The Smiley Smile Message Board

I saw on dvdreleasedates.com that "Love & Mercy" will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on September 15.  It was verified on amazon.com.  Amazon has the DVD listed at $19.98 and the Blu-Ray listed at $22..49.  I can't wait to see what bonus features will be included.

I am hoping for a corrections feature with interviews from Van Dyke Parks and Carole Kaye.

Well dammit, then I 'm obliged to play the big man and apologise, as this is obviously the commitment that caused the UK tour to be aborted. Pushing the DVD/Blu-Ray. I am abject.

Yup, it's also listed on Amazon UK.

Hey, I've had a real swell idea – what about a UK tour to promote the DVD/Blu-ray, seeing as how Brian couldn't be here to promote the cinema screenings?  Any venues free in September?

Hey how about the O2 Arena, no wait............  :p

The Old Queen's Head is currently available every night save the 25th, after September 1t5th

UPC for the DVD: 031398224723
UPC for the Blu-Ray: 031398224778

Eagerly awaiting both.  Hoping for deleted scenes and/or an extended cut.  Commentaries by Bill Pohlad and Oren Moverman.  Downloadable Atticus Ross Film Score.  And maybe a nice making-of or background/featurette on the project.

Just pre-ordered it on Blu-Ray. Also, seeing it at the cinema tomorrow... Excited! :D

My daughter's dog peed on my blue ray.    It smokes when I try to use it.    Should I just get the plain old DVD instead and save the money on both disc and a new blue ray?    I don't have many blue ray discs.     and with a non blue ray disc I can watch the DVD on all of my other crappy DVD players.    what to do, what to do...........  :lol

What brand does your player smoke?  and does it still play the discs while smoking?

Marlboro.   Why do you ask?    Haven't offered it a disc while smoking.

How tall is that dog?

Cover art now up on Amazon.  I'm underwhelmed by the artwork, personally, but really it's the contents that I'm most looking forward to.

(http://s23.postimg.org/d9iefgsp7/l_mbr.png)

No product details yet.

It's not too bad in my opinion. :)

Maybe it'll grow on me! :)

 Think the artwork is nice enough, tho I can see it giving the non-believers the wrong message by using a shot resembling the BBs.

Though the movie poster image would work as well.

This DVD cover blows goats.

Non-Criterion DVD artwork almost always sucks.

This is true.

Exactly. Most video art has been crappy Photoshop stuff for some time. And I've seen quite a few uber-airbrushed Cusack DVD covers over the last several years. That L&M cover sadly could have been even worse. But yeah, the poster art was much better. But they want the name stars on the cover.

Yeah it's terrible. I wish EVERY film used original poster art for dvd covers, it would be so much nicer.

What he said. It's just one step up from "floating heads." The nice thing about Criterion releases is that the artwork is typically just as creative and visually innovative as the film inside. Keep praying for a Criterion release.

The cover is fine. Not great but not bad. They should have used the poster!

Gosh darn they used the wrong truck - again!!!!!!!

I mean is anybody really surprised anymore...

Really though, stuff like the truck is a close enough approximation that only small percentage of people would notice.  Quite honestly, I wouldn't have known or noticed if it hadn't been pointed out.

The look and feel of the film is so authentic that those things, which I frankly consider to be minutia, don't detract from anything.  Unless you let it! :)

It's interesting to note that while the poster doesn't mention the Beach Boys at all, the DVD cover not only calls the film's subject "the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson" but shows all of the actors playing the members of the band.  So they're really playing up the Beach Boys angle.

The most commonly-seen poster didn’t mention the BB’s, but that alternate “dual” Brians poster (seen earlier in the thread I believe) does name the BB’s. It’s not surprising they’re putting the BB name on it. Same reason they put Cusack’s face on the cover. “Beach Boys” and “John Cusack” are the two phrases that will most help sell the Blu-ray/DVD.

Maybe the cover art is just for the cardboard slip cover, and the actual artwork on the case will be the poster. 

Possible. But weirdly, the majority of slipcovers (especially for new movie releases) are completely redundant; they feature the exact same art. Other than giving the appearance of a slightly more “Deluxe” package, I’ve never understood why they do this. Especially when it’s usually only the first wave/printing/shipment of discs that get the slipcase.

There are, ironically, a number of obsessive Blu-ray/DVD collectors who seek out slipcovers. You can see eBay auctions for just slipcovers, without the actual case or disc. Yes, sometimes they do unique, interesting slipcases (lenticular, etc.), but often they are just a cardboard version of what is inside the case.

It will also be interesting to see if L&M gets any retailer-exclusive covers or packaging (steelbooks, etc.), and, more likely, if international markets get alternate covers or slipcovers or steelbooks, etc. 

True. 

I had no idea people obsessed about slip covers. 

On two legs or four?   Ever seen Bruce Almighty?

Blu-ray.com reports the following:


I feel VERY happy about this.  I'm sad about the lack of an Isolated Film Score, but maybe the soundtrack/score can be released separately at some point by Capitol even as a download.

These extras are exactly what I was hoping for otherwise.

...

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=17179 (http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=17179)

Tomorrow is the last day it will be shown in Houston. It's also my daughter's birthday, and it's not being shown less than 30 miles away from where I live, and it's an early (10am) showing.

Sad :(

Oh well...15 Sept will be here soon enough.

Was hoping for a more comprehensive documentary or something. Those featurettes won't have anything too revealing, I'm sure. We've probably already seen them online.

This is a rather standard (albeit far from the worst case scenario) slate of bonus features. I'm guessing the two "featurettes" will be more on the EPK fluff side, while the deleted scenes and especially the commentary will be more enlightening.

 ;D

I'm glad they're including deleted scenes. 

Sometimes, they put extra features on the BluRay release.  Maybe they'll do that here. 

Does anyone know where the Love and Mercy live clip at the end of the movie came from?  Some more live BW footage would be awesome as a bonus feature. 

Can we merge all these L&M bluray threads. I think there are currently three of them.

I was just hoping for something less standard. It's the minimum really. I think the deleted scenes and commentary are good. I just would have liked a more comprehensive. There were an awful lot of interviews conducted with the cast, Brian and Bill Pohlad. Some of those would be neat to have.

I don't think Brian would be up to doing a commentary himself, but perhaps a select few scenes with some comments by him and Melinda would be nice.

I just feel like a lot went into making this film and promoting it and we're getting the bare minimum. I know it's a film about a wildly different subject, but on the Zodiac bluray there is an extensive (feature length, IIRC) documentary talking to various people involved in the story. It really let you appreciate the history of what happened and although it was not a "making of" for the movie you really appreciated all the details they squeezed into the movie.

I look at it this way, we could be getting no Deleted Scenes and no Commentary Track.  That would be very unfortunate, IMO.  Having followed the project since its gestation, I'm eager to get every last kernel I can. 

The Featurettes while likely nothing more than longer EPK's may end up surprising us, you never know.  There's no running time listed on those, they may end up being revealing.

Also something to note, the press release on Blu-ray.com says Special Features subject to change.  Maybe there will be additional Special Features.

Quite frankly, half this board could be a merged thread.  :hat

Through it all, are you sure you're still a fan who is really interested in Brian ??

How about a "director's cut" of this film?     Like we see with a number of other DVD releases.      Or a disc with both;  cinema release and full directors cut.......?  I could watch a three hour version easily.   The film received such rave reviews that the extended cut could be justified/rationalized.       I'd buy it and pay the price.  No worry.

Thing is, I think we can safely assume this was the Directors Cut of the film?  Why?  Because it was essentially self-financed by River Road and the version shown at TIFF supposedly doesn't differ in any perceptible  way from the one in theaters.

I think of a Directors Cut as a way to right a wrong.  A studio insists on changes or cuts to a film, for narrative reasons or maybe for running time.  Then it's interesting to see what the directors original vision was.

In the case of L&M, I sense that this is the finished film the filmmakers had in mind.  The deleted scenes will be nice to see, if for no other reason than to maybe 2nd guess their decision to excise them in the first place.  But also, because we're fans and we want every last kernel of it we can get.  I know I do!

The whole board could be usefully distilled into two main threads:

A - Concerning all things related to the life and music Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys

B - I hate Mike Love.

OnTopic - the UK screening patterns and timings, and my working schedule, have thus far combined to preclude my seeing it on the big screen... and of course, when I'm off next week, so (apparently) is the film. Seems God hates me.  I'll take whatever the DVD has to offer as long as it includes the original feature.

Well, if you fancy a trip to Bath, it's on here all next week. The 10.45am showing on Wednesday is discounted for the over 60's!! ;D

And if you can get to that London, it's actually showing more places next week than this week.  Funny, from what people were saying I expected it to start petering out after the first week.  Hopefully, this is a sign that the film is some kind of relative success.

I was also hoping for a Director's Cut on the DVD.  It could be a fair bit longer, and perhaps it ought to be.  Landy needs more explanation.

FANTASTIC! Thanks for sharing that. As well as others, I was hoping for a directors cut, but getting the deleted scenes is just as good. I'm honestly looking more forward to the commentary track though.

Well, now - begin screened in Kingston (where I'll be, more or less) Sunday-Thursday at 1.30pm. That'll do.

Good man-I'd give yourself an extra hour just to cross the one way system   ;D

Dunno if this has already been mentioned but on amazon it's currently listed for the cheaper price of $13.99 (US, regular-not-blu-ray price).

And also on a somewhat related note, I don't think I've ever seen a movie on Blu-Ray? Is it all that different?

IMO, where Blu-Ray earns its stripes is in the quality of the audio, if not the video (I can't tell much difference between an upconverted DVD vs. a Blu-Ray in terms of video resolution). L&M would definitely be worth getting on Blu-Ray as the audio is such a major and enjoyable part of this film.

If you have a HDTV, then Blu-ray is absolutely noticeably better, providing it's specifically mastered for HD and not just a standard DVD master that was burned to a Blu-ray disc.

