Rating: 
Summary: Simply outstanding
Review: This documentary captures Brian Wilson as he is today -- mature, brilliant, still disturbed but clearly holding it together and still making music. Brian comes across as human and vulnerable, a modest man who quite literally changed the world. The unabashadly glowing tributes afforded him by such rock luminaries as David Crosby, Graham Nash, Tom Petty, Linda Rondstadt and others demonstrate the high regard Brian is held in by people who understand rock and roll music and its impact on our culture. These folks know the score and they're here to tell you that Brian Wilson is the man.Any Brian Wilson or Beach Boys fan should enjoy this wonderful film. More to the point, anybody who thinks Brian Wilson or The Beach Boys are lightweight or irrelevant should invest a couple of hours watching this film. It is simply outstanding.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Your Average Stupid Pet Tricks
Review: This is a stark, disturbing, and ultimately, an enlightening look at one of the greatest musical minds of the 20th Century. Has a tendency to gloss over things a bit (relationships with other Beach Boys, family members, etc) but provides many interesting aspects on how his creative process works. And to think that he did it by dissecting Four Freshmen records note by note!
Rating:
Summary: Weird, arty appreciation
Review: What is this video? It is part first-person documentary, and part appreciation, made in the mid-90s when Wilson finally seemed to be finding the peace of mind that stays with him today. (His obviously devoted new wife stays beside him for much of the footage. Dr. Landy, who basically saved Brian's life according to Brian's 1991 autobiography, is now out of the picture and is never mentioned by name.) The entire thing is filmed in very arty, hard-lit black-and-white. There is no narration except for that of the inteviewees, and not much archival footage of the Beach Boys. What we get instead is Brian himself giving us brief, converstional summaries of periods of his life and songwriting inspiration, supplemented by comments from his mother, his ex-wife Marilyn, and his brother Carl (who died a few years after this film was made in the mid-nineties.) There are also some enlightening musical analysis from someone (I'm not sure who he is), and appreciative comments from fellow musicians ranging from Wilson collaborators Tony Asher and Van Dyke Parks, to David Crosby, John Cale, Tom Petty, and Linda Ronstadt. Wilson's daughters also comment briefly on their relationship with their Dad, and sing with him at the end. Throughout the film, certain excellent old songs of Brian are briefly discussed and then we get good footage of Brian performing the songs with a new studio band in Hollywood. (The performances, produced by Don Was, are very good, and fans might want to consider buying the soundtrack CD of this film. Fans expecting to hear the original Beach Boy recordings will not find them here.) Parts of the film feel like surreal arthouse filmmaking - silent closeups of Audree Wilson's face behind sunglasses as she gropes for words, odd footage of Brian and his mother and brother singing "In my Room" at the piano, Linda Ronstadt in a spotlight dressed in a puffy costume for some unknown theatrical show... Overall this is not a definitive documentary of Wilson's life or work by any means, but it does give you a good idea of why this odd man is so beloved and why his work is so important.
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