This will sound cliche I think but anymore I think the Golden Globes and Oscars are a flavor of the month and popularity contest.

I didn't see "Creed" so I cannot make any judgement on Stallone's performance. What I can say is that he has been playing roughly the same character for many, many years and that award last night felt like the culmination of events rather than something more genuine. Paul Dano disappeared into his role in L&M.

Also, Sam Smith over Brian Wilson? YHGTBFKM.

Hopefully Paul Dano will be nominated for an Oscar, it's really hard to tell from award ceremony results what might it might portend.

I sure hope Paul (like I know him) wins and gets an Academy Award nomination too. It's one thing that the film is about someone we all love very much but it's wholly another that it's actually a terrific piece of film-making and acting. Hollywood makes a lot of biopics but rarely do they capture the essence of their subject this well.

U.S. iTunes has it for a $1 dollar rental $7.99 purchase (both HD). If you are on the fence and never got to see it, do yourself a favor and check it out for the $1. It's one of the best films I saw in 2015 and a truly loving tribute to an American great.

Also, Paul Dano did a sit down interview with the Los Angeles Times today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCWbH2C_ROA

He's up for the Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe next Sunday and (hopefully) same for the Academy Awards(!)

1. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - 1966

They got #1 right. That's what matters most.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-best-movies-of-2015-spotlight-love-and-mercy-creed-make-the-top-10/2015/12/08/132f0c58-99d3-11e5-94f0-9eeaff906ef3_story.html

LOVE & MERCY is #2 on the Washington Post list of the best films of 2015.

That's awesome news. Here's a cool interview with Paul Dano from Variety.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rep6M55FvIY

The only factual error that annoys me is that when they watch the stars at night it's not real stars on a real sky. Those constellations don't exist.

I don't like the Kubrickesque sequence either, but other than that, great movie! Thumbs up.

I think I'm in the minority but the 2001 sequence really moved me.

I saw "Love & Mercy" 14 times in the cinema this summer. I looked forward to that sequence the last thirteen times. It's a head rush.

Couple of cool interviews, one with Elizabeth Banks and another with Paul Dano.

Elizabeth Banks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_fuZ4_RqWk

Paul Dano:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5rvY2ZPROo

Also, another really cool video with both actors. An interview with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoNla_fwXJE

Woo hoo! Got my german release blu-ray disc. I love the features, but most of all I love the picture quality. Also when you remove the cover from the case, you can actually turn it around to have a neutral one without all the barcoades and FSK (age) ratings. For those of you who want to know, this is how the package looked when opened:

Thanks for posting. I'm curious to know how many/which deleted scenes are included?

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/brian-wilson-paul-dano-play-beach-boys-hits-at-love-mercy-dvd-launch-20151013

For a nervous moment, actor Paul Dano stood quietly onstage Monday night at a Los Angeles jazz club, gripping a microphone with both hands to sing a 1966 Beach Boys classic, "You Still Believe in Me." At the keyboard beside him was the man who co-authored it, Brian Wilson. On his other side stood Al Jardine, another original Beach Boy, who assured the crowd: "He's got a really good voice ...."

By the time Dano began the song's achingly vulnerable vocal melody, he was already being carried away by Wilson's rich layers of sound, both bright and melancholy. It was another glimpse into the life and music of Wilson, who performed a short, vibrant concert for a crowd of about 200 to celebrate the DVD release of this year's acclaimed movie of his life story, Love & Mercy. Also in the crowd were director Bill Pohlad and co-star Elizabeth Banks.

"Brian asked me to sing that song because he knows it's one of my favorites," Dano told Rolling Stone afterwards. He portrays Wilson as a young man at his Sixties peak in the film, as career pressures and mental illness begin to derail his life. "My favorite part was the ending, the communal 'ahhhs' and the feeling of communion up there. It's a really beautiful, intimate song."

With a 10-man band of veteran players crowded onto the small stage beside him, Wilson performed 35 minutes' worth of hits and deeply emotional songs from his Beach Boys and solo catalog. There were gorgeous laid-back falsetto harmonies on "Surfer Girl," dreamy vocals and harmonica on "In My Room," and roaring guitar riffs on "Dance, Dance, Dance."

As usual, Wilson was a man of few words, but clearly pleased and relaxed onstage at the Vibrato Grill, a hilltop jazz club owned by Herb Alpert, the hit-making Tijuana Brass trumpeter and co-founder of A&M Records. "It's good to be in Los Angeles, where we all live!" he declared to laughs, his blue dress-shirt sleeves rolled at the wrists, thick graying hair swept back. The music was performed with precision and warmth, recreating the essence of the original records.

For the opening of "Wouldn't It Be Nice," Matt Jardine (Al's son) sang the forceful vocal melodies until Wilson took the hopeful verse: "Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray, it might come true/Baby, then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do."

