Rating: 
Summary: Brutally Brilliant Portraits Of A Genius And The Band He Led
Review: "The Beach Boys - An American Band" and the subsequent "Brian Wilson - I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" are perfect documents of the real American rock band. The former focuses on the years '61 to '85 while the latter is a black & white document of The Beach Boys' troubled leader trying to get his life back together after years of personal problems.1985's "An American Band" opens appropiately enough with footage of Brian Wilson's 1976 birthday party intercut with scenes from an interview done with him from his bedroom, half - dressed, smoking a cigarette. The rest of the film's made up of interviews with the other Beach Boys that are good, though obviously scripted. The real highlight are the concert footage, featuring footage from their European tour that includes an electrifying performance of "Breakaway", not to mention glowing versions of "God Only Knows" and "In My Room", plus rockers like "Barbara Ann" and "Fun, Fun, Fun". 1995's "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" has Brian coming to terms with his troubled life through various interviews with him and several people close to him, including his two wives, his daughters, Van Dyke Parks, and Carl Wilson, his brother who succumbed to lung cancer in 1998. In between are scenes of Brian doing newly recorded versions of "Meant For You", "Do It Again", "The Warmth Of The Sun" (a real surprise for me), "Til I Die", a rousing "This Whole World" as well as a few others. Overall, these are two finely done documentaries of one of the greatest artists of all time, a group who forever changed the face of music with their surfboards, woodies, girls, pet sounds and good vibrations. Surf's up.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent combination
Review: I flipped in 1985 when the first BB doc, "An American Band" came out. It had great archival footage and music, told the story (although skipping Manson, Blondie & Ricki, and their 70s output), and was reminiscent of the poorly titled "Compleat Beatles", out a few years earlier. What's good about this doc, like the later, superior "Endless Harmony", is that the BBs themselves are key participants in the storytelling. Don Was' B&W art doc, "I Just Wasn't Made...", is equally rewarding. Some important (and a few inconsequential) interviewees dish on Brian -- Linda Ronstadt notably shows she's intelligent with a psychological/sociological awareness, and Graham Nash (a likeable fellow) makes a fatal trivia mistake: "When was 'In My Room'? Was it '66?" No, dude, you're 3 years late. I've seen both the enclosed pan-n-scan version of IJWMFTT as well as the letterbox version. Sadly, the former is featured here, and that pegs the package down a notch. AAB has been improved over the original VHS in that the Pet Sounds sound clips are now replaced by the recently released stereo mix, and the opening and closing credits feature the stirring "Surf's Up" playing over film footage of a surfer in a tasty wave. But another notch down because of its inferiority to the "Endless Harmony" doc. Buy it, but as soon as you find IJWMFTT in widescreen and the aforementioned EH doc, trade this one in.
Rating: 
Summary: First BB documentary paired with recent BW doc is a deal
Review: I flipped in 1985 when the first BB doc, "An American Band" came out. It had great archival footage and music, told the story (although skipping Manson, Blondie & Ricki, and their 70s output), and was reminiscent of the poorly titled "Compleat Beatles", out a few years earlier. What's good about this doc, like the later, superior "Endless Harmony", is that the BBs themselves are key participants in the storytelling. Don Was' B&W art doc, "I Just Wasn't Made...", is equally rewarding. Some important (and a few inconsequential) interviewees dish on Brian -- Linda Ronstadt notably shows she's intelligent with a psychological/sociological awareness, and Graham Nash (a likeable fellow) makes a fatal trivia mistake: "When was 'In My Room'? Was it '66?" No, dude, you're 3 years late. I've seen both the enclosed pan-n-scan version of IJWMFTT as well as the letterbox version. Sadly, the former is featured here, and that pegs the package down a notch. AAB has been improved over the original VHS in that the Pet Sounds sound clips are now replaced by the recently released stereo mix, and the opening and closing credits feature the stirring "Surf's Up" playing over film footage of a surfer in a tasty wave. But another notch down because of its inferiority to the "Endless Harmony" doc. Buy it, but as soon as you find IJWMFTT in widescreen and the aforementioned EH doc, trade this one in.
Rating:
Summary: Two good documentaries, but not the place to start.
Review: If you've already got Endless Harmony and you want more then this is the DVD for you. "An American Band" dates from the 80s but it's definitely worthwhile, including good interview/performance clips and archival footage. The Wilson documentary is not quite as entertaining, more academic (a PBS feel) with contemporary (90s) performances. If you're specifically looking for a good BW doc then start with A&E Brian Wilson Biography.
Rating:
Summary: Two good documentaries, but not the place to start.
