Bee Gees: In Our Own Time (TV Movie 2010)

Bee Gees: In Our Own Time (TV Movie 2010). 1h 56m | Not Rated

“Having grown up listening to my big brotheru0026#39;s 70s hard rock records (Van Halen, AC/DC, Black Sabbath), I was programmed at a young age to hate disco and anything remotely sounding like it. Suffice it to say I was never a Bee Gees fan, and even though infectious grooves like in u0026quot;Stayin Aliveu0026quot; would dance in my head I denied them feverishly. Saturday night feverishly.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDisco died a horrible death in the mid 80s (I remember the u0026quot;Bee Gees free weekendsu0026quot; on the radio, mentioned in this movie), and that was the last I heard from the Bee Gees until yesterday when I bought this movie on a whim.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRight off the bat, I was surprised u0026amp; captivated. Did you know the Bee Gees were a successful psychedelic rock band in the 60s? I didnu0026#39;t. Did you know they were managed by the same people who managed The Beatles and thus had a very Beatles-esque sound u0026amp; look for half their career? I didnu0026#39;t. By walking us through the story chronologically, we learn that the Bee Gees were so much more than simply the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack which made them famous/infamous. And yes, they are quite capable of singing in their full male voices, not just high pitched falsetto (seriously, I didnu0026#39;t know that). Songs u0026quot;New York Mining Disasteru0026quot; and the rock opera album u0026quot;Odessau0026quot; were right in line with other 60s British masterpieces by The Beatles, The Who and so forth.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThen disco arrived, or might it be fair to say The Bee Gees defined disco, in the 70s. In the film, Robin Gibb makes a very profound statement about that. He said when they went to Miami they were intrigued by the sound of funk, soul and Ru0026amp;B. Being British, they didnu0026#39;t realize the American cultural boundaries between u0026quot;black musicu0026quot; and u0026quot;white musicu0026quot;, so they just jumped in with songs like u0026quot;Jive Talkingu0026quot; and such. I suppose it wouldu0026#39;ve seemed pretentious for a bunch of American white guys to go so boldly into that territory. But a group of Brits, gosh there are no rules. And thatu0026#39;s how we came to know the Bee Gees we adore or abhor.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film goes on to describe how they evolved further as musicians, songwriters and producers. In the 2nd half we also learn about the tragedies in their lives (I wonu0026#39;t say what, in case you live in a cave u0026amp; missed all the headlines).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;The Bee Gees: In Our Own Timeu0026quot; has a lot of great interviews with the guys, clips of 2 dozen songs or more (no full songs, but a good 30 seconds each) and at least 1 great studio scene as they were recording the song u0026quot;Tragedyu0026quot; – a remarkably clear behind-the- scenes look at the creative process. I got the feeling that this film is perfect for people like me who know nothing about the Bee Gees and where they came from. This is the sort of film you show to your cranky disco-hating uncle to convert him by showing that disco was simply a logical progression of rock music from the meeting (clashing?) of opposite styles. And isnu0026#39;t that what rock music has always been about?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTo hardcore Bee Gees fans, there may be nothing new here. But itu0026#39;s still very well put together u0026amp; interesting. In short, I canu0026#39;t think of anyone who would *not* enjoy this production, unless you just donu0026#39;t care for contemporary music in general. Other worthwhile documentaries about 70s music: u0026quot;ABBA – Super Troupersu0026quot; which gives some great insight into the career, drama u0026amp; mild psychosis of one of the worldu0026#39;s greatest hit machines, u0026quot;Standing in the Shadows of Motownu0026quot; about the unsung heroes who made the backing tracks behind the superstars, and my favorite musical documentary: u0026quot;Anvil – The Story of Anvilu0026quot; an unintentionally hilarious view of a hard rocking band that didnu0026#39;t quite make it.”