To me the difference between a really good (anamorphic widescreen) DVD presentation and a Blu-ray is sort of the difference between 480i NTSC signal and 720p.  I purposefully didn't say 1080p.  

If the Blu-ray is mastered very well, visually it can make a DVD counterpart of the same title burst into tears.  Generally speaking though, there's a 25%-35% increase in visual data that your eyes can perceive.  That's not based on science, it's based on me trying to apply a metric that's easily understood.

Generally though, if the prices are even remotely close, always go with the Blu-ray, there's really no reason not to.  Only unless playback is an issue for you, then your answer is settled anyway.

As Misterlou mentioned, the sound also greatly benefits from the additional bandwidth Blu-ray provides.  Where as a typical DVD movie release is a Dual Layer with roughly 8.5 GB of space to utilize for all of the video and audio of the main feature and supplemental material.  Blu-ray has up to 50 GB of space to present a higher resolution and clarity.  That goes of course not just for the visual presentations but audio.  It's very common for studios to include a lossless HD master for the audio so you are getting uncompressed audio and typically at 24-bit/48 khz.

For a film like LOVE & MERCY, you would essentially be getting a better than cd aural experience from the soundtrack.  So those bits like the one that opens the film "Black Hole" by Atticus Ross, or any of the others, will sound stunning on even a general home audio set up.  Hell they'll probably sound stunning on just my basic Sony studio monitors!

I digress..

If you actually have an HD display, then blu-ray will always look infinitely better, and if you don’t have an HD display, then you won’t be getting much out of a Blu-ray player since you’ll be watching it all down-converted anyway. But Blu-ray will always look better, especially when we’re talking about a Blu-ray versus a DVD struck from the same source and released on the same day, which is what we’d be talking about in the case of “Love & Mercy.”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Blu-ray look worse than its DVD counterpart. Yes, in some isolated cases usually with older films, the studios have used excessive “DNR” which scrubs all of the grain out of the film, leaving the Blu-ray looking very waxy and unrealistic, etc. But those are relatively rare instances and, frankly, anyone who only has a passing interest in video quality to the point where they’re still unsure about Blu-ray, those are the folks who would probably find those Blu-rays with digitally scrubbed grain to be preferable.

Upconverted DVDs are not comparable to actual HD resolution on Blu-ray. Any HD display upconverts any sub-HD material to its native resolution anyway. On small displays (under maybe 25 inches), Blu-ray may only provide a negligible improvement in video quality I suppose. But frankly, HD even on an old 15 inch laptop monitor always looks better.

I’m actually less enamored with the audio benefits of Blu-ray as compared to the video benefits. Make no mistake, Blu-ray does offer high-resolution, uncompressed audio which can’t be anything but better sounding than DVD. I just don’t think the jump in quality between Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS-MA 5.1 is nearly as huge of a jump in quality as compared to the jump between 480p and 1080p video. Super dynamic, big-explosion sort of movie soundtracks, and concert audio or other music material will benefit most from the high-rez audio, no question. But when people complain because they didn’t get a 7.1 high-rez version of an old mono soundtrack to a 60-year-old movie, I question what that would have offered.

Ironically, the way I’ve usually discovered how sub-part DVD is compared to Blu-ray is when I’ve been watching HD stuff for awhile (Blu-ray or TV), and then go back and watch an old DVD. *That’s* when you notice all of a sudden how much better Blu-ray looks. Similar to watching DVDs for a long time and then going back and firing up an old VHS tape.

So I would say if you have a very small display (or are watching on a small laptop or something), and/or have an older non-HD display, and/or view your movies from a larger distance of, say, 10 or 12 feet or more or something, then you probably won’t notice a ton of difference with Blu-ray. But if you have an HD display, I can’t think of a reason not to jump into Blu-ray once you have funds available to purchase a player (and the players are pretty cheap these days). You can still play all your old DVDs on a Blu-ray player of course. 

I suppose if your main deal in life is the Beach Boys, then Blu-ray is tougher to justify. The only HD BB-related releases we have are the two C50 Blu-rays (“Doin’ it Again” and “Live in Concert”) and the recent “Brian Wilson & Friends” Blu-ray. But even if you have just a passing interest in movies and other music, there are a ton of great Blu-ray releases that breathe new life into newer and older films.

Agreed with the general consensus here: If you have an HD TV definitely get a blu-ray player. To me, the quality is lightyears better than DVD. I amassed a rather large DVD collection over the last 10 years or so, and I find many of the titles are distracting to watch because the quality is dreadful compared to blu-ray.

Some blu-rays are awful in terms of quality because the movie company half-assed the transfer. But most are pristine. Cool Hand Luke was one that I thought would be terrible quality because of the age of the film (that and I had only seen it from a VHS copy I recorded from cable TV back in the 90s, so I had no idea how high-def the movie could be), but it's one of the most clear pictures I own.

I'm highly anticipating L&M to look stellar on blu-ray. And I'm so flippin eager to listen to the commentary.

Don't get too excited, the video is nothing more than than the official US trailer...but..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkHYBjUZkWw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkHYBjUZkWw)

...there is a nice little surprise, Digital HD release date is 8/25.  That would, I presume, be the iTunes store, Google Play, Amazon, etc. 

Also, in addition to the BD and DVD coming out on 9/15 the film will be available On Demand (I assume that's like TW and Comcast On Demand rental) same day.

Studios are often now allowing for sale (not rental) of “Digital Copies” several weeks prior to the physical DVD/Blu-ray release (and streaming rentals). Unfortunately, what they’re trying to do is hasten the death of physical media, as digital-only distribution in the future will be cheaper and allow them more control over what you can see or not see. If anyone out there actually cares about trying to keep physical media alive, and keeping alive the ability to purchase and own a physical copy of something in perpetuity, I would suggest avoiding the “Digital HD” release and support the Blu-ray and/or DVD (and/or rent the film streaming, or at Redbox/Netflix).

I'm with you.  I will always prefer the tangible product over a digital version. 

I prefer the physical product if for no other reason than it acts as my 'archival backup'.  Also, of course, the quality is superior in almost all cases. 

For movies, BD bandwidth allows for much higher bit-rate than even an HD download would.  And with music, CD offers 16/44 at minimum.  Hi-Rez downloads are nice, especially for material unavailable physically elsewhere.  But again, physical is always preferable to at least have on the shelf.  They I can rip my own.

With LOVE & MERCY, if no soundtrack is released, my plan is to take the BD and use DVD Audio Extractor on my Mac Book to rip the 24/48 audio.  That way, at least I can have in tact tracks of some of Atticus Ross' score.  Specifically, "Black Hole", "Headphones", and "Deep End".   The other parts of the score have dialog interspersed so those wouldn't be ideal.  All the more reason for the score to be released, in tact, separately. 

I think there's only like 15-20 minutes of actual score truthfully, maybe a little more, but not much.  In that case, a Hi-Rez download might be ideal over a physical release, unless they choose to flesh out a "soundtrack" with tracks.  Or, as I have mentioned elsewhere, ideally, there would be an "Isolated Score Track" included on the DVD/BD.  If that were the case, I would be able to use the DAE tool I mentioned to extract the isolated tracks in 24/48 for my own personal enjoyment.

Of course I would be on board with any of the above.  I've seen this film 11 times and may go for a 12th and final time tonight or tomorrow night.  My 12 year old son has a burgeoning interest in BW/BB music probably because of my enthusiasm and I may take him.  The run is finally up in my city I think.  So I'm on board with anything we can get for this film.  Which is why I'm so excited about the "Deleted Scenes" and the "Commentary Track", I'm clearly obsessed.

Another fan of physical media here.

I could cry, that cover is so bad.

The BluRay of Ernest Goes to Camp looked like a VHS copy...extremely grainy to the point where my daughter said 'something is massively wrong with the tv'. She was 6 at the time :lol

Haven’t seen that Blu-ray, but there are cheap, poor transfers. I think all those Ernest movies were put out one of those cheap budget lables like “Echo Bridge” or “Mill Creek”, and they certainly don’t do any restoration but just take whatever transfer they get from the rights holder. It may have been a really poor transfer (only rarely do they actually literally up-rez an SD master; it’s usually a true HD transfer, just done on the cheap and quick), and/or it may be a case where the film was shot with a grainy look (and/or the transfer is from a dirty negative or print) and the HD resolution is actually revealing *more* of that grain, whereas old VHS or DVD versions actually hid some of that with the limited SD resolution.

In the case of L&M though, as the Blu-ray and DVD are going to come out day-and-date with each other, and because they are both almost surely going to be struck from the same HD master (the DVD then simply down-scales it to 480p), there’s almost zero chance the Blu-ray won’t look significantly better.

I own that DVD :) That film turned me onto "Happy Together" by The Turtles at a formative age.

I feel the same.  But I can get over it because of the contents, specifically the Deleted Scenes and Commentary Track.  

Maybe some very talented SS member can get a copy of the German Blu-ray and make some custom artwork out of it.  

This looks right on:

http://www.amazon.de/Love-Mercy-Blu-ray-John-Cusack/dp/B00ZWB0EXK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1437606912&sr=8-2&keywords=love+%26+mercy

I am really hoping that Deleted Scenes bonus feature includes full performances of the songs shown in the montage at the beginning.

FYI, Amazon.com (US) has the Blu-ray listed for $12.96.  That might be a one day price only, I don' t know.  But, I know it's cheaper than the DVD, which is amazing.

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Mercy-Digital-Elizabeth-Banks/dp/B01127XNHQ/ref=sr_1_1_twi_2_blu?ie=UTF8&qid=1437677732&sr=8-1&keywords=love+%26+mercy
 (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Mercy-Digital-Elizabeth-Banks/dp/B01127XNHQ/ref=sr_1_1_twi_2_blu?ie=UTF8&qid=1437677732&sr=8-1&keywords=love+%26+mercy)

I get sooooo sick of decent key art being replaced by a marketing department's demand of "We gotta show big star faces! It's the only way to sell these!" Oh...topic and story still not sexy enough, I guess?

