Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

[Michael Scott]

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
I’m going to say this right off the bat. There HAD to have been a LOT of drugs flowing through the studios at this time of the century, as there is no way that anything this cocaine infused could ever have been taken seriously outside of the 70s. Out of all the whacked out, crazy, mentally warped musicals of the 1970s, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is up there at the top along with Xanadu and The Apple. I vaguely remembered seeing this as a young 12 or 13 year old, thanks to my parents love of anything musical, and remembered leaving the viewing experience VERY confused. Fast forward a good 25 years later and I’m no less confused leaving the viewing. There are some movies that are good. There are some movies that are bad. Then there are movies like Sgt. Pepper’s (shortened for posterity’s sake) that just defy all leaps of logic and are so incredibly, hilariously, bad that it’s own cheese and camp are almost charming in and of themselves.

Back after the success of Saturday Night Fever the same producers decided that the legacy of The Beatles needed to be celebrated in musical form. Back then the Bee Gees were sort of a Beatles clone, rocking the same happy upbeat rock tunes of the famed band (although in the mid 70s they were considered sell outs when they reinvented themselves as a disco band) and were thought of as the perfect way to honor the Beatles legacy. So, grabbing Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees brothers, they decided to snort a few lines of something potent and out pops Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. An insane little musical that was MEANT to be the next Saturday Night Fever, but is widely considered the worst musical ever made, and one of the worst MOVIES in general ever made.

The description is one for the ages. A lone Sgt. In the first world war, named Sgt. Pepper, was decorated for boosting moral to the troops by walking into battle with a full piece band behind him. Years after the war he and his band were considered national treasures, and they played their way through the 20s, the 30,s the 40,s and into the 50s. As Sgt. Pepper was being honored in 1958 for his heroic service in their home town of Heartland, he keeled over dead as a door nail. However, Sgt. Pepper’s legacy lived on as a young boy named Billy (Peter Frampton) and his friends Mark (Barry Gibb), Dave (Robin Gibb) and Bob (Maurice Gibb) form their own Lonely Hearts Club Band themselves in order to bring the same peace, joy, and love that Sgt. Pepper did. However, fate has great plans for the 4 singers, and they’re soon whisked off to the big city where they sign a music deal with BD records (a sinful pile of filth and money that looks like it wants to eat the souls of the boys).

As the boys have fun with their newfound fame, an evil villain by the name of Mr. Mustard (Frankie Howard) comes to Heartland and steals the famed instruments of the original Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, bringing pain, suffering and misery to the town of Heartland. Billy’s girlfriend, Strawberry Fields (Sandy Farina) comes to the west coast to try and get the boys to come retrieve the instruments and return peace and serenity to Heartland. Instantly turning the tides, the boys battle Dr. Maxwell (Steve Martin), The Sun King (Alice Cooper) and Future Villain (Aerosmith) for control of the magical musical instruments, and keep the sun shining once more.

If you got through that description, then you’re a braver man than I. You can tell that all of those involved thought that this was going to be the next big thing. It had the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton singing songs by the Beatles, and with the use of Jukebox Musical numbers to tell the story (everything is sung throughout the film, except for narration by George Burns), and a whole plethora of famous 70s musicians and comedians (all those mentioned above plus “Earth Wind and Fire” Bonnie Raitt, Billy Preston, Keith Carradine and many more). How could it go wrong? Well, it’s not that hard when you start looking at what the movie really is. A doo wop film that is full of so many drug infused and influenced ideas than you could shake a stick at. However, as bad and awful as the movie is, the camp and cheese is part of the charm. It’s so hilariously bad that you just have to giggle and have fun with the absurdity of it all. The whole thing plays out like a Looney Tunes skit set to music, and Schultz has so much fun with the concept that you can’t help but get swept up in the whole charade.




Rating:

Rated PG by the MPAA




Video:

For a 1978 musical Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band (wow, that’s still a mouthful) is quite a good looking film. The 1970s style film stock is certainly a bit grainy, and the white levels boosted along with the contrast, but it’s a pretty looking bit of glitz and glamour on Blu-ray. The 2.35:1 AVC encoded transfer from Shout Factory looks to be representative of the old DVD I conjured up to compare against, and the bright pastels and mustard yellow (they have a serious fetish for bright mustard yellow in this film, it’s amazing) pop off the screen, and amidst the neon colored lights of the stage. Blacks sometimes look a bit washed out due to the high white levels, but fine detail is usually quite excellent, allowing the viewer to see all manner of intricate detailing on the stage costumes or set pieces, although there are some scenes that look noticeably softer than the rest of the film.






Audio:

Again, Shout offers fans a choice of a 2.0 and 5.1 track, both in DTS-HD MA lossless compression. Naturally the 5.1 mix is a bit bigger and broader than the 2.0 mix, even though both sound great. The Bee Gee’s and their singing is first and foremost the biggest and most important aspect of the track, followed up by loud and aggressive sounds of their stage numbers. Dialog is almost non existent, except for George Burns doing a narrative bit here and there, so what you hear is the front soundstage of a singing entourage, coupled with the crash and bang of the background stage roars to fill out the surrounds. LFE is appropriate for the 1960s and 70s inspired soft rock, and overall the track is devoid of any imperfections or imbalances that might drag it down.





Extras:

• Audio Commentary With Pop Culture Historian Russell Dyball
• Theatrical Trailer
• Press Gallery
• Trading Art Gallery

Final Score: ​

The same production company behind Saturday Night Fever also produced Grease, which actually premiered right before Sgt. Pepper’s did. However, Grease has become a musical classic while Sgt. Pepper’s got destroyed both critically and at the box office. Fans pretty much turned up their noses at the film, and the movie hasn’t really garnered any more of a following to this day. It IS still seen as a campy mess that is a bit of an acquired taste for many, and repugnant to even more. Shout Factory has given us a great looking Blu-ray of the film, and whether you love it, or hate it, It’s gotten more than it’s fair share of love from the boutique label.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Peter Frampton, Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb
Directed by: Michael Schultz
Written by: Henry Edward
Aspect Ratio: 2.35.1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: PG
Runtime: 112 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: September 26th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Acquired Taste

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I am curious on this one so will see once available on netflix/amazon prime.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

I've always wished they would've kept the names Maurice, Barry, Robin and Peter, and just switched them around to different characters.

Seriously though, this opening line could've also been used for your review of Transformers: The Last Knight.

I’m going to say this right off the bat. There HAD to have been a LOT of drugs flowing through the studios at this time of the century, as there is no way that anything this cocaine infused could ever have been taken seriously
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And finally, for your consideration, the best ever cover of Sgt. Pepper.

 

[Michael Scott]

haha! that's awesome