The Beach Boys: An American Band

[Mr. Wilson]

When this video came out it was shown In theatre"s ..  I went to go see it the week it came out on a weekday.. Hardly anyone there.. Well id swear Marlyn was there with Carnie + Wendy..  It sure looked like them.. I didn't want to disturb them so I said nothing to them.. 1985.. Also the movie was about 10-15 minutes longer than the long DVD or VHS.. There was some stuff cut out at the end about 1980"s BB.. When this was released to buy it cost"s about 50-60 bucks if you can believe that.. To me this is the best video of the BB out there.. The history of the group.. 5/5

[Lonely Summer]

I saw it in a theater, too, but don't remember about the extra footage. It was probably 2 or 3 years before I saw the VHS version, and then later a local channel showed a heavily edited version. Glad I got to see the theatrical version, nothing beats seeing your favorite group on the big screen. Also got a poster for the film that they were giving away at the theater.

[punkinhead]

When this video came out it was shown In theatre"s ..  I went to go see it the week it came out on a weekday.. Hardly anyone there.. Well id swear Marlyn was there with Carnie + Wendy..  It sure looked like them.. I didn't want to disturb them so I said nothing to them.. 1985.. Also the movie was about 10-15 minutes longer than the long DVD or VHS.. There was some stuff cut out at the end about 1980"s BB.. When this was released to buy it cost"s about 50-60 bucks if you can believe that.. To me this is the best video of the BB out there.. The history of the group.. 5/5

What was in the theatrical release that's not in the video/DVD release?
I remember reading that there's a version that cuts out the really good stuff like Smile era and drug use. That sounds like an "80s" thing to do then...make your hometown American band look clean cut as possible. It also makes no sense at all, could you imagine the Beach Boys story going from Pet Sounds to Wild Honey? It would be strange and somewhat anticlimactic.

[Mr. Wilson]

Well it was 28 yrs ago so its hard to remember beyond the fact the last few minutes cut out was about the 1980"s BB.. I do remember when I bought the video in 1985-86 the last scene shows them waving to the crowd from Wash DC 1984.. My reaction at that time was where did the rest of the footage go its shorter than theatre movie we saw..Even my wife noticed it was shorter..  We paid to see the movie twice in a 2 week period.. I believe we saw it at the upscale mall at La Cienaga + Beverly..   Beverly Center..?   its been a LONG time ago.. Seeing Marlyin + Diane with the kids + them sayin look at daddy + pointing to the screen was a interesting memory..  If they are reading this hope they chime in..

[punkinhead]

Well it was 28 yrs ago so its hard to remember beyond the fact the last few minutes cut out was about the 1980"s BB.. I do remember when I bought the video in 1985-86 the last scene shows them waving to the crowd from Wash DC 1984.. My reaction at that time was where did the rest of the footage go its shorter than theatre movie we saw..Even my wife noticed it was shorter..  We paid to see the movie twice in a 2 week period.. I believe we saw it at the upscale mall at La Cienaga + Beverly..   Beverly Center..?   its been a LONG time ago.. Seeing Marlyin + Diane with the kids + them sayin look at daddy + pointing to the screen was a interesting memory..  If they are reading this hope they chime in..

That would be cool, but I understand about how time passes.
With the DVD version ending with the concert footage, I honestly thought that would be the end.... What else was there to discuss? The 1985 album? California Dreaming? (If it had been released yet)

[Lonely Summer]

The film came out a few months before the 85 album, so nothing from that. I honestly don't recall any additional footage that wasn't in the VHS. But remember, there were 2 versions of the film on video - the full length theatrical release, and a shorter cut released a few years later, that omitted some good stuff, like Brian singing "Surf's Up".

[metal flake paint]

Apparently, there are three versions of AAB:

The original 103 minute version, released in 1985;

The theatrical version which omits all of the Smile, and half of the Pet Sounds;

The 60 minute 25th anniversary version, release in 1987 which removes "Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring", "409", "Girls On The Beach", "Here Today", "God Only Knows", "Surf's Up", "Bicycle Rider", "Fire", "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times", "Third Stone From The Sun", "Time To Be Alone", "Rock and Roll Woman", "Breakaway", "Okie From Muskogee", "Heroes and Villains", "In My Room", "Surfer Girl", "Rock and Roll Music", "River Song", "Hold Me", "Goin' On", and most of the tribute to Dennis.



References

Chan, L. (1988). The Beach Boys: An American Band, Endless Summer Quarterly, 1(3), 15-17.

Lavery, L., McParland, S., Koumarelos, B. (1986). Newz & mediawatch. Beach Boys Australia, (2), 11-12.

New Beach Boy Vibes (1985). Beach Boys Australia, (1), 12-18.

[Lonely Summer]

Apparently, there are three versions of AAB:

The original 103 minute version, released in 1985;

The theatrical version which omits all of the Smile, and half of the Pet Sounds;

The 60 minute 25th anniversary version, release in 1987 which removes "Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring", "409", "Girls On The Beach", "Here Today", "God Only Knows", "Surf's Up", "Bicycle Rider", "Fire", "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times", "Third Stone From The Sun", "Time To Be Alone", "Rock and Roll Woman", "Breakaway", "Okie From Muskogee", "Heroes and Villains", "In My Room", "Surfer Girl", "Rock and Roll Music", "River Song", "Hold Me", "Goin' On", and most of the tribute to Dennis.