They also had to put that picture of The Beach Boys and their woody with the text "The Amazing Story of THE BEACH BOYS' BRIAN WILSON" 

Just in case you thought this was the biopic of the former Giants / Dodgers relief pitcher. 

I know. It looks like Dano and Cusack are in a freaking aquarium.

Also, thank you all for feedback on Blu-ray! Maybe if my roommates next year have a player I'll splurge :P. I can be a sucker for higher quality music/video.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/6178bZbvdhL.jpg)

T'would almost be funny if it weren't so sad. But that is the worst DVD cover art I have ever seen. Ever. I've seen bootleg copies of movies that had far better artwork.

It looks so odd seeing a giant John Cusack rising out of the ocean towering over these tiny Beach Boy figures on a truck. And as undercover-m said, it looks like Dano and Cusack are in a freakin aquarium. I guess given the highly artistic nature of this film I'd hoped the cover art would somewhat emulate that artistic feel.

/rant

The cover is rather "bleh." I've seen far worse. It's not a big mystery why they want the stars on the cover. Nobody shopping at Walmart or Target or Best Buy will recognize what the thing is based on the title or a colorful picture of 1966 Brian. I dig that art, and I would hope they could incorporate it into the package somehow (inner booklet cover maybe?), but they're going to get people to buy this thing because it has John Cusack in it and it has something to do with the BB's.

Three examples of far worse cover art. First, this is conceptually perhaps the worst DVD cover decision ever:

(http://www.thesnipenews.com/thegutter/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/Planet-of-the-Apes-DVD-cover-380x254.jpg)

Then, just aesthetically awful:

(http://cdn3.whatculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/00254.jpg)

Even a recent Cusack DVD cover is uglier and more airbrushed/photoshopped than L&M (he looks nearly CGI in this one!):

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BdFH08MyL.jpg)

:lol

That is some terrible artwork. But the L&M blu-ray cover art isn't that far off. For instance the title lettering is cut off by the "horizon line" of the ocean, Cusack and Dano got almost equal amount of screen time yet Cusack looks like he has the main role in this film. If I squint the current artwork looks like it could be the cover of Blue Crush or any other hollywood surf film...which assuredly this film pretty much has nothing to do with the beach or surfing.

edit: and I know it's about catching the eye of shoppers in Best Buy - but they may get some rather disappointed viewers who were expecting a more vibrant film on The Beach Boys.

Something along the lines of this would be so much more appealing - and truer to the vision of the film (dark, foreboding):

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jq-IpsLiH3A/VWrcF87RHuI/AAAAAAAABuE/4VEhIs1Vvmo/s1600/LOVE+%26+MERCY+Production+Notes.pdf+-+Adobe+Reader+-+Copy.jpg)

The L&M Blu-ray has gone down to $12.96 today on Amazon, with the DVD a buck higher.

I'll chime in and say that Blu-ray is well worth it when viewed on a high-def TV. Although Blu-ray's audio specs are better, the really big difference is the ultra-crisp visuals as compared to DVD.  That being said, the quality improvement in viewing a DVD over viewing a VHS tape is far greater than that of viewing a Blu-ray over DVD, but the Blu-ray viewing experience is significantly better than that of DVDs and well worth the upgrade. 

And count me in as another fan of physical media, especially in the case of Blu-ray, where the pic is of higher quality than found on streaming HiDef video rentals or purchases.  Plus I'm a huge fan of the extras found on most Blu-ray and DVD movie releases.

Re- Bluray vs DVD. I moved over a few years back when I bought my HD ready TV and haven't looked back since. 18 months ago I got myself a 55" 3D full HD TV and my blurays really sparkle. I can see immediately when an upscaled DVD has been "remastered" as HD, but that has been a very few and far between occurance.

A film like Love & Mercy will look good on blu-ray - that much is a given. I work in the industry, so I have been accustomed to seeing the detail in my films and TV shows for nearly a decade. The one thing I generally don't bother with is buying something on blu-ray if the source material was only ever SD. My PS3 can upscale it just as good as any Bluray containing HD material. (The PS3 was known in industry circles as having an extremely good upscaler on board).

Pal DVDs have a pixel ratio of 720 (Wide) ×576 (High) pixels (NTSC DVDs have 720x480). Bluray has 1920 Wide×1080 (high) pixels. As you can see the resolution is roughly 2x sharper. I like the extra detail HD affords and that's why I will be getting Love and Mercy on bluray. Perhaps 2 copies in case I scratch one!! 

Agree, on one of the boards I wrote that I thought they should use an altered version of the US one-sheet.  Or at the very worst, the UK one-sheet, if they needed to deviate from the US poster.

The German Blu-ray cover art takes its visual cues from the US poster:

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91bOCmT28SL._SX522_.jpg)

The German Blu-ray certainly has the preferable cover art. Unfortunately, it’s marred by the huge ugly ratings logo.

For sure.  That seems to be the thing in Europe.  Have the rating right there.  And in the US the thing is to have that nice big fat FBI warning, on the back.

If had an ounce of talent I would try and make custom hi-rez double-sided artwork for the good folks on SS board.  Alas, I have no talent.  :lol

The DVD is now $3 cheaper than the Blu-ray at $9.96 on Amazon .

9 out of every 10 turtles agree.....Ernest Goes to Camp is the movie to see. KnowWhutIMean, Vern?

I know I’m stating the obvious, but if you have a Blu-ray player, there’s no reason to not shell out the extra three bucks for the blu-ray. (And if you only have DVD, then a price comparison of course doesn’t matter). Seriously, the cinematography and set design in this movie is great, well worth seeing in HD on a blu-ray disc.

Most definitely, go Blu-ray. Heck, even if you don't have a BD player, get the Blu-ray for the eventuality that you might and just use the certificate to download a HD digital copy of the film from iTunes, Google Play or Amazon. BD players are so cheap these days anyway, and the upscale job done on most well compressed DVDs looks good enough that it make sense to use this as a catalyst to start collecting Blu-rays, if you haven't already.

Or hell, just buy both. With the BD you get an HD digital copy for like $13 bucks and a DVD for less than $10 bucks. That's still cheaper than the BD MSRP.

This isn't really "news" but I see on iTunes that the Pre-Order listing has been updated to include iTunes Extras. As of this writing, the explore iTunes Extras section lists the following (same as the BD & DVD, but with actual running times on the Featurettes):

A California Story: Creating the Look of Love & Mercy" Featurette (10 min :48 sec)
"A-Side/B-Side: Portraying the Life of Brian Wilson" Featurette (25 min : 32 sec)
Deleted Scenes (No info yet)
Audio Commentary with director/producer Bill Pohlad and executive producer/co-writer Oren Moverman

Just passing it along.

"Ernest Goes to Jail" is a lost masterpiece.  I'm serious.

There was apparently an unfinished Ernest film, the SMiLE of Ernest P. Worrell films, called Ernest The Pirate. Unfinished at the time of Varney's death, there are people who hope the film will still see the light of day sometime. In the meantime, there was sadly no Smiley Smile of Ernest movies released as a placeholder.

Preordered it on Amazon

Lol

Ernest scared Stupid,  though,  was ass.

It is ass, but you don't know the meaning of ass-tacular Ernest films until you see the straight-to-video Ernest schlock he did in the 90s, like Ernest in the Army + Ernest Goes to Africa! The SIP and Stars and Stripes of Ernest movies - they make Ernest Goes to Camp seem like high art by comparison! :)

I saw parts of Ernest in the Army. Yeah it was dire.

Didn't Ernest kill a guy in one of those movies?  Or is that a rumor. 

I used to love Ernest as a kid, but I checked out after Scared Stupid.  Even the ones I liked didn't age well with me. 

Debated on whether or not to post this here or in the 'main' thread about the movie. Kind of felt like it belonged here.

The film recently opened in Japan and I was cruising through the Japanese Facebook site for the film (I know, I need a life).. but I saw two still photos that I hadn't seen elsewhere. And, the cool thing is that both seem to be from 'deleted scenes'.

The first one looks like a scene from the screenplay where Marilyn is asleep in bed and Brian is listening to "Be My Baby" over and over again on his headphones.

(https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/v/t1.0-9/10400035_1603219666622197_3731454387461439391_n.jpg?oh=1ac17533b554f46807b7f9741729b12a&oe=5683F1ED)

This one is a little harder to identify but there is a scene in the screenplay where Brian is watching the tv and sees some news about a fire and says "LA's burning!" and has kind of a freak out because he thinks the Fire Tapes caused the fire.

(https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/11863256_1618898958387601_4197583097767277431_n.jpg?oh=034eb6b97bbd1e9154317abcdcc2cb82&oe=5684300F)

Hoping these and more are included among the deleted scenes.

If I buy a blu Ray player, will it play my regular DVD's and CD's too?

Yes

When you buy, check out all the little logos on top of the player or printed on the box.  That will tell you what can be played and other stuff (eg, if it has dolby II or is 3D compatible). You'll see the CD and DVD logos in the mix.

I think every Blu-ray player ever manufactured has played DVDs as well, and in most if not all cases, CDs as well. You might find more sporadic support from stuff like audio formats like SACD or DVD-Audio. Sony players tend to support SACD.

A lot of Blu-ray players also have built in "apps" where you can use stuff like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc.

To piggyback on what you guys are talking about. Most DVD players, on down to the PS3 and PS4 do a pretty marvelous job upscaling regular DVDs. Mind you, if a Blu-ray release for the same title is available, that's always preferable.

And if you have an older DVD player that doesn't do upscaling, then your hi-def TV will do the upscaling for you. 

