The Smiley Smile Message Board

Discuss, review and rate Brian Wilson presents SMiLE, released May 24, 2005.

(http://www.smileysmile.net/images/albums/bwps.jpg)

A perfect release in every aspect. 5 all the way.

It's perfect!  What else is there to say?

Five points from me.

This DVD-set totally lives up to the rest of the SMiLE-saga. The documentary is very well made, especially the second part about the recreation of SMiLE with the rehearsel-footage is incredible interesting.

The actual performance KILLS. There is no doubt that The Brian Wilson Band is one of the greatest bands on this planet right now. Also great job by Mark Linett.

Van Dyke interviewing Brian isn´t very informative, but very very moving. Hell, Van Dyke could talk about the phone-book and it would be fascinating.

My favourite part is the footage of the recording-sessions. I was very moved by seeing Brian so active and together. I just wished they would have made a 3rd DVD with 2 or 3 hours of that stuff.

The more I watch this, the more irritated I get with it, especially the near-glorification of the drug influences by Loren Daro. Oh, and the totally dishonest editing that made it seem like Macca was there at the first night. Whoever is responsible for that should hang their head in shame.

The concert is good, but subtly manipulated. Not so subtle is the editing - I've never, ever seen a live show where the footage is cut across the tempo of the song. Disconcerting.

And, with an audience of maybe 300-400, the crowd reaction was never going to be anything like the first night at the RFH.

Don't get me wrong, it's good to have, but it could have been so much more. Hence, a 3.

Yeah, but what else was Loren's thoughts were going to be? He's the only one that probably would have made drug abuse seem romantic. I liked having him in there, warts and all. Because as the guy who "turned Brian on", he had a LOT of explaining to do!

People manipulate things all the time in film, unfortunately. Macca's presence in the film wasn't really neccesary.

I love the concert disc, but you're correct,  2/20/04 would have made the most sense. Damn you Melinda!!!

No arguement there, but, unless there was an agenda to be advanced - and gee, who would do such a thing ? - then WTF is he doing there in the first place ? Have him, logic says you gotta have Landy too.

Why?  What's Landy got to do with Smile?  Surely Loren and the drug culture of the time is essential to this particular episode of the BW/BB story?

Landy fodaed with Brian's brain pretty much the same way Daro/Schwartz did, and daro had litle if anything directly to do with Smile - less than Jeff Bridges and Elvis Costello, I'd imagine.

I was making a point in my usual heavy-handed manner, to wit, why was Daro given time in the doc in the fiirst place ? The prevailing notion is, to scupper the claims that drugs were a major factor in the project being abandoned. If you believe those sections of the film, the drugs did nothing bad to Brian. Ask Marilyn and you'll get a different answer

I keep an open mind on the drugs question.  I'm certainly not one of those who dismisses drugs as part of the possible explanation of what happened to Brian.  I just think Daro, although nothing to do with Smile in the ordinary sense, is relevant to Brian's involvement with the drug culture at the time.  If there is criticism of his inclusion I suppose it should be in terms of just letting him put over his 'drugs were great for Brian' message without any differing point of view.

I sense we are in concord here.  ;)

Mike Vosse also made that same claim in the film, just not as obnoxiously as Schwartz (I refuse to call him Daro).  As did Danny Hutton. And Parks, to a lesser degree. You'll also notice that in his book, David Leaf also downplays the drugs in  SMiLE's abandonment. 


Absolutely.  She got to live with the results, didn't she?  Vosse and the posse fled the scene.  And I'm not passing judgement on the viewpoint of the bohemian element, but Brian was the wrong guy to have been dropping acid.   Having said that, it may be that without drugs, Brian would have still suffered from mental illness.   He may have been coasting in the  slow lane towards depression anyway. Perhaps the drugs just took him from that slow lane right into the carpool lane.  If that had been acknowledged (albeit without my clumsy driving metaphors), I think David's bias might be  easier to swallow.   

To use a famous UK politcal quote, "well they would, wouldn't they ?" I don't see much kudos in walking around wearing a tshirt that says "I turned Brian onto [your recreational drug of choice here]".

Someone should make a T-shirt like that for Loren!  :)

I know I'd wear one!

I turned Brian on to trans-fats.

 :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Classic. Positively classic.

I Turned Brian Wilson Onto  Birthday Cake

Probably the greatest DVD ever assembled. Perfect.

