Documentary film Paul McCartney: Man on the Run was released last month on Amazon Prime. Before I go into my review of the movie, I would like to state without hesitation that I am very biased towards McCartney and his original band The Beatles. In 1964, when I was five years old, my mother brought home a copy of With the Beatles. I was instantly hooked. It didn't sound anything like Peter, Paul and Mary or the New Christy Minstrels that occupied the turntable in our living room. From there, I would watch the original Beatles performances on The Ed Sullivan Show, and also convinced my parents to take me to the drive-in movies to watch their first feature-length film A Hard Day's Night.
You've probably heard of generational talents. That's not McCartney. He's a centenary talent, if not millennial. Very few recording artists can write songs in the manner that McCartney, either as a solo act, with his Beatles songwriting partner John Lennon, or with his 1970's bandmates in Wings can write. It's all about turning a phrase and playing a catchy riff. The thing about McCartney/Lennon songs is that you can sing to them, you can dance to them, and if you want to jump into a mosh pit, you can listen to "Helter Skelter". Musically, most generations have a leading cultural phenomenon. Currently, it's Taylor Swift. Before my time was Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby in descending chronological order. But for younger Baby Boomers and older Generation X, it's The Beatles.
Directed by Oscar winner Morgan Neville, Man on the Run begins in 1969 with the breakup of The Beatles and ends in 1980 with the termination of Wings. Both bookends are sad stories because they end great eras of popular music coupled with the assassination of John Lennon about the time Wings dissolved. Make no question about it, this is a solid documentary, chock full of archival footage of which is bountiful. From the press, paparazzi, or from McCartney's own home movies. Also, let's not forget that Linda Eastman McCartney, Paul's wife, was a prominent still photographer. Many sources contribute to a tight, visually appealing presentation. That said, I don't believe this is a great documentary because it's too much of a niche production and may not appeal to younger viewers that didn't experience the era first hand.
One thing that was noticeable to me throughout the presentation is it lacked music, except for cuts from Ram. I wanted more. Sure, there's a lot of jam sessions, but not polished products. Many times the director would give you a tease which left me flat. As an example, Linda played a couple chords on her keyboard of "Venus and Mars/Rock Show", and that was it. I ended up streaming Wings' songs on YouTube after the movie ended because I wanted to hear them in totality. If I wasn't familiar with the songs, I wouldn't know where to start and can't believe a Gen-Z or Gen-Alpha would get the short and subtle riffs. One option is to stream Wingspan: Hits and History. That's the greatest hits compilation.
Wings was one of the defining bands of the 1970's with 27 Top 40 hits, including six Number One songs. Wings had five consecutive number one albums during their run. George Harrison's All Things Must Pass is considered the best single album of the Fab Four's solo projects, McCartney had the best overall career based on the mosaic of the musical output. Although the documentary shows Wings winning multiple Grammy Awards in 1973 for Band on the Run, it really doesn't delve too far into the music the way other documentaries such as HBO's Yacht Rock does. What the movie does do, in a spectacular manner, is tell the story of Paul, his relationship with his wife and family, and his friendship with John Lennon. This is the selling point of the film.
As a Beatles and Wings fan, I learned a lot from Man on the Run. McCartney has experienced success without a dedicated ensemble, too. "Maybe I'm Amazed", "It's Just Another Day", and the entire Ram album were accomplished primarily with McCartney as a one-man band. He's an incredible musician. Piano, guitar and bass. He even played the drums on "Back in the U.S.S.R." on the White Album. I believe that Sir Paul's fans will get a lot out of the documentary. You can get a deeper understanding of what makes him tick. A fanatical fan base will surely fill the arenas when he goes on tour again this year. That said, there are holes in the picture, which is why I think this is a good and not great presentation.
Well done!
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