(Some people with upscaling DVD players compare the upscaling done by the DVD player vs their Hi-def TV by switching off the DVD player's upscaling, forcing the TV to do the upscaling, and then if they see a difference go with whatever device does the best job of upscaling. Upscaling DVD players were typically marketed as providing a superior closer to hi-def picture than regular DVD players, without mentioning that when presented with video from a standard non-upscaling DVD player, a hi-def TV would upscale the picture to the TV's native hi-def resolution.)

But, as discussed, unless you've dealing with non-hi-def source content, Blu-ray discs will give you a significantly better picture than DVDs, and Blu-ray players have dropped dramatically in price.

I can't believe people are still having the DVD vs Blu-Ray discussion. Can you even buy DVD plays anymore?

I think someone earlier in the thread posted that they were planning to purchase the VHS...

I will be purchasing it on Super 8 film for my projector.

Hey, I have a super 8 projector ... and super 8 film camera! (both working)


You can still buy VHS players (just got a new VHS/DVD combo a couple years back)! Huge chunks of the US without great internet coverage and/or crummy data plans.

VHS?? You've gotta be kidding! I'm planning to purchase Love and Mercy on Betamax.

Fancy a slide night anyone?

Geez you guys are a tough crowd. Someone asked the question..and others tried to guide them on the choice. Not everyone is up technology.

That said, I think a slide show would be good. I'll volunteer to provide still photos and narrate.  :lol

A SS posters' slide show with commentary?  Sorta makes the hairs rise up on the back of my neck just thinking about it.   :lol

My VHS player is broken, and the carousel to my slide projector is on the fritz, so I'll one up all of you... and remake the film. "Be Kind Rewind" anyone?

In fact, SS posters remade ASMTYD, so why can't we remake Love & Mercy? I get to play younger Brian (even though I'm Cusacks age and can't sing to save my life).

I'll be using a Viewmaster! You remember, you held it up to your eyes, and inserted various discs into it to view.

PPppfffttt! All you folk need to get with it. I will be getting a mechanical TV comptaible player, and having the audio provided by an Edison cylinder.

The L&M website has been revised.

http://www.loveandmercyfilm.com (http://www.loveandmercyfilm.com)

And Brian's website now has the standard PR details about the Blu-ray/DVD/Digital release of the film too.

http://www.brianwilson.com (http://www.brianwilson.com)

Exciting times!

I didn't intend to start a Blu-ray/DVD debate, just kindly stated that the DVD was cheaper on Amazon. If you want the Blu-ray or DVD, that's up to you. I pre-ordered the Blu-ray. September can't come fast enough.

Heads up, it's August 25th and Love & Mercy is now available for download on iTunes, Google, Amazon. I've just completed the download from iTunes and I'm going through the Extras. I won't spoil anything for anyone but there are 4 Deleted Scenes and they are all very strong but I see why they were trimmed. Looking forward to a deeper dive in the coming days.

 :listening

Aieeee! Thanks for the heads-up. Looking forward to digging in. The Spector scene in?

It's there. :)

Cool beans. Any 80s era stuff in the deleted scenes?

What are the other 3 deleted scenes? I think if we know there is Spector scene, it'll make sense to know the rest, right? It's not a spoiler, even if it is, we got enough of it on the main 2 hours of movie, with detailed analysis & reciting the dialog bits. Everyone seemed okay with it. So, do tell.

Anyone going to post rips from the soundtrack? I've tried to extract Deep End and the Good Vibes vocals but it sounds so distorted I don't think it's worth posting.

I did this experiment anyway. Not perfect but I tried. (http://puu.sh/jNYaQ/b218bcd7d0.mp3) (And why not this too (http://puu.sh/jNYN7/531e74ca0f.mp3))

No. And other than like maybe one or two very short scenes, I don't think there are any 80s era deleted scenes.


* Brian Past meets Phil Spector on the street.
* Brian Past in a family meeting (Murry, Audree, Carl, Dennis & Mike) telling them he doesn't want to tour anymore.
* Brian meeting with Tony Asher, asking him to help him write lyrics.
* The full "I Get Around" scene where Murry & Audree arrive at the studio and it devolves from there. Scene derived from the famous "Help Me, Rhonda" session.

I had sort of hoped for these and maybe a couple of others, namely the one where Van Dyke & Brian write "Heroes & Villains" and the SMiLE montage. The first of which I'm pretty sure was filmed because there's a production still in the "California Story" featurette. The other one I imagine was also filmed. There are others but I presume that any scene that included actual music that wasn't already in the finished film would have cost additional money to license so that's probably the most logical answer why they weren't included as Deleted Scenes.


I have not, yet. I was going to wait on the Blu-ray.

Beat me to it! Haha. Nice job. You could also overlap the "Gotta keep those lovin' good" parts on top of each other to make it sound double tracked.

Thanks! The 4th DS must be interesting to watch. And yes, that's reality check that nothing complete can be released.

Saved. It's totally worth posting chops of soundtrack (as opposed to entire tracks).

They're not the best quality though so I'd rather wait for somebody to post better rips before anybody makes anything with them.


Good idea (http://puu.sh/jO7jF/b5127d42b3.mp3).

***SPOILER ALERT***

The Deleted Scenes are terrific and a couple of them help flesh out certain aspects of the film. While a couple of others were probably rightly excised from the final cut of the film.


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* Deleted Scene #1: Brian Past meeting Phil Spector on the street. Very brief interaction where Brian sees Phil and professes his adoration for Phil's work. Phil essentially blows him off leaving Brian perplexed and bittersweet. I think this scene would have been fine in the film but I get why it was removed. It probably would have taken the viewer out of the film. The actor that plays Phil does a great job at capturing his essence, while only on screen for a brief minute with pseudo-Ronnie Spector on his arm.

* Deleted Scene #2: Brian Past tells the family he must stop touring. This is basically the full scene, as it appears in the screenplay. Brian, surrounded by the family (Audree, Murry, Carl, Dennis & Mike, along with Al) at Murry's house explaining what happened on the plane. In the screenplay, this scene immediately follows the panic attack/nervous breakdown on the plane. It also immediately leads into the scene in the film where Brian, Carl & Dennis are sitting around and Brian explains his desire to "take them further". It's a strong scene but the reason it would up on the cutting room floor is clear, it's redundant. Of note in this scene is Mike saying "Can I say something, on the record - you don't do it all by yourself Brian". In response to Brian expressing his desire to write lyrics with someone new. I like the scene a lot although, again, it's clear it had to go.

* Deleted Scene #3: Brian Past meeting with Tony Asher. This scene would have been better left in, in my opinion. It fleshes out a little more background on Pet Sounds. Brian looks to Tony to collaborate with him on lyrics for Pet Sounds, initially Tony resists. As presented, the scene is sligthly truncated from what is written in the screenplay but the gist is all there. In the flow of the film, this scene would fall right before Brian enters Western Studios for the first time (with glasses on, that scene) and introduces Tony to the Wrecking Crew.

* Deleted Scene #4: The "I Get Around" Session. In the finished film a brief moment or two of this scene is glimpsed in the opening montage of 'highlights'. It's clear the scene might have halted the momentum of the opening sequence if it had been left in, therefore, it had to go. Although it is very powerful, even on its own.  The band is cutting the vocals for the song when Murry & Audree arrive and the situation devolves from there. The scene is derived from the infamous "Help Me, Rhonda" session where Murry exclaims, "I'm a genius, too!"

Those scenes sound very cool. 

I think I'll likely put the Blu-Ray on my list when I write my letter to Little Saint Nick.  :)

Just a reminder that posting non-official links to download copies of the film since it has been released commercially will not be allowed on this forum, nor will requests to provide such links. Anyone doing so will be subject to a ban.

Entertainment Weekly has published an exclusive deleted scene (1 of 4 included in the iTunes Extras).

Link below for the curious among us..


http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/25/paul-dano-love-and-mercy?utm_campaign=Contact+SNS+For+More+Referrer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=snsanalytics (http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/25/paul-dano-love-and-mercy?utm_campaign=Contact+SNS+For+More+Referrer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=snsanalytics)

The Blu Ray is #20 on Amazon's Blu Ray list.

With the numbers NPP put up, it's pretty obvious where Brian Wilson fans shop. 

Amazon's sales lists tend to skew towards the older demographic, especially looking at physical media. Older folks tend to buy CDs and BDs/DVDs, so we typically see Brian or McCartney and people of that era hit higher on Amazon's physical sales charts than they do on the overall charts.

However it happens, though, it's good to see Brian product higher up on the charts.

Enjoyable deleted scene. I bet the Mike Lovers among us would've loved if that was left in, his big line sounds like something out of Smiley Smile! Abel does an excellent job playing Mike both aggressively and sympathetically. You can see his side. Why Love was so sniffy about the film, I can't understand. He comes off ok, really. Killer hats too.

Abel was great. I thought he portrayed Mike to be quite a pr*ck, which he very well could've been. Then again Brian always said he was a goofball in the studio and here we only see the serious side.

I did crack up at his "sunny down snuff" line.  :lol

Would be great to see a version with those scenes included. The more the better.

I read a review a few days ago where the writer said it was too long and that the studio scenes should have been trimmed. For me and I'm sure most here they made the film. The recreation and hearing those instruments being tuned was worth the price of admission alone.

I know the bed montage is the climax of the film, but when I initially reviewed the film after seeing it for the first time I was so blown away by the studio scenes I made the comment that there was no climax to the movie because the whole thing was a masterpiece from beginning to end...basically because of all the studio scenes.

A huge thanks goes out to Bill Pohlad for getting it. This could've been another 'Walk The Line' or 'Ray', but this film has a life of its own. It's not pandering to a majority of movie-lovers, it's geared for us die-hard fans. We really got lucky.

I'm with you guys, the more scenes the better. Back in June, Oren Moverman did an interview with Collider and mentioned that the first real cut of the film was 2 hours & 20 minutes. I would love to see that some day. Who knows, an 'Extended Cut' of Walk The Line appeared several years after that film hit home video.