The pop epic "Good Vibrations" began with a false start, and Wilson stopping the band as soon as it began: "Hold it, hold it, hold it! Too fast!"

"A lot of the people who had something to do with the movie are here tonight," Wilson told Rolling Stone minutes before his performance. "I've seen it five times. I love it. I like Paul Dano's portrayal of me as a record producer."

Monday's concert and DVD release party was another chance for the cast, crew and subjects of Love & Mercy to reunite around a special project. Dano and John Cusack, who play Wilson at different stages of his life, developed a personal, protective relationship with the musician. And Banks has spent quality time at the Wilson home.

"I don't want it to end," said Pohlad. "To be able to live with Brian's music in your head for three or four years is not a bad gig. There was something about his spirit, too, that infused the whole thing. It was the nicest, warmest set that I've ever been on. A lot of it has to do with the spirit of the movie and Brian was a big part of it."

At he same time, Wilson has embraced life on the road. He begins an East Coast run with his band on October 20th in Charleston, South Carolina. "He's actually starting to love to tour," says wife Melinda Wilson. "He comes home and he goes, 'OK, book me up for next month!'"

For the night's set-closing "Love and Mercy," Wilson sang to his wife as she swayed up front, arm-in-arm with Banks, who portrays her in the film. He was accompanied on the song by a simple keyboard melody and light vibraphone taps. "He sang it directly to her," Banks said after. "He was eye-to-eye with his beautiful wife. It was awkward, almost. It's amazing how romantic it is. That's what they have."

Set List:

"Surfer Girl"
"In My Room"
"Dance, Dance, Dance"
"Wouldn't It Be Nice"
"God Only Knows"
"You Still Believe in Me"
"One Kind of Love"
"Good Vibrations"
"Surfin' USA"
"Fun, Fun, Fun"
"Love and Mercy"

This is being rescheduled to align with the 50th anniversary of the original album, so look for it in 2016.

Just now reading this. That's awesome news.

Talk of an Oscar nod for Elizabeth Banks in Love & Mercy:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/09/oscars-2016-best-supporting-actresses-and-their-anchors/


And for Paul Dano:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/09/oscars-2016-best-supporting-actor-is-crowded-already/

I should preface this by saying that, apart from my BB fandom, I think "Love & Mercy" is a great *film*, and does deserve some nominations.

But, as objective as I can be about this as a film, I'm not sure Banks's work in the film is literally Oscar-worthy. She did a great job, and I wouldn't argue with a nomination just to get this film more eyes. The performance (unlike, say, Dano's) never struck me while watching as a "wow, this is Oscar-caliber work"  sort of moment. I do think Dano's work falls into that category. I'm not sure even Cusack's is quite in that territory (again, I liked his work in the film), but his part in the film is certainly the secondary "Oscar bait" sort of role in the film (obviously).

I agree with all of this.

From Variety

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/straight-outta-compton-love-mercy-oscar-buzz-1201605599/

With the New York Film Festival (Sept. 25-Oct. 11) adding new titles to the Oscar buzz after Venice-Telluride-Toronto, it’s time for Oscar voters to catch up on some films that opened in the distant past — i.e., between January and August.

That list definitely includes Roadside Attractions’ “Love & Mercy” and Universal’s “Straight Outta Compton.” The former is out on DVD, and the latter is still in theaters.

The two are fact-based tales about the music scene in Southern California; they respectively deal with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys in the 1960s, and with N.W.A in Compton in the 1980s. They’re very different in tone and approach, but both are about the creative act, and how artists can be frustrated but eventually nourished by their surroundings.

Both require a little patience from viewers. At first it’s jarring to have two familiar actors, Paul Dano and John Cusack, playing the same character in “Mercy,” but when the film kicks in, the casting makes sense. Both are excellent.

With “Compton,” AMPAS voters may be reluctant to watch a film about a “gangsta” culture that seems too foreign. Considering the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences demographic, it’s a safe bet that many of them grew up with Beach Boys music; it’s also a safe bet that few have ever bought an album by N.W.A. But in truth, the “Compton” milieu is as foreign-yet-familiar as “Jersey Boys.”

The first 40 minutes of “Compton” require some work, as it introduces a lot of characters. But don’t give up. About an hour into the movie, the film shifts into high gear with a sequence of N.W.A performing “F**k the Police” at a Detroit concert. It’s a piece of bravura filmmaking from director F. Gary Gray and his artisans that simultaneously shows the relationships among the group members, as well as all the reasons why fans loved N.W.A — and why the authorities didn’t. “These are not bangers, these are artists,” says Paul Giamatti (who happens to be in both films).

Each movie features a scene in a recording studio as they work on albums. Hollywood’s musical biopics often have trouble depicting the creative act, lamely showing a poet sitting at his desk, or a composer looking skyward for inspiration and then suddenly beginning to play the piano. But the sequences in “Love & Mercy” and “Compton” hit the nail on the head, showing the creative process in ways that are illuminating and entertaining.

