of him from 'Endless Harmony' is the real deal. That's his bottom line about Dennis.

[John Manning]

Just managed to watch the doc on iPlayer.   Absolutely stunning – top dollar.

Man, many congrats to Jon and Howie and Ed and David and Alan and all those who hand a hand (or more) therein.

By far the best Beach Boys related doc I've seen. Heartbreaking really... how Dennis and his condition seem to have unwittingly put a distance between himself and those who would have been there for him. He seems to have made it so hard for them.  I'd read about it and heard about it before, but this really brought home how far he fell, and how unreachable he was in the end.

What also came across to me was what a sound bunch of good people were around him.

Ed -  you're the man! Loved the anecdotes. And that was the first time I'd seen your mush -  nice to put an image to the name, and get a feel for the character.

(Would love to see something of this high quality in time for the BBs 50th anniversary)

[Matt H]

Is there any way for us to watch it here in the states?  Will it be on BBC America?

Thanks,
Matt

[Jon Stebbins]

There are discussions underway regarding home DVD rights, world broadcasts etc... But this is at an early stage and the hurdles are many, rights issues, clearances etc... In a perfect world we'll do an expanded version for the next wave of release...but as i said its early stages, nothing concrete, but we're trying. Regarding who is in the film and who is not, we made a decision early on to try and put some DW friendly faces on the screen that haven't been in other documentaries, or have had very limited exposure, that's why we emphasized Dave Marks, Jo Anne Marks, John Hanlon, Gregg Jakobson, Ed Roach, Tom Murphy, Ron Swallow, Carl and Michael(his sons)...these people all had unique and intimate perspectives that have not been mined, of course there are others we could have used and would have been good, but its a 60 minute film. We didn't want a BB's spin, although more Brian would have been great. But we really wanted 50% or more of this film to be about DW the solo artist. One disappointment is that we wanted both Carole and Barbara to appear, each initially showed interest, but each of them ultimately declined for different reasons. Barbara did call me mid-production and thanked me for pursuing this and for the effort we were making to raise Dennis' profile. Another disappointment is that we wanted to add Jim Guercio to the mix of new interviews but time restraints nixed that, although Jimmy was extremely supportive and allowed us to use some alternate mixes and approved John Hanlon using the actual multi-tracks for some of his scenes. Perhaps an expanded version could include more of this aspect as some of what didn't make the final edit showed John pulling up more of the POB/Bambu tracks and demonstrating various elements of the tracks. All in all with a limited budget and time constraints, as Howie said this was a labor of love, and i think it does a good job of telling Dennis' story in a heartfelt way.

[absinthe_boy]

Watched the whole shebang today.

Very impressed. I came away, I think, with a better idea of *who* Dennis Wilson was....the good and the bad. Nothing was glossed over nor was he deified. A proper documentary with moments that made my eyes well. The music and archive footage always seemed appropriately placed. It might have been nice to have had an up to date interview with Brian or perhaps Mike Love but their opinions came through nonetheless.

I found the doc balanced, especially when trying to reconcile Dennis' support for Brian's artistic direction Vs Mike's more financially stable aspirations.

And if AGD says there are no factual innacuracies...then I bow to the expert. I am certainly no expert!

The wife watched it with me, she's a casual Beach Boys listener rather than a fan...likes the surf songs for sure. She enjoyed it too...so a doc with broad appeal.

[John Manning]

... I think it does a good job of telling Dennis' story in a heartfelt way.

Understatement of the month!

[GLarson432]

"Still, the message of the film was not to dwell on the tragic end of Dennis's life, but to celebrate and enjoy the powerful and beautiful music he made (and I type this listening to Bambu)."

I love that thought.  Jon Stebbin's book "The Real Beach Boy" was too close to the truth to me.  I liked Dennis less after reading it.

But I always return...

I guess 'intrigued' would be a good term to describe how I feel about Dennis.  I can't quite figure him out but I would want him as a friend!

[drbeachboy]

BTW I found one mistake: At the 4th of july concert in 1983 the Beach Boys didn't do YASB. The footage was from another gig, I think august '83.

No mistake. I believe that the footage was from the July 4th show on the beach at Atlantic City, NJ.

[TdHabib]

There are discussions underway regarding home DVD rights, world broadcasts etc... But this is at an early stage and the hurdles are many, rights issues, clearances etc... In a perfect world we'll do an expanded version for the next wave of release...but as i said its early stages, nothing concrete, but we're trying.

Don't back down, Jon...

[Beach Boy]

BTW I found one mistake: At the 4th of july concert in 1983 the Beach Boys didn't do YASB. The footage was from another gig, I think august '83.

No mistake. I believe that the footage was from the July 4th show on the beach at Atlantic City, NJ.

I don't want to go too much OT but I do believe it isn't, check Eric's site. 

http://members.tripod.com/~fun_fun_fun/8-3-83.html  It might be this gig.


BTW What I forgot to mention what I really liked about the BBC doc is the flair of California too, impressive footage.

[carl r]

Hi
Just wanted to say "thanks" to everyone here involved in this doc, for sharing this with the world! It was great.

I know it was about Dennis, but I think it's perhaps the first programme - with the possible exception of the other BBC special on 'Pet Sounds' - to actually begin to explain why people like the Beach Boys so much. The part on the beach where Jon briefly identifies the Beach Boys sound - that comes closer than I have yet heard in explaining why I like the band, why they are important to rock'n'roll, and why Dennis was so important to their development.

Anything to improve? Well, other than the fact I always consider "Little Bird" to be Dennis' breakthrough song - and it didn't feature - there really wasn't much else I could ask for. Left me with a sense of lingering melancholy and heartfelt appreciation.

Carl

[The Heartical Don]

I am in Holland. What is the easiest way to see the thing ASAP?

[Ang Jones]

Having recently watched the Forever documentary, I thought Mike's response to the question asked by Billy Hinsche "If Dennis were to come back, what would you say to him?" was the best of all those given. "Welcome back" - simple and moving. I don't blame Mike for not contributing to Dennis Wilson: The Real Beach Boy. I think it was a sensitive decision.

The obvious emotion felt by those who contributed to this programme was one of its strongest points in my opinion. That Dennis and his music can still inspire this feeling is a tribute to the man and his talent. That it can be put across so well is a tribute to all those involved.

[phirnis]

This was very well done.  Filmed beautifully...the part where Dennis talks about Brian's mental illness and says "I would go daily to  his house and beg what can I do to  help you?" was very touching.

What period was he talking about? Mid-seventies? Early eighties?