Glad that scene was cut. Aside from being inaccurate as regards location (in a movie that's nearly always on the ball in this respect), it's a clumsy, heavy handed piece of exposition/setting up. The movie I saw had a fine, balanced hand on the tiller.  Pohlad made the right call.

Anyone else notice the dialog lift from the American Family mini-series ?  :)

So how do you think Mike Love comes off in the film overall, Andrew? Sympathetically? Kind of my main point, deleted scenes aside. I dunno,  Movie Mike almost makes a better case for his side than his defenders. You can see why he'd feel frustrated and left out in those studio scenes 100000% more effectively than a large Buick's worth of Cam Mottery. Maybe the hats are just inherently more sympathetic, but I feel for the guy. Throwing in that sweet little "Good Vibrations" writing moment was a nice touch as well. ML of 2015 I have a hard time empathizing with, but I can completely get his 60s art vs family business mindset and the film does an excellent job of depicting it. Pohlad indeed nailed it and walked the tightrope with some style. Talk/discuss.

My opinion of how Mike was handled was that while initially his character was handled fairly, by the time of the pool meeting he was wearing a black hat, or at least a dark gray one.

A bit of a dark gray hardass by that point, yeah -- but certainly a well-motivated one. It wasn't just EVIL MIKE LOVE RUINING BRIAN'S BEAUTIFUL DREAMS. You got what was important to him and it wasn't exactly pure evil or the devil's work. He was just a guy trying to keep the family business ticking along in the midst of a chaotic circus. Look how out of control BW was portrayed by that scene, that's no white hat for sure. I thought they did a great job not going full blown Heroes and Villains.

Otherwise there would've been sharp legal elbows, mmm?

Indeed. Not the all-out malign influence that might have been reasonably expected.

Still don't care much for the deleted scene, though.

Ontor - my impression, if we are looking at the same scenes, is that what Mike articulated, represented the position of the other band members. 

Subsequent to the movie's release, Brian has said that Mike was a "good guy" and well-treated" in the film.  And, I would agree. Why not let Brian have the "last word," here...

And, I don't have the hard copy yet. 

I too can see why the deleted scene was deleted.

If Brian had the last word, we'd be talking about lunch! I don't have the hard copy yet either, can't wait to check out the Spector and Murry scenes. Proper black hats!

So in the end... Mike Love was handled fairly, even in the highly qualified words of The World's Greatest Living Neutral Historian. ML made a mistake on this film, they will never have a better film in their lifetimes and he could've said some happy PR stuff, spent a weekend with Abel to show him how to point, dabbled in soundtrack work, fertile cross-promotion to give a small boost to his own operations, gave good interviews instead of saying how Evan Landy's tabloid sale was real interesting. But the Stamos hackjob was worth being involved with. Did that make more money than it cost in legal settlements?

Jack Rieley's words about blowing it ring true still! Let's find them another manager with a dubious resume and the gift of gab.

Not much faith in Brian's authority? Brian appears to "miss nothing" onstage and I would expect that to be consistent across the board.  Ever see him tell an audience to clap? Or stop tossing beach balls?

All I have read, suggests that Brian was/is very much "in charge" while working on music in the studio.  Leon Russell would likely support that.

This is not about "sensationalizing" or for you, is it? It is a sober movie. And sobering. And I don't mean booze or drugs.

Rieley was a poser.  JMHO

Food for thought there, filledeplage.

Hey, how about that 5.1 mix, huh?  Holy Walter Murch, Batman!

Do you mean the soundtrack?  If you do, it was so well-handled.  And the Pet Sounds sessions studio scenes were amazing.  But they were among the "happy" scenes.  The material to be convered required delicate care.

It was well handled. And brilliant to use two actors for Brian. 

But it was so intense that I felt as though I was shot out of a cannon by the time it was over.  And, wasn't alone.

Hope it acquires some serious acclaim. 

It was the story of "our music" that required telling. Big Bravo!  ;)

Looks like the DVD release date is the 15th September. Still no date for the Blu-Ray yet, annoying, as I've pre-ordered it for Blu-Ray. Amazon did have a Blu-ray release date to start with (being Sept also) to which they have changed to quote: "Delivery estimate: We need a little more time to provide you with a good estimate. We'll notify you via e-mail as soon as we have an estimated delivery date." - Amazon.co.uk ....  ??? ???

I pre-ordered the Blu-Ray on Amazon and it says it will arrive on September 15th.  I'm in the US though.

I'd probably get it quicker ordering it from Amazon.com.  :lol

There was a commercial for the Blu ray/DVD last night on the History channel. I was watching American Pickers and all of a sudden I'm seeing L&M clips. Nice.

I've seen a few commercials for it on various channels (ie FX).  I've seen more ads for the BluRay than for the theatrical release. 

Updated my Amazon review:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3UC4LQDH0Q13N/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01127XNHQ (http://www.amazon.com/review/R3UC4LQDH0Q13N/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01127XNHQ)

Some reviews for the Home Video release..

http://www.popmatters.com/review/love-mercy-and-the-dualities-of-brian-wilson/ (http://www.popmatters.com/review/love-mercy-and-the-dualities-of-brian-wilson/)
http://www.bigpicturebigsound.com/Love-Mercy-Blu-ray.shtml (http://www.bigpicturebigsound.com/Love-Mercy-Blu-ray.shtml)
http://flavorwire.com/537591/the-5-best-movies-to-buy-or-stream-this-week-love-and-mercy-the-overnight (http://flavorwire.com/537591/the-5-best-movies-to-buy-or-stream-this-week-love-and-mercy-the-overnight)

I wonder if its worth waiting to see if a directors cut will be released. 

If it were me, I wouldn't wait. I honestly don't think we'll ever see an extended cut of the film. I feel kind of fortunate to have gotten the deleted scenes we did, quite frankly. And the audio commentary track. I wasn't certain those things would be included but I'm overjoyed that they were.

Just comparing with another biopic about a larger than life artist, Johnny Cash ("Walk the Line"); there was an extended cut that James Mangold did of that film for Home Video several years after the fact. But that film also did monster box office business. I know I want an extended cut of "Love & Mercy" and probably everyone reading this would welcome it, too. The fact is though, I'm not sure there is a big enough demand for them to do it. I sure would love to be wrong, I would sign up to hold a sign saying "I'm wrong!". :)

An extended cut of "Love & Mercy" has sort of become a holy grail for me. Something to wish for that probably won't happen. And if it ever did happen I think it would be just an "extended cut" and not a directors cut, per se. I kind of got the feeling from the interviews I've read and from the commentary track that the film sort of took shape more or less during the editing process. That the editor and director Pohlad really wanted to keep the focus on Brian and trim away anything that slowed the momentum. So, in essence, the theatrical version is the 'directors cut'. Anything else would just be an extended version.

Good points. 

Also, I don't think there's as much of a demand for physical product as there was when Walk the Line was released. 

I'm still gonna see if Little Saint Nick wants to drop a BluRay in my stocking. 

You have to look at this from the point of film of this being a film, as opposed to a Beach Boys/Brian product. The “Director’s Cut” is the film we saw in the theater, and is being released on home video. That’s presumably the vision he had for the film. Anything else would just be an “extended cut.” Nobody really knows how much extra footage was shot. You also have to keep in mind that some footage may have been shot but was quickly dropped from contention to be in the finished cut, and would require additional post-production (in other words, more money) to loop dialogue, etc.

From every interview I’ve read in relation to this film, I haven’t heard anything that suggests a huge, extensively longer version of the film was shot and is screaming for a release. The stuff we’ve heard about sounds like just extra stuff, perfect for the “deleted scenes” feature (I certainly wouldn’t have complained about even *more* deleted scenes being included if available). This isn’t one of those cases where the studio took the film away from the director and made him cut a ton of stuff out and change the entire feel of the film. Pohland and company seem pretty happy with what they submitted as the final film.

All of that, coupled with the economic realities in terms of marketability, would suggest to me that any “Extended Cut” is probably unlike to happen, at least anytime soon.

Pohlad is the producer as well as the director -- he financed and owns the film, I believe -- meaning that the director's cut is what was released in theaters.

Good points. 

Thanks for the input. 

Interestingly, the MSRP has been updated and the price of the Blu Ray has increased on both amazon and walmart. It's up to $17-18 now. I was going to pick it up as an impulse purchase today, but now I'll probably just grab it from Redbox and wait until it's cheaper.

Got my DVD today, watching now!  :)

Yep, all of the deleted scenes bear the imprint of 'River Road LLC'.

How many deleted scenes are included?

4

I just got the blu-ray in the mail today. Partly through the commentary version right now; pretty interesting how many little scenes were left out of the movie. Pohlad explains a couple of them in the beginning.

Also, the featurettes are cool, the talk about Landy's wardrobe evolution was eye opening for me.

The deleted scenes are cool. I can see why they were left out, however I think the movie could've benefited from the Tony Asher scene. Looking forward to hearing the rest of the commentary later tonight.

I'm curious to know what you think, rab2591.

I feel a little silly for being so obsessed over this film so much, I'm sure I come off as a total nerd. Guilty as charge, I suppose.

Anyone know if the US blu-ray is region free? We often get shafted on extras here in Australia and the info for the local release looks like we might not get the commentary track :/

It is not, unfortunately, it's Region A. I hope Region B has all the same contents for ya!

Who is going to be the first to create a fan edit soundtrack?

Can we elect you to be the official Amazon comment spokesman that can respond to the goofs over there giving it 1 star and saying things like "it was no fun" or " I stopped watching it half through".

Seriously... For some reason these people are getting under my skin. To each his own is one thing, but I don't know if these are 15 year olds used to watching free stuff on YouTube and then making stupid comments or what. Everyone does not have to love it or give it 5 stars but really...these 1 and 2 star reviews are really pathetic. Another moron said in their review that there was hardly any Beach Boys music in it! What movie are you watching. It sure as hell isn't L&M if you think there isn't enough Beach Boys music.

