George Harrison: Living in the Material World: Season 1

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7.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Ratings

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George Harrison: Living in the Material World

Season Details & Credits

HBO | Season Premiere Date: October 5, 2011

Summary: Martin Scorsese documentary focuses on the life of George Harrison, including growing up in Liverpool, to his days with The Beatles, and his life after the band through interviews, letters, photographs, and some never-before-seen footage.

Genre(s): Documentary

Season 1 Episodes

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Critic Reviews

100

Tom Gliatto

Oct 4, 2011

Beautifully filmed, George Harrison: Living in the Material World is especially good on the singer-guitarist's post-Beatles life as he sought enlightenment in Eastern religions. [10 Oct 2011, p.40]

Robert Lloyd

Oct 4, 2011

This may be the better work [than "No Direction Home"], for its depth of feeling and its relatively more forthcoming and knowable subject. Read full review

Uncle Barky Ed Bark

Oct 7, 2011

Living in the Material World falls short of Scorsese's terrific two-part PBS film, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan. Read full review

Joel Selvin

Oct 4, 2011

Composed of extraordinary source footage, most entirely unseen before, that combines newsreels, U.S. and British television shows, home movies and hundreds of rare photographs blended with the requisite talking-head interviews. Read full review

Glenn Garvin

Oct 5, 2011

Martin Scorsese's affectionate, exhaustive two-part HBO documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World. Harrison's easily mocked mysticism has rarely seemed as sincere and hard-won as it does in Scorsese's respectful, 3 1/2-hour profile. Read full review

Ellen Gray

Oct 5, 2011

Living in the Material World finds plenty to say, though, particularly in the final two hours, when Olivia Harrison's honesty contributes mightily to Scorsese's portrait of an artist more interesting than some of us may have realized. Read full review

Nick Schager

Oct 17, 2011

That Living in the Material World shines scant illuminating light on Harrison's story is all the more frustrating for its immense length. Read full review

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User Reviews

ekolite82

Jul 11, 2012

This is probably the most entertaining documentary I have ever watched, personally. I think anyone from the hard-core Beatles fans to the casual Beatles fans will appreciate the quality footage and interviews.

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chappydboz

Oct 10, 2011

This documentary takes its time, slowly revealing the character of this legendary man.. the footage is raw and personal.. much of it previously unreleased.. i consider myself a pretty knowledgeable Beatles fan, but after watching this, I have a fresh perspective on the band and especially GHThis documentary takes its time, slowly revealing the character of this legendary man.. the footage is raw and personal.. much of it previously unreleased.. i consider myself a pretty knowledgeable Beatles fan, but after watching this, I have a fresh perspective on the band and especially GH songs.. The second half got really emotional for me.. i felt so in-tune with the man via the poignant interviews and footage.. he lived a big, inspiring life..… Expand

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Mauro_Lanari

Dec 26, 2021

(Mauro Lanari)
The failed priest from New York chooses the Beatles to continue his interminable sermon. Only a frustrated seminarian could have dared to manipulate the Fab Four's career to hypertrophically focus attention on George Harrison's spiritual attitude. On April 8, 1966, "Time"(Mauro Lanari)
The failed priest from New York chooses the Beatles to continue his interminable sermon. Only a frustrated seminarian could have dared to manipulate the Fab Four's career to hypertrophically focus attention on George Harrison's spiritual attitude. On April 8, 1966, "Time" news magazine publishes "Is God Dead?" as cover article, and Scorsese comes up with the idea of replying to demonstrate the persistence of "homo sacer" in today's secularized society by telling the story of the most mystical member of the Liverpool band. For almost 3 and a half hours he tells us the events of this musician interested in sitar more than in guitar, in transcendence more than materialistic immanence, in theistic meditation rather than rock, so much so that he opposes the group in order to cultivate in his own solo career the achieved bliss. The facts flow away quickly, from Beatlemania to Lennon's death and any gesture of love, since we would be (like?) "angels captured in carnality". The score contains very few songs not composed by him and even missed his first famous track, "Taxman": too earthly. A hagiographic homily monstrously long and not at all convincing about an unconventional, ecumenical and distrustful saint towards orthodox traditionalism. One in which the narcissus Martin happily mirrors himself.… Expand

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Seasons & Episodes

74

Series Overview
Season 1

74
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: October 5, 2011
- No episode information is currently available for this season