Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29062 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-06-13
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Box set, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: German, English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 240 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Smile? In 1966, the legendary abandoned Beach Boys' album and "teenage symphony to God" left its visionary, Brian Wilson, with the devil to pay. Disc One of this double DVD set offers David Leaf's glorious documentary "Beautiful Dreamer", interviewing all those involved with the project's development (save, bizarrely, any of the surviving Beach Boys, least of all Smile's most trenchant naysayer Mike Love) and charting Brian Wilson's ascendancy to the cusp of creative immortality and subsequent crash-and-burn to a bedridden, burnt-out recluse. In the South Pole-style "production race" with The Beatles for popular music's brave new frontier (a contest more self-justificatingly important to Wilson than to Lennon/McCartney) it was to be The Beatles who planted the flag and Wilson who perished in the snow; Smile was to be Brian Wilson's nemesis. The albums' eventual completion and re-recording (hats off to Brian Wilson's musical sidekicks The Wondermints) in 2003 was the happiest and unlikeliest conclusion to pop music's most fascinating and infuriating chapter. The entire live performance of Smile in Los Angeles - beautifully filmed on Disc 2 - is a fitting happy ending. The work - especially the waxing and waning chorales of the "Child Is Father Of The Man" section - is a marvel; beautiful, bold, coherent and deft enough to leave the myth - the great "what if?" of 20th Century music history - intact. --Kevin Maidment

DVD Description
Disc 1 -

- Feature-Length Documentary - BEAUTIFUL DREAMER - BRIAN WILSON & THE STORY OF SMiLE Bonus material includes - - "Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow" performance - Aftershow featurette from the Royal Festival Hall, London, February 2004 - Interview Highlights - Theatrical Trailer

AUDIO FEATURES - - 1)DOLBY DIGITAL 5.1 SURROUND - 2)DOLBY DIGITAL 2.0 STEREO - 3)ISOLATED SOUNDTRACK

Subtitles - English, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese

Disc 2 -

- SMiLE Live Performance - Our Prayer/Gee - Heroes And Villains - Roll Plymouth Rock - Barnyard - Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine - Cabin Essence - Wonderful - Song For Children - Child Is Father Of The Man - Surf’s Up - I’m In Great Shape/ - I Wanna Be Around/Workshop - Vega-Tables - On A Holiday - Wind Chimes - Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow - In Blue Hawaii - Good Vibrations

Bonus material includes - - Solo Piano Performances - Photo Gallery - Recording Sessions Featurette - "Heroes And Villains" Contest-Winning Video DOLBY DIGITAL 5.1 SURROUND MIX LINEAR PCM STEREO SUBTITLES -

English, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese NTSC 16:9 WIDESCREEN

Synopsis
Features footage of Brian Wilson's 2004 SMiLE concert in Los Angeles. Also features the documentary 'Beautiful Dreamer'.

Customer Reviews

Extraordinary
The documentary Beautiful Dreamer was the reason I bought SMiLE in the first place on CD and introduced me to the genius of Brian Wilson. All I will say is buy the DVD. The recordings featurette is compelling and the concert is actually better than the CD! Very polished set and a must buy. It makes all 'current' music seem very basic and dull..complicated stuff.

Simply the best!
The documentary "Beautiful Dreamer" paints the background for Smile, the work behind it, why it almost died and finally came to life after more than 30 years. It's a fascinating story.

The other main feature is a concert recording of Smile, in front of a live audience. The music is beautiful, complex, challenging - the kind that will give you goosebumps of sheer delight. Ad the band that plays this music is outstanding!

Amazing!
The 'beautiful dreamer' documentary is great, but one thing does come to mind. The thing is that the people being interviewed talk about such famous incidents as Brian having a sand pit built in his house, and turning up to the studio in a fire hat and demanding everyone wear the same, and laughing them off as a big joke. Whilst they're quite funny, when you think about it, these are not the actions of a well man. they claim it had nothing to do with drugs, but i don't buy that. Still this is just a minor thing, on the whole this DVD is great, the ending when they get ready to do the show, and seeing the crowd so moved, it's amazing. Other parts of the DVD also show just what a genius Brian Wilson is musically, the arrangements and music is pheonominal. The DVD is packed full of features and well worth buying.