Review: If you've already got Endless Harmony and you want more then this is the DVD for you. "An American Band" dates from the 80s but it's definitely worthwhile, including good interview/performance clips and archival footage. The Wilson documentary is not quite as entertaining, more academic (a PBS feel) with contemporary (90s) performances. If you're specifically looking for a good BW doc then start with A&E Brian Wilson Biography.
Rating: 
Summary: More than Fun, Fun, Fun
Review: It was great seeing both these documentaries again. "An American Band" has some great concert footage, and includes Brian, eyes closed and totally into it, singing "Surf's Up" for the TV cameras just before the downfall in '67. Dennis' own downfall in the 80's is appropriatly handled; it's painful to see him at the end, barely able to talk. I saw the band in Dennis' last year, and the footage of him here brought back that painful memory. Concert versions of "Good Vibrations" (before it became a ridiculous sing-a-long) and "Heroes and Villains" are also a treat.
"IJWMFTT" shows a mostly lucid Brian, memory surprisingly intact, talking about his creations. But, the reason to watch this bio are the performances. Hearing Carl sing "God Only Knows" with his brohter and mother was a treat. And listening to Brian's ex-wife talk about "Caroline No" segue into Brian totally nailing the song was great stuff.
Rating:
Summary: More than Fun, Fun, Fun
Review: It was great seeing both these documentaries again. "An American Band" has some great concert footage, and includes Brian, eyes closed and totally into it, singing "Surf's Up" for the TV cameras just before the downfall in '67. Dennis' own downfall in the 80's is appropriatly handled; it's painful to see him at the end, barely able to talk. I saw the band in Dennis' last year, and the footage of him here brought back that painful memory. Concert versions of "Good Vibrations" (before it became a ridiculous sing-a-long) and "Heroes and Villains" are also a treat.
"IJWMFTT" shows a mostly lucid Brian, memory surprisingly intact, talking about his creations. But, the reason to watch this bio are the performances. Hearing Carl sing "God Only Knows" with his brohter and mother was a treat. And listening to Brian's ex-wife talk about "Caroline No" segue into Brian totally nailing the song was great stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent combination
Review: These two films provide a very good overview of the Beach Boys. "An American Band" is a fairly good comprehensive look at the band from their beginnings through 1985. There's a lot of historical performance footage of the group and interviews from throughout the years, with some on-camera narration from Carl Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnston from 1985. "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" picks up the story about 10 years later, and focuses on the genius (and genial) composer Brian Wilson, showing his at least partial success in dealing with his personal, emotional, and psychological problems, which had plagued him during the previous two decades as recounted in the "American Band" film. Brian comes off in "IJWMFTT" as much more articulate in conversation than I had expected (he's really pretty articulate by any standard), and his new performances of some older songs are well done and compelling. Interestingly, the footage is almost entirely new, including interviews with family (Carl Wilson, mother Audree, daughters Carnie and Wendy), associates (Van Dyke Parks), and admirers (Tom Petty, John Cale, Thurston Moore, Linda Rondstadt), with almost no archival footage. So, between the two films, you have a history of the band and a portrait of its driving force during its glory years. A great combination. One additional note: "IJWMFTT" is actually in letterbox in this version, not pan-and-scan. When I first bought this DVD, I was dismayed to see on the back of the box that it said the film had been modified to fit the TV screen, which usually means the letterboxing has been scrapped. I was pleasantly surprised to find when I actually watched the film that while the credits were in "full-screen" (i.e., not letterboxed), the rest of the film was definitely in letterbox. Very nice B&W photography.
Rating:
Summary: Beach Boys Rock
Review: This is definitely a must have for any fan. The archival footage is phenomenal, and the modern (1985) footage up through Dennis' death is mostly great. The interviews with Brian in bed are mindblowing - you finally get to see his wigged out condition, and the John Belushi/Dan Akroyd "surf bust" scene with Brian is worth the price of admission.
The Don Was video is slightly overdone. How many people do you need tell you "Brian is a genius"? These are nice people, (Crosby, Nash, Petty) but they don't add anything to the story, except Linda Ronstadt. But it shows Brian at the beginning of his comeback, 1993, and the "Love and Mercy" with his daughters is fabulous! Just click and order this one.
Rating:
Summary: Beach Boys/Brian Wilson MUST HAVE!!!
Review: This release is a god-send for any fan. "An American Band", while at times corny is crammed full of great footage. More than an hour longer than the anniversary version (it's the original - clocking in at just under 1 hr., 50 min.), it shows full (or mostly full)clips of songs that I've never seen in their entirety. Entertaining early performances (though most are lip-synched) of all their big hits - as well as a few great non-hits ("Please Let Me Wonder" is a gem). Also includes most of the "Surf's Up" performance in Brians's house), and a lot more live footage. The second feature is a very good biography of Brian with some cool archival footage and of course, the l990's version of the master performing some of his greatest!!! All for only 12.99 - you can beat it!
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