Rating: 
Summary: It's OK
Review: A nice documentary of one of the greatest groups of the 60s. Better than than awful TV movie that they aired last year. One interesting thing was that they often reconstructed a live recording of a single song using different sources throughout their career (God Only Knows from the 60s to the 90s). Too many interviews with stars not directly involved with their music (Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Sean Lennon) and probably could have had more discussions with the band members themselves or their sidemen (Ed Carter, Billy Hinsche, Matt Jardine, the Wilson daughters, for example). Also, not enough footage devoted to their Pet Sounds or Smile periods (their most important).
Rating: 
Summary: Relive The Memories!
Review: After purchasing this DVD ( I had already seen the VHS version), I played the bonus clips and videos first. I was blown away at the way they tell the story of America's most famous band. I have been a fan since 1965, and will treasure this collection for many years to come. Even if we lose all the original Beach Boys, the music will definitely live on for many generations to come. I urge everyone to purchase this phenomenal DVD for their collection.
Rating:
Summary: The Story Of The Beach Boys In Their Own Words
Review: After years of slipshod hits packages and 2 excellent boxed sets, Tje Beach Boys have finally sat down and talked two interviewers about their career an why they love what they do. It features interviews with all 6 Beach Boys (Brian included), as well as musical historians and their many associates.This dvd paints an intimate portrait of America's Band. Brian Wilson is espcially good here, never showing his personal problems and giving mini performances of songs at the piano. Each Beach Boy gets equal screen time. You even might shed a tear when you realize that this documentary was the last public tv appearance by Carl Wilson, who died of lung cancer just months later. The music is really good. The live performances are mostly just snippets, but also includes a heartwrenching montage of Carl performing "God Only Knows" and a Mike Love - driven "California Girls". Also featured are two Dennis Wilson ballads, "All Alone" and "Barbara". I would highly recommend this dvd. However, I suggest that if you are a casual Beach Boys fan, you should wait until a little later to get this dvd, because while it's comprehensive & insightful, you ought to get the albums first. Happy Holidays. Anthony Nasti
Rating: 
Summary: TOO MUCH TALK, TOO LITTLE MUSIC
Review: BEING AN OLD BEACH BOY FAN, I WAS EXCITED TO GET THIS DVD. THE MAIN DISAPPOINTMENT IS THAT IT IS A DOCUMENTARY AND NOT A MUSIC DVD. YOU CAN'T USE IT FOR BACKGROUND MUSIC. DOCUMENTARY DVD'S HAVE THE LIFE SPAN OF DEAD FISH.
Rating:
Summary: Great Documentary
Review: Brian Wilson sure was a genius. If you ever had a doubt, watch tis wonderful documentary. The Beach Boys sang beautiful harmonies, but were not a harmonius group. A lot of bruised ego's, wreckless actions and in-fighting were what the group was really about, apart from the music. The fact they haven't killed one another is probably due to the fact that they are family. With an abusive father and smug egotistical cousin, the Wilson brothers had a lot to contend with. And Brian, the absolute genius of the family and group, was either blessed or cursed (I'm not sure wich) with a very fragile ego. Through it all, though, Brian emerges as such a giant teddy bear of a man. Such a kind, gentle soul who had the misfortune of surrouinding himself with people less than helpful. This tape explains the whole sordid story in a cohesive way. And don't forget the music. Above all else, this tape is filled with some of the mopst beautiful music of the 60's and 70's. This is great!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent documentary
Review: Don't look to this DVD for the best of the Beach Boys music. Endless Harmony covers all the bases as a career highlights documentary. I would have been willing to pay extra to have Dolby 5.1 mixes of every song on the DVD. There are six good songs on the DVD with Dolby 5.1 mixes but they are accessed separately from the documentary. A must have DVD for fans and a great intro if you don't know much about them.
Rating:
Summary: Beach Boys Anthology! (my actual rating is 3.5 stars)
Review: Done in a similar manner to the Beatles Anthology, this is the story of The Beach Boys told in their own words. What else can I say? It's good stuff and a fabulous story. The extras are pretty neat, with 5.1 mixes of 7 songs accomapnied by a "slide show", though alot of the pictures are repetetive from song to song. Why not 5 stars? Well, what in the world do Sean Lennon, Jackson Browne, Barry Gibb, Elvis Costello or that guy from Billboard have to do with anything? I doubt any of them ever even met the band, and they offer no first-hand memories o experiences (ESPECIALLY Sean Lennon! ) They should have devoted that time to more commentary from Van Dyke Parks, Tony Asher, and if available from the late Gary Usher...the people involved with the band on a creative level, not just observers (ESPECIALLY SEAN LENNON! ) It also seemed like Brian only spoke for about 5-8 minutes throught the whole thing...i know its the story of the group but he DID write all of their hits...But all in all its a good documentary and addition to any Beach Boys collection, though you probably wont watch it more then 2 or three times. Brian Wilson (as opposed to Beach Boys) fans will find the A&E Biography video superior to this documentary.
