The Beach Boys - Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story (1998) [DVD9, 2000] RESTORED

Buoyed by vibrant voices, infectious melodies and ingenious arrangements, the sounds of The Beach Boys have captivated music fans across the globe for nearly four fantastic decades. Touched in equal measure by success and sorrow, The Beach Boys' career has been scrutinized by nearly everyone – except the California natives who made it happen. Now for the first time, The Beach Boys themselves reveal the story of their rise from suburban pop fledglings to American Institution. Featuring exclusive interviews with Brian and Carl Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston, as well as previously unrealeased tracks and the band's own archival footage from the Pet Sounds era and their European tours, Endless Harmony explores the unique contributions of each individual to The Beach Boy's ongoing legacy.

This smartly produced, intelligently written documentary strikes a satisfying balance between thoughtful analysis, personal history, and sheer musical pleasure for a portrait of the seminal California pop band that will prove equally compelling to both knowledgeable fans and casual listeners. In the audiovisual equivalent of a loaves-and-fishes miracle, The Beach Boys: Endless Harmony weaves 45 of the group's songs through extended interview segments with all the original members, key musicians involved in their career-defining recordings, and astute peers and industry observers. Evocative period footage, including archival film and early, no-budget promotional videos, only add to the impact, but the real achievement is the clarity and candor of this authorized project, which might easily have lapsed into callow myth-making and media spin control given the involvement of the surviving Beach Boys and their record label, Capitol, which is releasing both the documentary and a companion hits compilation.

Instead, these archetypal Southern Californians, who transmuted their experiences growing up in suburban Hawthorne into a potent teen iconography orbiting surfing, cars, and girls, tackle the underlying personal and cultural upheavals beneath their discography. The central, dysfunctional drama of the Wilson family–brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl, the group's nucleus, and their manager-father, Murry–is addressed early on, and underlined with harrowing excerpts from session tapes capturing the hard-driving, abusive style of Wilson père. Composer and acknowledged group leader Brian Wilson, who long ago became a poster boy for "troubled genius," pop division, is likewise depicted without evasion or apology, as are the internal tensions between Wilson and other members including Wilson cousin Mike Love; it's a testament to the filmmakers' acuity and skill that Love depicts himself as a force of "positivity… and 'upbeatness'" that counterbalanced Brian's darker, more introverted style, then dismisses the elliptical poetry of Wilson's most artistically ambitious collaborations with Van Dyke Parks as lyrically opaque.

Originally aired on VH-1, Endless Harmony works as an apotheosis of the cable channel's Behind the Music concept, elevating the concept substantially and covering an enormous terrain in 105 minutes. For the Beach Boys fan, this will be an essential companion to their enduring music.

~ Sam Sutherland, amazon.com

IMDb

The Beach Boys changed the shape of Rock & Roll in the 1960s, first with their initial string of hit singles (which combined catchy tunes, clever lyrics about cars and girls, and the group's superb vocal harmonies) and later with the groundbreaking concept album Pet Sounds (where Brian Wilson's gifts as a songwriter, producer, and arranger reached their full flower). While a version of the group remains active to this day, off stage the Beach Boys were touched by scandal, tragedy, and internal discord, and this documentary (first aired on the VH1 cable television network) examines the peaks and valleys of the group's personal and professional fortunes. The Beach Boys: Endless Harmony features footage of the group performing most of their biggest hits, as well as unreleased versions of "California Girls", "Sloop John B.", "God Only Knows", and "Heroes and Villains"; the DVD edition features additional performances not included in the broadcast or VHS editions, as well as special 5.1 Surround Sound remixes of seven songs, including "California Girls", "God Only Knows", "Surf's Up", and "Sail On Sailor".

~ Mark Deming, all media guide

• Directed by Alan Boyd

• Brian Wilson … Himself (archive footage)
• Dennis Wilson … Himself (archive footage)
• Carl Wilson … Himself (archive footage)
• Mike Love … Himself (archive footage)
• Al Jardine … Himself (archive footage)
+ many others, include: Tony Asher, Bruce Johnston, Glen Campbell, Jan Berry, Dean Torrence …

• Originally Released: August 27, 1998
• Year of DVD Release: March 14, 2000
• Running time: ~ 141 min
• Label: Capitol/Brothers Records
• Catalog No.: 492353-9