Okay, first of all, you're probably wondering why I rated this a 10 out of 10. The short answer is that it is undoubtedly one of the most thought-provoking films I have ever seen. No, NOT because of its profound analysis of something that is reliable... I am still trying to grasp everything that this film brought to light. (Thought- provoking, see?)
The film is obviously very flawed in its information and makes plenty of factual errors that I won't bother to list... read the other reviews. However, as I was watching it, I realized these errors but I was so engrossed that I kept watching it. It made me want to believe the whole story about the "hospital tapes" of the obviously Fake George (We'll call him Forge) and really think that James Paul McCartney has been dead since 1966.
That is one reason I am giving this movie a perfect score of ten. The Last Testament of George Harrison had me laughing with disbelief because I WANTED to believe it. It's hilarious, and the other reviewers are right to dub it a mockumentary. The film is very good at doing what it wants to do: weaving an intricate story (most of which I'd already heard) about a conspiracy and compacting it into a nice little gift- wrapped package for anyone who can understand how it exploits the original conspiracy. I sincerely hope that Sir Paul McCartney sees this. I'd love to see HIS reaction.
This film mocks those who don't know a lot about the subject matter and who may actually believe what Forge says without any evidence about HIS credibility. I tend to think the factual errors were made on purpose. Why else would they be so glaringly obvious, while the rest of the film is well-made? Of course, that unearths paradoxes, creating the existence of a conspiracy within a conspiracy film... which is why this film is really so great. It pokes fun at conspiracies and exposées while being slick and subtle.
This is first-rate entertainment. For those who rated it a one, I can see why, if you didn't take the time to enjoy the entertainment value. You all just misunderstood what this film is actually about and probably assumed it is a disgrace to the Beatles' legacy, which it isn't. Most will know that the Beatles were amused by their fans and the media and annoyed by them as well. (That's why they stopped touring... they got an overdose of fame and the bad consequences of it.) This film kind of shows this in a very indirect way. It sides with the Beatles, not against them. It's really siding against us, the viewers, who actually give a rat's ass about the Secret Life (and possibly Death) of a person we'll probably never meet or get to know, anyway. We'd have to care about Paul McCartney, a stranger, to watch it in the first place.
The purpose of this "documentary" is to reflect everything bad about popular culture... It really has little to do with the Beatles. It's about the culture surrounding them and us, the viewers. Would Beatles fans REALLY have committed suicide at hearing the news of Paul's demise? Is the job of secret government agencies partly to protect the people from their own celebrity-worshiping mania? I tend to think that a widespread riot/panic would have occurred if Paul had died in 1966. Part of enjoying this film is exploring your own motives for idolizing people like the members of the Beatles. I was able to laugh at myself as well as the screaming girls chasing the Beatles everywhere they went.
If you take the time to look past the surface, I'm sure you will enjoy watching The Last Testament of George Harrison and I recommend it to all Beatles fans. (It's currently instant on Netflix!) The so-called "evidence" is all speculation, but isn't that all that any conspiracy theory has to offer? Anyone can watch this: believers of the conspiracy, nonbelievers, and people who have no decided opinion, because it doesn't really try to convince you one way or another. It's a comedy, folks. The downside to this film is that some people are probably fooled by it, because it is quite convincing if you don't realize it's a parody and don't know the lovely Beatles sequence of events. However, there is nothing that should be done to change this because putting a "warning" (what you are about to see is all made up or unsubstantiated) on it would ruin the quality of the film, and the fun paradoxes would be gone. After all, who wouldn't like to hear Forge talk about Faul, Fohn and Fingo and create a new puzzle? The filmmakers have invented their own conspiracy with the creation of the Featles! I love this fantastic film!
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