The performance of Smile taped in Los Angeles is no suitable replacement for the concert that was taped in High Defintition on the stage of the RFH in London.  Clips from the RFH performance (the "staged" camera-only performance on the afternoon of Feb. 20 combined with the first 2 actual evening performances) can be scene throughout the late part of this film .  As a cameraman and a fan, I love the look and energy of the London concert(s) so much more.  I'm sure the performances, particularly Brian's, improved significantly with time....but I don't care.  So the HD footage of that London premiere of Smile exists and I wish it made it into this DVD package.

Otherwise, I really like use of keying in an appropriate background behind the key interview subjects.  It really helps move the story along.  I'd say Brian Wilson is fortunate to have a very talented filmmaker as a major fan. 

My other favorite part of the film is when my name comes up in the credits under "Camera."  (I'm just being honest.)

phil.

Daro ruins the damn thing and I wish The Beach Boys would have been a part of it. I have a feeling the producer and them don't get along.  A lot more vintage 66-7 footage would have been nice too. I do like the drama of seeing Brian during the rehearsals. I mean the hospital sequence was very brave to put in there. The veil dropped. The music in here is terrific. The recording session footage is terrific. Let me say this if Brian had seen through Daro his life may have been far better.

Well it's easy to be revisionist two years on, isn't it?  Now this sucks and we're all supposed to hate it?

I gave it a 5 notwithstanding many of the flaws others have pointed out above, i.e., the staged "reconstruction" of the Wonderful segue and Jeff's "first rehearsal" pep talk, Macca's third night visit looking like it's on opening night, and the like.  And I knew going in it was a publicity piece for BWPS, no matter.  Viewed critically, it is a remarkable document and worth a 5 even with its acknowledged slants.  Even so, a lot of the truth still comes through, perhaps more than intended, perhaps exactly as intended.  Brian is back and functioning but still has a lot of problems.  When I saw Loren Schwartz giggle about giving Brian acid, I wanted to push him off a bridge -- so he hardly comes across as a hero.  The whole "Mike hated Smile" thing may be simplistic and unfair to his fans in the overall scheme of things but it is/was Brian's mental reality, it's one reason he gives for "getting tired of it", so viewed from that perspective it is a proper part of the story.  It might have been nice to get a dissenting view in there but it might have been too much of a distraction if that were to be explored fully.  That's what these boards are for, I guess.  Certainly trying to deal with the Landy years in any detail and the fallout from them would have sidetracked the whole film and become the main focus because it's so sad and sensational.  That said, the BD show would not have been broadcast if there wasn't a certain amount of honesty about Brian's drug use and his coming apart.   Most likely the BB  would not want to have any part of it, or if approached would have tried to kill it.   (See the 2005 lawsuit).  Others have their own reasons not to appear.  Marilyn preferred to keep her counsel, which is her right, and in any event her story really would not shed much light on the music, however juicy the details of Brian's erratic (and often execrable) behavior in those years would otherwise be.

I'm afraid the many folks (including my whole family) who love the 2005 live DVD Smile put the naysayers to shame here.  Yes the Feb. 2004 London performances are more historic, but they're also a lot more ragged.  It's good to have a live filmed performance where everyone is at the top of their game, having played the piece for a year and honed it further to perfection.  Though you're right about the odd video edits at times.  Even with that it's one of the top music videos and will serve as evidence to future audiences that Smile is not just a studio creation, but will forever be part of a living repertory.

Excellent package, value for money. Possibly the best music DVD assembled.

My only criticism is that I think they should have used Alan Yentob as the narrator of Beautiful Dreamer (as per the UK version shown on the BBC "Imagine" series), he has a better voice than the American guy who sounds a little bit cheesy.  ::)

Outstanding emotionally and artistically. A 5 from me. Sometimes I envy people here for their vast knowledge of Brian and the band. Other times I'm glad that I don't know all that stuff. It seems to lead to nitpicking an otherwise wonderful dvd.

Why is everyone so certain that the RFH SMiLE concert would have been soooo much better? Is there more out there than the bit we see on the SMiLE DVD?

Perfect 5.........."we ate sandwhiches..."!!!!!

Studio or live...One of the GREATEST musical works of all time...

Well, tapes ofthe SMiLE shows from that first RFH sre in circulation, and yeah, 2/20/04 is a bit on the rough side.

But,  it was the debut of SMiLE.  That alone should have merited inclusion of the entire performed piece on the DVD.

Brian is so on in the interviews for this.