References

Chan, L. (1988). The Beach Boys: An American Band, Endless Summer Quarterly, 1(3), 15-17.

Lavery, L., McParland, S., Koumarelos, B. (1986). Newz & mediawatch. Beach Boys Australia, (2), 11-12.

New Beach Boy Vibes (1985). Beach Boys Australia, (1), 12-18.

I'm absolutely certain that the version I saw in the theater contained all of the Smile and Pet Sounds footage.

[metal flake paint]

Apparently, there are three versions of AAB:

The original 103 minute version, released in 1985;

The theatrical version which omits all of the Smile, and half of the Pet Sounds;

The 60 minute 25th anniversary version, release in 1987 which removes "Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring", "409", "Girls On The Beach", "Here Today", "God Only Knows", "Surf's Up", "Bicycle Rider", "Fire", "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times", "Third Stone From The Sun", "Time To Be Alone", "Rock and Roll Woman", "Breakaway", "Okie From Muskogee", "Heroes and Villains", "In My Room", "Surfer Girl", "Rock and Roll Music", "River Song", "Hold Me", "Goin' On", and most of the tribute to Dennis.



References

Chan, L. (1988). The Beach Boys: An American Band, Endless Summer Quarterly, 1(3), 15-17.

Lavery, L., McParland, S., Koumarelos, B. (1986). Newz & mediawatch. Beach Boys Australia, (2), 11-12.

New Beach Boy Vibes (1985). Beach Boys Australia, (1), 12-18.

I'm absolutely certain that the version I saw in the theater contained all of the Smile and Pet Sounds footage.

There are a couple of eyewitness accounts stating that the Australian theatrical release was indeed edited. There's one American account which states that the theatre version was different to both video versions. Perhaps different versions were used in theatres across the United States.

[Lonely Summer]

I wouldn't have a clue about the Australian version, and yeah, I suppose it's possible there were a couple different cuts released to US theaters...or some of us just have faulty memories. I do remember being disappointed when our local syndication channel aired the film in the summer of 1987, and some key stuff like Brian singing "Surf's Up" was omitted - but not as much was cut as in the 25th Anniversary edition.

[punkinhead]

Apparently, there are three versions of AAB:

The original 103 minute version, released in 1985;

The theatrical version which omits all of the Smile, and half of the Pet Sounds;

The 60 minute 25th anniversary version, release in 1987 which removes "Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring", "409", "Girls On The Beach", "Here Today", "God Only Knows", "Surf's Up", "Bicycle Rider", "Fire", "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times", "Third Stone From The Sun", "Time To Be Alone", "Rock and Roll Woman", "Breakaway", "Okie From Muskogee", "Heroes and Villains", "In My Room", "Surfer Girl", "Rock and Roll Music", "River Song", "Hold Me", "Goin' On", and most of the tribute to Dennis.



References

Chan, L. (1988). The Beach Boys: An American Band, Endless Summer Quarterly, 1(3), 15-17.

Lavery, L., McParland, S., Koumarelos, B. (1986). Newz & mediawatch. Beach Boys Australia, (2), 11-12.

New Beach Boy Vibes (1985). Beach Boys Australia, (1), 12-18.

Wow, that third version sounds horrible! Sounds like it's just the beginning, with Surfs up as credits still? Through hAlf of Pet Sounds....sounds like only half the Boys story! Why would they do that?

[metal flake paint]

Apparently, there are three versions of AAB:

The original 103 minute version, released in 1985;

The theatrical version which omits all of the Smile, and half of the Pet Sounds;

The 60 minute 25th anniversary version, release in 1987 which removes "Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring", "409", "Girls On The Beach", "Here Today", "God Only Knows", "Surf's Up", "Bicycle Rider", "Fire", "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times", "Third Stone From The Sun", "Time To Be Alone", "Rock and Roll Woman", "Breakaway", "Okie From Muskogee", "Heroes and Villains", "In My Room", "Surfer Girl", "Rock and Roll Music", "River Song", "Hold Me", "Goin' On", and most of the tribute to Dennis.



References

Chan, L. (1988). The Beach Boys: An American Band, Endless Summer Quarterly, 1(3), 15-17.

Lavery, L., McParland, S., Koumarelos, B. (1986). Newz & mediawatch. Beach Boys Australia, (2), 11-12.

New Beach Boy Vibes (1985). Beach Boys Australia, (1), 12-18.

Wow, that third version sounds horrible! Sounds like it's just the beginning, with Surfs up as credits still? Through hAlf of Pet Sounds....sounds like only half the Boys story! Why would they do that?

The idea was to make the film into a series of music clips, rather than a documentary, the success of which is debatable

[KDS]

No longer definitively due to the far superior Endless Harmony documentary. 

It's a mix of an incomplete documentary, and an incomplete collection of vintage clips. 

It's definitely worth owning to get a pristine version of the TV appearances. 

I really only got a copy of this because it was a 2-fer with IWJMFTT.