It's like getting flipped off from the idiot that does not know how to drive and cuts YOU off. As Landy says "seriously man"!

Ok I'm done. Needed to vent. My Blu Ray came today from Amazon but it will be a few days before I have time to view it. I think I'm gonna have put my own two cents over there.

Great review. By the way, the blue ray is on sale at best buy for 16.99$. I purchased a copy today at the Palm Springs, Ca location.

  I didn't realize the 80's Brian had a receding hairline.

I read one Amazon review that was expecting a fun movie with beaches, bikinis, etc.  I guess that review is only familiar with The Beach Boys circa 1962-65 (and some later stuff).  And they obviously know nothing about the story.   

The "comments" section of most websites (to be distinguished from actual message boards) are often cesspools of ignorance, trolls, and, at best, unintentional humor. Amazon comments are sometimes written by prolific, detailed reviewers (though sometimes those reviewers are apparently getting free copies from Amazon and posting disproportionately positive reviews; I think this may happen more with books), but are open to anyone, including folks who may not even own the item in question. Some of the comments are barely a step up from the ultimate mainstream "comments" cesspool, the YouTube comments section.

I agree with you. I don't think it's right because it effects the actual rating of the film. And yesterday when I looked there were a string of 1 and 2 star reviews blocked together. At a glance people could assume the movie stinks. We just need to have faith that people with a brain will rise above that and factor in the positive reviews as well. And again, I don't mean to suggest people have to like it or should, it's just that if you want to gripe about it stick to reality and not perceived falsities or flat out lies.

Don't feel silly! I think all of us are really thankful for your diligence in keeping us updated with links and news regarding L&M. And it's one of those films that is worth getting obsessed over.

Wasn't able to finish the commentary track last night, but will get to it sometime later this week. Can't wait to hear what Pohlad and Moverman have to say about the bed montage!

Haven't watched my copy yet. With the deleted scenes, does Banana still have more lines than Al?

Ive read every post you've made about the movie. I love the movie to death too...so I look forward to your posts. I was thinking about starting a proper analysis thread to dissect every bit of symbolism. You game?

I'm down too! There's been some really good back and forth regarding the symbolism. Some stuff has been revealed through the featurettes on the DVD, and I'm hoping there's a bit more revealed in the commentary.

Start with the scenes in and around the swimming pool and a few chapters of analysis could be filled easily.

I have not watched or heard the commentary or extras yet, but even if it's not mentioned on the DVD I think there was also some symbolism in how some of the group scenes were staged, intentional or not. Like the scenes where they're listening to playbacks in the control room, the positions of the band members seem to be as deliberately staged as the scene in the pool when Van Dyke leaves the project.

Absolutely none of that stuff is acknowledged in the extras apart from the obvious color palettes.

I watched it again last night and was once again struck by the line by Brian when he told Melinda about how Marilyn saved his life and acknowledged that he wasn't a very good husband and father.  I thought that was very respectful and complimentary to Marilyn.  I can totally see Brian saying that.  He is a such an honest person and a class act.  I wonder if Marilyn's seen the movie and what she thinks of it. 

Probably glad there wasn't a scene w/ her introducing Brian to Dr. Landy. That'd be interesting tho. If they had done part of the film set in the '70s, such a scene would've made for a good connection to the '80s parts.

Actually, given this image, i assume they did shoot something w/ Landy in the 70s maybe an outtake from the bed montage scene? (http://s16.postimg.org/q18bz71vp/CG0_Iku_KUg_AANg_R0_png_large.png)

I think they absolutely did shoot at least some 'moments'. In the bed montage, Giamatti is seated on the bed talking to POV Cusack and he's wearing a different outfit from the one pictured below, but definitely with a 1970s vibe. Also, included in the featurettes there are multiple production stills that hint at other 'moments' filmed but not shown. Giamatti in this exact manner of dress throwing water at POV Cusack. Also, there is a still of Carl, Dennis, Marilyn, Audree standing at the foot of the bed.

boy, i gotta get the blu ray. You've been gr8 at championing this film JCM. Like you, i saw it various times in theatres (5x to be exact). Deserves an extras laden Criterion release.

damn, wish i could go back in time to the screening i went to in May and ask Pohald about deleted scenes haha

That would've been awesome. Maybe someday we'll get to see some more of them..there's always hope. :)

Just saw this article and had to post, looks like a fun read:

Top 10 Scenes From ‘Love & Mercy’

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/love-and-mercy-scenes/ (http://ultimateclassicrock.com/love-and-mercy-scenes/)

The tension in the last scene w/ Landy and Melinda was palpable. my heart was pounding the minute he walked into the dealership. That and Brian walking by himself before running into Melinda....the two most emotionally affecting scenes for me. Oh, and Melinda kissing Brian at the end of their date. made me cry.

As for me, I have no regrets about closing the Q&A session I went to by asking [my wife's question] about what Brian usually gets from In-N-Out.

Just watched the "outtakes" and the A Side/ B side interviewing the actors, Pohlad, Overman, and Darian. Excellent. Love that Dano and Cusack relied on the "Sessions" to get the character authenticity and the ambiance for the important studio scenes.

Best Buy didn't have it on the shelves (store renovations) so I had to ask for it.  The Bluray has a "download" code. It's a good deal.

Imagery for Pohlad's "vortex" - Brian's ear is the vortex.  Still think the deleted scenes, although well-done, would have been distractions for purposes of focus. Better as DVD bonuses. It kept the film tight and suspenseful.  ;)

I agree completely. In the audio commentary, Pohlad mentions the editor by name (Dino Jonsäter) and how he pushed him to keep the film focused and mold the final product. Rightly so, at no point does the film really lag or dwell on any one thing. But, at the same time, it never feels like anything is too hurried either. The one exception to that might be the resolution with Melinda calling Carl with the proof of Landy's abuses which leads to the serving of papers. At the same time though, if that had been fleshed out it might have felt like a procedural thing. And that would have deflected from the heaviness of everything that came before. It kind of lets the audience fill in the gaps.

Still though, I'm grateful that those deleted scenes were included for I feared we wouldn't get to see any of them. My only regret is that there weren't 8 or 10 of them instead of just 4.  :smokin

Did the theatrical release have "one kind of love" seemingly playing over the car radio while Brian and Melinda were heading to his childhood home at the end? It's present in the Blu Ray release and I definitely don't remember it in the early screener that I saw at the Atlanta Film Festival.

Yes, I saw it in the theater and One Kind of Love was playing. I recall reading that they did change that from earlier versions. Speculation was that it was done so the song was eligible to be nominated for an Oscar.

My question is, what song was playing before "One Kind of Love" was used"? Anyone know?

Barbara Ann ( Brian's ALL Time Fave)

The script said "cheesy pop song" supposedly. IMDB makes no mention other than OKOL wasn't in the early version.

Will someone who has the Blu-Ray or DVD please confirm that the deleted scenes are the same as those on iTunes?
On iTunes:
Brian Meets his Idol (Spector)
Brian Talks with his Family (re: touring)
Brian Looks for a Collaborator (Asher)
Murry Interrupts the Recording Session (Rhonda/I Get Around)

Quick observation:

- My local Target and Meijer stores only carried the DVD, no Blu-Ray
- Local Target had no copies stocked by Friday--sell out?
- Finally found a Blu-Ray copy at Best Buy...should have pre-ordered from Amazon, as it was $18.

Seems like the physical copies sales must be doing well!

Confirmed. They are the same.

Regarding the Blu-ray itself...anybody having any navigation issues with it? On my setup I cannot bypass the previews at all unless I actually zip through them or skip the chapters manually (and zip through the last one), and I can't for the life of me get to the main menu without stopping and starting (and therefore basically going all the way back as if the thing had just been loaded)....

None of my other BDs do that...

Thanks  8)

I wonder what are the chances that a UK German, French, Japanese release of the Blu-ray/DVD extras are different than the U.S.? There are, after all, different distributors and companies involved in releasing the film in different countries and territories. In the UK it was Sony, in Germany it was Studio Canal, etc.

Hoping that our friends from around the globe weigh in here as the BD/DVD is announced and released in your country of origin.

It's super annoying, but many studios intentionally author their discs in this way. It's wildly inconsistent from studio to studio, but some of them will lock out all ability to bypass the startup sequence/logos/trailers, or will lock out certain remote bypassing functions (and not others). It's like, "you're gonna watch this logo/trailer, and you're gonna LIKE it, dammit!"

Also, if the disc is a BD-Java disc, that involves more complicated programming (which takes longer to load) - you'll know if it's Java if there is a load screen. Best advice is to use a Sony PS3 which is the fastest BD player by far, but any functions that are locked out intentionally in authoring will remain locked out on all players.

I still haven't bought the disc, so I'll have to see how it is myself.

Finally watched the Blu ray last night. A few thoughts worth mention.

I saw it twice in the theater and thought it would lose a lot at home but it held up just fine.

The acting......John Cusack did an outstanding job. I don't think enough people realize that his performance was every bit as excellent as Dano's. I was channel surfing a few days ago and saw a few minutes of an older Cusack film, Con -Air, and it really hit home the fact that Cusack as Brian seemed like Brian. He did not seem like Cusack at all as some people suggest. Banks also does an outstanding job and the chemistry between her and Cusack is perfect. Giamatti as Landy was on the money. The scenes where he is yelling at Brian remind me of the way I imagine things might have been when Brian was on Letterman to promote his first solo record, and Letterman kept saying "up next Brian Wilson" until at the very end of the show Brian finally came out literally shaking. Not saying Landy was screaming at Brian back stage for an hour to get out there but its sure believable that he could have been.

The outakes...I really wish the IGA session with Murry could have stayed in the film. I know it would have been overkill, and there were other scenes that drove home his overbearing personality, but that scene again seemed like lost footage that was found. For those of us familiar with the HMR audio it was really something to see it acted out. That scene was really SPOT ON.