Universal’s “Straight Outta Compton” is hot-button topical; “Love & Mercy,” less so. But both are about universal truths about self and family. So voters should catch up on the work of directors F. Gary Gray (no relation) and Bill Pohlad, and their teams of filmmakers. A lot of films from the January-to-August period have faded from the conversation, but these two still remain players.

Not sure if it's been mentioned before but the UK Blu-Ray release date appears to be Nov. 16th...

Source: http://www.dvd365.net/newsitem.php?i=011015b

I assume the same deleted scenes from the US version will be on the UK version... right?

Since it is the 20th anniversary of this film I have been thinking about it lately. Probably has something to do with the release of "Love & Mercy", as well. I understand that there is a nice piece in the current issue of ESQ about the film. I need to get a copy of that!

At any rate, I've been thinking, shouldn't this film be on Blu-ray? Yes, I know it has been released on DVD and there's a perfectly acceptable two-fer available paired with "The Beach Boys - An American Band". However, this movie kind of stands on its own and would be a delightful release for Blu-ray. And a great companion to go with "Love & Mercy".

Recently, on the BW.com forum, someone posted this article which is a great read in its own right about the documentary:

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/brian-wilson-i-just-wasnt-made-for-these-times/

And I wrote the following stream of consciousness reaction to the topic:

Personal anecdote about this documentary. Back in 1996 my local cable company had a free weekend of the Disney Channel. Not being a Disney watcher at the time, in my early 20s, I was taken in by a quick advertisement about this very documentary that it would be airing, at some point, that weekend. The quick trailer presented really took my mind and shook it like a snow-globe. At that point in my musical appreciation I was well aware of Phil Spector’s "Wall Of Sound", The Brill Building, Motown, The Beatles, etc. But Brian & The Beach Boys had eluded me.

I believe it was specifically the inclusion of a snippet of Thurston Moore (from Sonic Youth) talking about Brian that pulled me in. SY was a band I was very much into at the time so that recognition from someone like that, that I greatly respected, caused me to sit up and take notice. Needless to say, I watched the documentary that weekend when it aired. Practically the very next day at my job, which happened to be in a medium-sized brick & mortar record store (remember those?) I pulled Pet Sounds off the shelf and cracked it open, playing it in store.

Now, this may be very hard to believe but it was absolutely love at first listen. We had a computer based machine, only running software though (pre-internet) called 'The Muze'. You could look up artists, albums, songs and cross reference. It was touch-screen, pretty cool stuff for 1996. As I listened to Pet Sounds I read through the listing for the album which included the mention of the recent voting from NME crowning it the "greatest record ever made". I didn’t have to ponder even for a moment why such lofty, grandiose things had been written about the record I was listening to — I could hear why.

From that day forward, Pet Sounds became the Citizen Kane of records, to me. And Brian perhaps not unlike a young Orson Welles, full of ambition and not surrounded by the best support system. The exalted reputation for Pet Sounds has continued to grow over the years , of course, and I suspect will continue to as time passes. And for me, my introduction to it and my personal re-examination of The Beach Boys is all because of this wonderful Don Was documentary about its creator.

So to kind of crystallize this post, I wonder if we could indeed get a Blu-ray release of this film?  Something like the following would do very nicely:

• New HD transfer, with DTS-HD Master Audio
• Additional Interview footage not included in the feature
• Charlie Rose Interview with Don Was from 1995

Thoughts?

Just curious, based on the article in the recent ESQ (which I have not read, apologies) is there any indication that "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" might get a release on Blu-ray?

That's an awesome story. JMAC's first singles and record sound like early Beach Boys, Spector and Velvet Underground thrown in a Cuisinart and blended.

And he's right "Just Like Honey" is a perfect pop song.

[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.]

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.

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

Review from DVD Talk.

That makes a ton of sense actually.

I'm glad to see that site championing L&M. I think it might get nominated for Best Original Song. And perhaps Paul Dano & John Cusack as Supporting Actors.

If it can get some attention at the Golden Globes, that would open Academy Awards possibilities. I'll be watching Critic's Top Ten lists, that will help as well.

Wouldn't Dano or Cusack be up for leading actor?  I know each was only in the movie for roughly half the runtime.  But I would think since they each play Brian, it would be lead. 

Could be. I would just naturally (probably wrongly) assume supporting since they both were 'leads'.

I'm glad to see that site championing L&M. I think it might get nominated for Best Original Song. And perhaps Paul Dano & John Cusack as Supporting Actors.

If it can get some attention at the Golden Globes, that would open Academy Awards possibilities. I'll be watching Critic's Top Ten lists, that will help as well.

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.

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)

Confirmed. They are the same.