Edited together from 50 takes or not, it's the best "live" footage of solo Brian ever issued. An incredible document.

The documentary is great! The extras were pretty good too (especially the Van Dyke Parks/ Brian Wilson interview), though I do wish there was more they could have put on there... there was nothing wrong with the fan video of Heroes and Villains, but putting it on the official DVD release did kind of feel desperate. Nitpicks aside it was awesome.

Watched the 'Beautiful Dreamer' doc about Brian & 'Smile' on Youtube and it's really good. Do any UK BB fans know if the BBC ever aired this documentary?, as on the wikipedia page for their 'Imagine' series of documentaries it is listed as showing in 2004. I've only started listening to Brian & the Beach Boys in the past year or two so I would definitely watch it again if they repeated it or if Sky Arts showed it. Maybe they would show it again if BB fans asked them maybe. Also, is there a PAL release for the 2DVD 'Smile' DVDs?, I've looked on Amazon and there's a NTSC release but I could only watch that on the PC. 

Great documentary and cool extras like the interview with Van Dyke. 5 out of 5 for sure!.

Possibly the best live footage of Brian Wilson solo, and a superb documentary. Very Impressive!
4.5 out of 5.

Having learned a bit more about Smile since the first time I bought this a year and a half ago, I can say my opinions have changed just like everybody else's bagewufge

First off, it's completely gushy - of course, there's nothing wrong with an affectionate documentary, but a big part of that is admitting its subjects mistakes, and this goes to the point of presenting the drug aspect as a postive part of the story. In fact, the movie spends more time seeping out praise for the man and music (despite the fact that all the examples we are shown are covers, including even the retail promo, which strikes me as odd) than it does delving deep into the events; I learn so much more reading the Smile segment from Catch A Wave than I do from this near-2 hour documentary. Furthermore, it's manipulative; I thought for over a year McCartney indeed was there at the first night, and certain "live" moments (such as the cringey conversation the Wondermints have during rehearsals) are so fake it just feels like exploitation, and makes me wonder how genuine the filmmakers' affection really is. And it's hard to enjoy a dishonest piece of work, so bleh. And I know a lot of people are sick of this sort of thing, but it is off-putting to have the marrying Melinda and re-recording Smile portrayed as the "single act of faith" that made Brian just as good as he used to be.

All that said, the interviews with Brian in the doc and on the extras are gold. "We ate sandwiches." CUT.

I gave it a three.

Very moving, powerful stuff. But like AGD said, I'm kinda annoyed by the editing and misinformation. The whole Mike killed SMiLE thing being unfairly played up, for example. Kinda like BWPS itself, I loved it at first but after repeated viewings and digging deeper into the SMiLE story for myself, I'm dissatisfied. I may edit this and add more thoughts at some point. I feel like I should, since I'm such a staunch SMiLE fanatic. But right now, that's really all I have to say.

Thread bump.  Relevant to the current debate/discussion. 

Is there anyone else out there who prefers the live version on this DVD to the CD version? Maybe it's because I listened to the live version first, but I like it far better live when they get from Our Prayer to Gee, the tempo is faster as with Heroes and Villains, which gives it extra energy. Barnyard is also faster live, which I think is perfect considering the joyful nature of the song. The one I prefer on the CD version is Surf's Up - I think Brian did better vocals on that one.

Are the instrumental tracks that can be heard thoughout the doc available anywhere?

Commenting on the now-year-old stuff about the documentary portion ... I have to agree. It bothered me some even in 2004, and it only has grated on me more. I would have LOVED a full-fledged Smile documentary instead of a fluff PR documentary-like film. It was entertaining, it was decently done, but it wasn't really honest and certainly wasn't thorough. How could it be, without the living (much less the deceased) Beach Boys? I understand why this didn't happen, of course, it's just sad.

Conversely, the live performance? Fantastic. Love it. As Wirestone said (a few years ago now), whether it was edited together from numerous takes or not, it's a great result. I love it.

I find the documentary very hard to watch. There obviously was an agenda behind this project - the idea that the Beach Boys hated the Smile music, and helped to kill the project. This, despite the fact that the Beach Boys sang on all of this stuff; sang through many, many hours of painstaking vocal sessions, sessions that at times probably taxed their patience and their nervous systems.
For pure listening, the Smile Sessions has supplanted BWPS in my collection. As a live performance, though, Brian's band performing this material is very impressive. I give them an A+.