Having followed Brian and the Beach Boys for decades, and being there in '99 when he hit the road with Darrian, Taylor, Jeff, ect., when Brian sings L&M at the end it leaves me knowing that this film got it right. Its an excellent movie.

Will watch the other special features soon.

I rented the DVD from Red Box last night.  Wife fell dozed off several times and lamented the fact that I paid $1.60 to rent it.  I really loved the attention to detail, the cinematography, and of course the soundtrack. 

The one thing that bugged me was Dano's singing.  Not a horrible singer, but he quite clearly has a different vocal range than Brian did.  He's clearly uncomfortable trying to hit some of those notes.  The transitions to real Brian are good, but I think they should have occurred earlier for each piece.  The missus, who isn't even a casual Beach Boys fan, was quick to point out the discrepancy between Dano's singing voice and Brian's. 

The trade-off in having the actor sing on screen is that it doesn't immediately look like a lip-sync job. I'd rather have the on-set audio. Nobody is going to sound like 1966 Brian. His singing voice was about as similar to Brian's singing voice as his speaking voice is, or his facial similarity is.

It’s just part of the suspension of disbelief in watching a dude in 2013/14/15 pretending to be 1966 Brian Wilson. 

I don't think I would be as bugged if I hadn't read for months about how awesome Dano's voice was and how thrilled the crew was to discover that he was a 'musician.'  "He starts singing and we subtly fly Brian's voice in, and it's freaking spectacular!!!" (Paraphrasing.)

Nah.  Actually not.  I would have preferred either a quicker transition or a full-on lip sync.

A couple of other things .... When Brian and Melinda are in the Cadillac and close the door that SOUND is incredible. It really sounds like they are in a car and just closed the doors. Not just the background music Kenny g being cut off, the dialog between the two is louder and totally different as it would be in a closed space. That is GREAT attention to detail. There is also engine noise from the plane when Brian has his attack. Almost every scene in a plane from every movie there is...they leave out the engine noise. Really great attention to detail all over this film.

This is my biggest gripe with the film "Inside Llewyn Davis". Amazing soundtrack. The lead actor, Oscar Isaac, competently sings the songs, but all the songs in the film are lip synced (it's been a while, maybe a couple were recorded live on set).

Another example is the cinematography in the opening montage of the BBs career up to Pet Sounds.  I'm a hobbyist filmmaker and the attention to detail there blows my mind.  The film effects change as the years are portrayed.  Those sequences truly look like they were filmed in the early 60's with vintage equipment. 

Question: I'm sure I'll get flamed for not seeing this on page 45 of some 300 page thread, but did they film the recording scenes in the actual studios where Pet Sounds/GV/Smile were recorded, or were those sets?  If the latter, can anybody comment on the historical accuracy of the rooms/layouts?

Yes that opening montage is a mind blower. And yes they filmed scenes where pet sounds was cut. They had to recreate the interior to a great degree as it had changed but the recreations were insanely dead on accurate. It has been covered here in length and elsewhere.

[quote author=Paul J B link=topic=22420.msg540817#msg540817 date=1443032928

The acting......John Cusack did an outstanding job. I don't think enough people realize that his performance was every bit as excellent as Dano's
[/quote]
I'm glad to see at least one person agrees with me. I was nervous that 80's Brian would be really hard to portray without seeming like a caricature but I thought Cusack actually did a really subtle performance that conveyed the right emotion and sensibility without being an impersonation. Dano, who I also thought was excellent, came a little too close to impersonation to me at times. His head dipping was a little distracting.

Why can't I order this thing in the UK? :/

q

GOOD question !

Still no release date via Amazon for Blu-Ray or DVD.  :-\

I'm glad to see at least one person agrees with me. I was nervous that 80's Brian would be really hard to portray without seeming like a caricature but I thought Cusack actually did a really subtle performance that conveyed the right emotion and sensibility without being an impersonation. Dano, who I also thought was excellent, came a little too close to impersonation to me at times. His head dipping was a little distracting.

[/quote]

Actually quite a few others felt the same way about Cusack if you sift through the pages of the original L&M threads. I mention it again because after several viewings now, its very clear that without John's excellent performance that this movie would have been a flop no matter how good Paul Dano was. Brian's second chance after getting away from over ten years of Landy's control, and going out on the road thanks in large part to Melinda, really happened. It's fact....not fantasia as one bitter old...well you know. Brian could of died so many times along the way but he did not. We had the Smile tour, 2012, No Pier Pressure and a lot more because 80's Brian defied the odds.

*somehting wrong with the quote box

Honest to God, when I watch the movie, I forget that I'm watching John Cusack. He really did an excellent job. Especially the line "I'm hungry, Gene!"

Release in the land of Oz slated for 28 October ... and check out this promotional offer from JB Hi Fi (Oz's largest audio visual retailer):

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/lovemercy-comp/

Mike and Bruce using Brian to promote their shows ...  ;)

The moment for me

Paul Dano singing "Surf's Up" as it transitions to the "Fire" studio session.


"I heard the word, wonderful thing, a children's song."





Thanks to everyone for this film.

The contest is to give away free tickets to see Mike and Bruce offered to those who pre-order the Love & Mercy DVD through this retailer.

Might I offer another contest to run alongside this one: Make the grand prize be a private screening of the film with the contest winner having the chance to watch it with Mike and Bruce in their hotel! All popcorn, soda, and snacks will be on the house. That way Mike and Bruce can finally get a chance to kick back and relax, take a two hour break and watch the film, and the lucky fan gets to hang out with them and eat free popcorn while watching the film...it's a win-win situation all around.  ;D

 To sweeten the pot, Mike can record it and sell it as a commentary track where he spends 2 hours or so on variations of "what am I, chopped liver?" Bruce will adust the mic stand until his character says one line, then go back to adjusting the mic stand.

Who would be in charge of keeping the popcorn fresh and hot?

Jeff Foskett in an ascot, of course. Bring a touch of class to the proceedings.

One reason possibly is the fact that it still showing in a few UK Cinemas

I just watched the blu-ray tonight.  Been waiting for a quiet night to do just that. 

I'm busted up -- it was fantastic.  Ok, jotting down insta-thoughts here.... Brian's mind-gangster film, Brian Wilson porn, brilliantly constructed, incredible Oscar-caliber performances (because I know what those are!), Cusack is insanely good, Dano brilliant, Giamatti crushingly good as always, E Banks--astounding, sound design -- all there and genius, script, characters, screen-play 10, 10, 10!!

My God... how long have we been waiting for this!?

(http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/news/love-and-mercy-starring-paul-dano-and-john-cusack.jpg)
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/02/25/video-undefined-2618681200000578-218_636x358.jpg)

The attention to detail of the studio sessions was very impressive. 

Yes it was.  It really felt like they were playing the music live too.  Maybe they were?  I don't know.  But it wasn't like standard-rockumentary soundtrack.  The soundtrack became the film.  Or melded perfectly into the film.  Just fantastic!

But things like that were all throughout this movie.  For the first time I really felt like I was seeing Murry Wilson.  What he was all about.  I felt like the dialog between the band was real.  And honest.  The intensity of everything too, was just gripping -- and it never let me go.

Nothing about the story felt rehashed at all... and we all know it... or the basic points of it.  Yet I was completely sucked in.  I don't think I've heard all this story -- at least not this way.  It was all very real.

Yes, they were playing the music "live" in many of those scenes. I totally agree with your analysis. Did you watch the deleted scenes? The IGA sequence was superb. That "outtake" is a perfect example of why this movie got it right. The dialog was lifted from the existing Help Me Rhonda tapes, however, the scene was DEAD ON TRUE. That is the way the entire script for L&M works.  That sequence seemed like real footage that someone had been hiding for 50 years and it leaked out. He was not the real Murry, did not look exactly like the real Murry.....but....that WAS MURRY.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/69571/love-and-mercy/ (http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/69571/love-and-mercy/)

Review from DVD Talk.

I appreciate that the guy admits he wasn't/isn't familiar with the BW story going in, but this comment is kind of odd:

Seen through the rose-colored glasses of time, The Beach Boys are either a decent California rock band or a novelty act, depending on whom you ask.

So the two options are kind of middling or pejorative? With the implication that these are the "rose colored" perceptions?

Review sites like that admittedly feature reviews that are all over the place. Some are well written by knowledgeable film buffs, while others are written by less experienced folks who might have more familiarity with their home theater gear than they do with film or the subject in question.

Obviously can't complain that the guy gave the film 4 stars out of 5, but the review itself was rather empty and mediocre.

Agree.

I never read any of the posts here or elsewhere relating to seeing, or to the content of, the movie...until this afternoon.  I did not want to spoil a scene or a second of it for my own viewing experience.  Watched it yesterday...and again today.  Brian's perspective.  Melinda's too.  As much as I felt I had a grip on the story I never had an inkling of how it all would have been witnessed and felt by Brian...well at least the Landy part and on.

It was always clear that Brian's standards far outreached that of most others.  His frustrations were always relatable.  I wish they'd have left deleted scenes IN the film.  I think they help to better explain the story to those who didn't immerse themselves in it the way MANY of us did along the way and down through the years.

I am going to assume given time restraints which likely impacted on edits, as it is widely believed that 'todays' movie goer doesn't have the ability to concentrate or sit still for more than 90 minutes, that certain subject matter and ideas/points were glossed over in order to touch on stuff without killing the story... ... ...BUT!!!

Something buried insdie the picture hit me yesterday...and again today during my 2nd viewing of Love and Mercy.  It's the sequence where Brian is at the studio...thumbing through the many SMiLE tapes and the asshole father wanders in to ask if Brian had fired everyone else in the band like he had fired dear old dad.  HERE'S the part that grabbed me.  Brian explained that 'they' were all off working on a remake/ a simpler version to be called Smiley Smile.  THEY were off doing THAT w/o Brian D. Wilson.  He was still living and breathing his creation as it lay before him in contemplatable form.  They were off fiddlin' around with it and drawing moustaches on the Mona Lisa.  Seems to me...and Love and Mercy seems to be approved by Brian as being pretty frighteningly factual that he doesn't deserve the blame for Smiley Smile.  Just a point in a movie that is FAR MORE important in terms of all of the other KEY ground and nuances that it covers.