Rating: 
Summary: Generally good overview, but loses direction and focus
Review: Endless Harmony is a 2-hour (almost) everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-Beach-Boys extravaganza. While it occasionally drags and loses direction, the strength of the story was compelling enough for this viewer, who grew up listening to their music. If Folk Rock and the British Invasion represented a generation's call to be different, hip and cool, The Beach Boys represented a yearning to be popular, secure and loved. Endless Harmony traces the history of the Beach Boys, and in some ways, Brian Wilson's life, as a testament to the struggle between those two sets of yearnings. Starting with their family's migration to California during the Depression, through the optimism and exuberance of post World War II Southern California, we get a sense of the roots of The Beach Boys. Brian, Dennis and Carl learned harmony from their father, Murry Wilson. An overpowering autocrat, Murry was a frustrated songwriter who was jealous of his sons' success. There are disturbing audio snippets of Murry berating Brian during recording sessions. In an era when most Rock groups were cannon fodder for record producers, Brian Wilson was given unprecedented autonomy in the production of Beach Boy material. Some of the documentary's best moments are of Brian sitting at the controls of a mixing board, deconstructing original Beach Boy recordings, showing how all the tracks were layered together. The central weakness of this documentary is its structure, which depends entirely on interviews for its narrative flow and direction. Some of the interviewees, particularly Elvis Costello and Maurice Gibb, have remarkably little to say. As with many documentaries that are made with the permission of their subjects, it tends to be a little fuzzy on some of the darker periods of their history. None of the Beach Boy's intra-family lawsuits are discussed. Dennis Wilson's relationship with Charles Manson (who with Dennis co-wrote the B-Side of a Beach Boys' single) is not mentioned. Brian and Dennis declined to attend their father's funeral, but the film is mute on that subject, and mother Audry Wilson is virtually absent. Nevertheless, Endless Harmony presents enough material for the viewer to know not only their music, but their struggle as a band to find direction and purpose during and after the tumultuous social changes of the '60s and '70s. The DVD bonus materials include some marvelous 5:1 Dolby Digital remixes of some classics. The film drags where the Beach Boys foundered, covering the band's history during Brian's absence during the 70's and 80's. Regardless of what Mike Love says, the Beach Boys' story is at its heart, about the genius of Brian. The band carries on without Brian, but (with a few exceptions) not very well. It is somehow both ironic and appropriate that Brian is the last living Wilson brother. The word "survivor" is overused today, but as you listen to Brian, who has a stroke victim's slurred speech and slack face, you see a man who has bent but not broken, and has retained some of the childlike innocence that made his music so magical. In a more cynical age, The Beach Boys tend to be slighted in the assessment of important Rock 'n Roll bands, perhaps because they've been around so long they eventually became a parody of themselves. The appeal of the Beach Boys was that they were utterly without guile or pretension, which is why their words and music touch your heart. If Bob Dylan wrote the lyrics of a generation's thoughts, and the Beatles sang the music of their days, then perhaps the Beach Boys sang the harmonies of their dreams. After watching Endless Harmony, I went to Santa Cruz for the weekend with some friends. Driving down Highway 1, I taught their 6-year-old-daughters the lyrics to "Surfer Girl" It felt wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: ENDLESS HARMONY - THE GREATEST THING YET
Review: Ever since I have become a Beach Boys fan, I have never had greater pleasure then watching this documentry. One of the best thing they have done yet. The music is brillaint. The story is not bogus as in some of the films and books. It is just the best thing and I encourage everyone to go out and buy it.
Rating:
Summary: "Endless Harmony" = Endless Pleasure!
Review: I am a life-long Beach Boys fan. And as it said of die-hard Beach Boy fans, I would probably buy anything pertaining to the group- no matter how good or how bad. Not to worry- this video is fantastic. The documentary is stellar! My wife, who does not share my fascination with the group, proclaimed this was the best documentary she has ever seen. What a find. This is the motherlode I've been searching for- all the hits, some raririties, footage I've never seen anywhere before (not the usual "recyled, public-domain" stuff)- a real quality effort. The best part is this is also for the non-fan. The documentary doesn't get bogged down with tedium. It is always entertaining and fast-paced. Perfect in every way.
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