The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

2020

Action / Biography / Documentary / Music

27
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 93% · 53 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 93% · 100 ratings
IMDb Rating 8.1/10 10 6166 6.2K

biography rock band

Plot summary

The story of the triumphs and hurdles of brothers Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb, otherwise known as the Bee Gees. The iconic trio, who found early fame in the 1960s, went on to write over 1,000 songs and have 20 No. 1 hits throughout their career, transcending more than five decades of changing tastes and styles.

Director

Frank Marshall Photo
Frank Marshall

Top cast

Merv Griffin Photo
Merv Griffin as Self
John Travolta Photo
John Travolta as Self
Noel Gallagher Photo
Noel Gallagher as Self - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds / Oasis
John Lennon Photo
John Lennon as Self
720p.BluRay 720p.WEB 1080p.BluRay 1080p.WEB
1021.57 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 51 min
Seeds 3
1016.78 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 50 min
Seeds 2
2.05 GB
1920*1072
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 51 min
Seeds 11
2.04 GB
1920*1072
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 50 min
Seeds 7

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by valleyjohn 9 / 10

Heartbreaking

When I first really heard the Bee Gees I was nine years old and my mum had just brought a 7" single called "How Deep Is Your Love " . Of course this was after the disco period and the swinging sixties but there was something about their harmonies that had me hooked .This brilliant documentary film is an exploration of the history of the Bee Gees, featuring revealing interviews with oldest brother Barry Gibb, and archival interviews with the late twin brothers Robin and Maurice.There is something about this film that is incredibly sad hence the title . " How can you mend a broken heart" Barry Gibb is the only surviving brother and you and tell he's heartbroken.He even says that he would rather not have had a hit record to have his brothers back.The Bee Gees were experts at re inventing themselves . In the sixties they sounded very much like the Beatles and had that familiar sixties sound . Then came my favourite era , Disco. It's the time when they really found their voices and that wonderful falsetto harmony only to be discredited by the anti Disco movement lead by homophobic and racist Steve Dahl.Then came the love songs such as how deep is your love and finally they came good again in the eighties.I loved this film. Some of the archive footage is fantastic. When they step on stage and perform it's so natural and despite their fall outs you can tell they loved each other deeply.It's a film about family , grief and musical reinvention and it's one of my favourite films of this year .
Reviewed by pnep0110 9 / 10

Music is Not Always The Beatles

The Bee Gees were breaking ground long before The Beatles exploded. Their genres evolved from soul, to folk, pop rock, to disco to classic adult contemporary. Their musical influence had an extraordinary effect in four great decades. They are icons. How they craftily maneuvered in the world of music is beyond genius. They are songwriters who had the ear for the perfect rhythm. They were gifted singers as well. They made the biggest songs in an imperfect world.
Reviewed by parkville 9 / 10

Whether you're a fan or not, brilliant must watch doc

One of the most difficult problems documentary filmmakers face is dealing with too much archival material and too many interviews, especially when the subject/s spent as much time in the public eye as The Bee Gees. The recent Frank Zappa doc comes to mind, the director seemed to want to convey the psychedelic '60's by too many montages of poor quality video yet at what still felt like a plodding pace to me.although I was not a big fan of either Zappa or The Bee Gees, I was completely riveted from the opening 5 minutes of 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart' with the cuts between a live performance and Saturday Night Fever. The film NEVER felt bloated by covering too many incidents or songs.Frank Marshall did a masterful job of culling a great story from 50 years of material. Some others here have mentioned other events and songs that they believe should have been front and center (and I confess, I was disappointed that I didn't hear MY favorite Bee Gees song, Words, until the final credits). I would argue that the director covered an enormous amount of inside info (loved learning about the unexpected genesis of songs like 'Stayin' Alive') and made what could have been momentum stopping interviews with engineers and other band members fascinating.Finally - with the tragedy of the untimely deaths of 3 of the brothers and the clear melancholy of Barry, the oldest and the only surviving member, the film could have slipped into a maudlin reverie very easily. I appreciated the filmmakers handling of all this by noting their passing at the beginning and including specifics at the very end of the film via slates. Extremely moving without feeling manipulative.As someone else has already said, truly a master class in how to make a great documentary and a film I will absolutely watch again.
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