I loved it...as my empathetic self mourns Brian's many losses and celebrates the fact that in spite of it all...he miraculously won.  He, against almost all odds [save super-talent and Melinda...for the most part], won a chance to live and experience/enjoy a little sweet sanity for a freaking change.  What a guy! :hat

Why anyone on earth would think there's any blame to be spread for Smiley Smile is beyond me. I LOVE IT!  It's GREAT!!!!  Blame for Smiley is so wrong headed....

OK.

I happen to disagree.  So?

I'd have preferred SMiLE by light years.  SS was, for my tastes...and given the time-frame and how it all played out right there and then, the album which forever killed the momentum and forced the group out of the limelight and fairly deeply into the shadows.  Why?  They immediately ceased to be an important recording unit with the record buying public.  Smiley Smile...kind of made Murry right.  And when that happens the album can NOT be championed.

But it doesn't matter what you would have preferred, Smile was not to be.
  The momentum was lost by the long wait between new LPs, NOT  on account of the new one being Smiley.
One has to think they would still have lost momentum had Smile been released,  instead of Smiley, given the long wait.

Great thoughts Add Some.  That line caught me too.  Whether it truly meant what it implied (the Boys were off doing their SMiLE album without him) or if he was submitting in a more participative way -- I don't know.  But that's just it -- I don't know.  It highlights THE big question I've always had about SMiLE -- why did Smiley Smile replace it?

I've heard all the answers, but never felt like I got one -- perhaps until now.  So this line was an uppercut to the face for me too.  SMiLE's end was perhaps just a big, giant "fine... I don't care anymore."

 :lol  Funny... but sad.

I find it funny, because those lines were just floated into the dialogue.  SMiLE's demise was not a big fight.. but a long beat down.  The film depicted the project as just floating away from him.  Like the scene in the pool.  "Come to the deep end."  But nobody came.

And with that, Brian Wilson was officially done with them.  He stepped aside and checked out so everybody would be "happy."  Makes total sense to me now.  I've always left open the possibility that Brian may have pulled a Syd Barrett "Have You Got It Yet?" scenario (constantly changing chord progressions to keep Roger Waters away) but those scenes depict Brian as being more over it all.  The personal destruction came later -- with all the "free time."

SMiLE still may have had huge challenges of course.  The film leads that somewhat open.

The film quite clearly suggests that Brian had ever so very little to do with the replacement album.  Key time was lost [in]fighting the original intentions.  The result?  An album referred to as "a bunt".  Not by me...but by an 'insider' who knew exactly what Smiley Smile was.  They needed a Grand Slam.  They ended up with... ... ...a hole they would never fix.  And at least a couple of decades of trying to explain where Brian was.

Now...having seen the movie...we know.

It might have been avoided.  At least to some meaningful degree.

Kind of PISSES me off.  Just as it did in October 1967 when I was surprised to stumble upon a brand new Beach Boys album sitting in a musical intruments rental store when the band I was in went in to rent a P.A. system.  It was if smiley smile had snuck out of some manufacturer's warehouse and crept out onto the street.  There was no loud and proud fanfare.  Heroes and Villains had already come and gone...and back then an initial single release and the subsequent album release were somewhat closer to simultaneous with at least SOME mention of 'where' the single had come from.

This was 16 months after my triumphant purchase of Pet Sounds...which, we were ALL well aware, was coming to a record store near us.  No...smiley smile kind of snuck into view and sat surreptitiously quivering,'til found, in a dark, out-of-the-way, and unusual corner.  When I saw it, grabbed it, paid for it, took it home and listenered to it...before even trying to put together the P.A...I knew why.  [and why Wild Honey was quickly recorded and rush-released.]  It was the group's first shocking failure.  It was just a heap to toss Good Vibrations and Heroes and Villains onto.  Both of those great songs deserved way, WAY better.  So too did Brian.

I couldn't agree more, Lee. 

I know a lot of Brian fans seemed to have embraced the SS album, but it was not the followup album that The Beach Boys needed.  Especially given the musical climate of 1967. 

From what I've heard (from people on this board who have listened to the sessions) Brian was all over the recording of Smiley Smile. He was in the studio trying to get every vocal absolutely perfect. In interviews with Brian around that time, Brian clearly seemed like a guy who was in control of that particular album.

I think that specific moment of dialogue about Smiley Smile in L&M was less about casting blame and more about Brian admitting he handed the reins off to the other guys. It was a quick and easy way of saying "I'm mostly done writing music for the Beach Boys, and the other guys are stepping in to take over". Though the movie is factual in many, many regards, that scene alone has a few inaccuracies - mostly, if not all, done to move the story along.

I don't believe it was meant that Brian had nothing to do with Smiley.  But that things were forever MUCH different than what was going on before.  As Mike Love said about Pet Sounds (?) during the movie... "it's a Brian Wilson album using the Beach Boys voices, stop being so selfish!"

I don't disagree with Mike or Brian in that scenario -- Brian was moving pretty fast and the Boys weren't there with him to absorb it all.  The band did become the Brian Wilson band, featuring the Beach Boys.  As a fan, it was glorious, but to the band friendship dynamics, it was bad politics.

So Smiley was Brian's "fine... let's be the Beach Boys again -- let's be a family again."  So they all got "weird" and made a weird little album together.  I love Smiley and don't look at it as the illegitimate "aborted SMiLE" album -- even though it obviously sort of is.  But in my book, the Beach Boys could get together in 1967, smoke some herbs, ANY DAY OF THE WEEK and make a "weird little album" together.

However, if you look at Smiley Smile as SMiLE's grim-reaper, and the end of Brian Wilson's pushing, driving leadership -- then, yes, I can completely see that too.

The film depicts, probably with some hindsight, perhaps not, that Brian begrudgingly relinquished the reins.

The movie also caused me to look at Good Vibrations in a way I never had. Their biggest hit ever...with lyrics by Mike Love.....and right after Pet Sounds.....and slated for placement in the new album with a lot of lyrical collaborations by Parks. There is no way Brian did not grasp that.

As far as Smiley goes, it is so unlike anything else that I have grown to like it quite a bit, but talk about getting away from the formula. Like Carl said it was a bunt as opposed to the grand slam Smile would have been. Surf's Up, Our Prayer, Cabinessence and more, absent, and collecting dust on shelves only to trickle out on other upcoming albums totally out of context. Pet Sounds did OK at the time Smiley was the real flop. One listen explains why. Way too out there.....

Which is always a mystery to me.  Why did they abandon the weird Smile album and go for a way weirder Smiley Smile album with very stripped down arrangements?  I heard Brian say once that he needed a year to finish Smile and that the record company wouldn't give him that long to finish it.  I know there are a lot of reasons why it didn't get finished, but I think this is the main one.

Funny you mention that -- my first reaction when I heard the story of SMiLE, that it was out there and intense and too far out for the band and Brian went crazy making it or whatever, was "but... um.  Smiley Smile.  Isn't that pretty weird too?  Just how weird WAS this SMiLE album anyway!?"  :lol

With all the reading, years gone by and all the opinions, new information, etc. those old notions and questions still resound.  It would have made MUCH more sense to abandon SMiLE and release Wild Honey, right?  Smiley Smile is a strange little gift, as a result.  It is the strangest album ever released in my mind.  No matter which angle you look at it.  Now matter how long you try to understand it.

The only thing that makes a little sense regarding its existence is that "The Boys" wanted to "participate" on the whole SMiLE thing.  "I'm a geny-us too" sort of thing.  The Beach Boys didn't like that SMiLE was another "all Brian thing."  So this was an attempt to say "hey we can ALL do weird and far out Brian."  Maybe the massive success of Good Vibrations, in their mind, proved that a more collective approach was the winning ingredient, in the wake of the relative non-success of Pet Sounds and the meandering fragmentation of the SMiLE sessions.

They just picked a few SMiLE songs that they liked, finished them and then came up with some other stuff.  I like the album.  But that's sort of the impression I'm left with after seeing Love&Mercy.  It was the Beach Boys "Smile album."

This is absolutely not the thread for this, but this L&M thread is the current one, so I put this here:

I was looking for L&M screenshots and found this page-
https://xmovies8.org/watch?v=Love_And_Mercy_2014#video=WU6p-esaDx9DKlDIidjTGNMkXyTRKCGlem2GNsU7je0

So far, it seems to be the full movie, but I've only gone through 6 mins so far... none of which I've been able to hear over the sound of approximately six hundred running Thomas and Friends toy trains.

Couldn't wait no longer for flipplin' Amazon (UK) to announce a release date for the DVD/Blu-Ray. So, ordered the L&M Blu-Ray from Amazon.com----estimated delivery: Oct. 15, 2015 - Oct. 23, 2015.

I got to see all the extras on the DVD this week. The commentary from the director and the screenwriter, as well as the two little featurettes about making the movie, all made me appreciate the artistry involved in the whole project even more. For example, the person responsible for the costumes explained how he wanted to create the look of the different periods without making it distracting by overdoing it, and how he costumed the Carl and Dennis characters with their particular styles and personalities in mind.

I've never listened to all the commentary on a DVD before, because it usually seems like a waste of time, but Bill Pohlad and Oren Moverman do a great job explaining what they were trying to do. It's all very thoughtful and held my interest for the whole two hours.

I've been burned one too many times by stuff from America getting lost in transit, but if a UK release date is not up soon I'm going to have to cave in.

This might bring comfort:

So, finally Love and Mercy is hitting Blu-ray and DVD on January 4th here in the UK. About time I think!

https://www.facebook.com/LoveandMercy2015/?fref=ts

*Edit, still no date via Amazon officially mind.