Beatle’s life in film by Scorcese

Sep 28 2007 by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post

LEGENDARY director Martin Scorsese is to make a documentary film about the life of Beatle George Harrison.

Harrison’s widow Olivia, 59, will take on the role of one of the producers alongside US film-maker Scorsese.

Surviving ex-Beatles Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are expected to participate, according to movie trade magazine Variety, as would the Beatles’ Apple record label.

The film will cover the guitarist, singer and songwriter’s time as one of the Fab Four, when he composed such memorable tunes as Something and Here Comes The Sun.

It will also cover his inconsistent solo career, his foray into movie production with such projects as Monty Python’s Life of Brian, and his exploration of Eastern spiritual pursuits.

It is believed Scorsese will be given unlimited access to the Harrison family archives.

The director, 64, famous for movies like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas, said: “George Harrison’s music and his search for spiritual meaning is a story that still resonates today and I’m looking forward to delving deeper.” Harrison’s second wife, Olivia, said: “It would have given George great joy to know that Martin Scorsese has agreed to tell his story.”

Harrison died of cancer at the age of 58, in 2001.

He was still married to Pattie Boyd when he met his second wife in 1974 and the pair famously fought off an attacker who broke into their Oxfordshire home and stabbed the guitarist in 1999.

Harrison’s family will be supplying materials for the as yet untitled film from their extensive archive. Interviews and early production begin later this year, according to Variety.

Beatles fans eager to see the film will have to wait for a while, however, as it is thought that it will take several years to complete.

Scorsese, who won an Oscar this year for the crime saga The Departed, has previously made several films on the subjects of both music and faith.

He is preparing for the April, 2008, release of a concert documentary about the Rolling Stones, called Shine A Light. He turned his attention to Bob Dylan in the 2005 documentary No Direction Home, and depicted the band’s farewell concert in 1976’s The Last Waltz.

Scorsese also explored issues of faith in movies like Kundun (1997) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).

The Harrison film will be edited by David Tedeschi, who served the same role on the Rolling Stones film, Shine A Light.

The film will be a co-production between Spitfire Productions, Scorsese's company Sikelia Productions and Harrison's Grove Street Productions.

alanweston