Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (movie)
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the name of a 1978 musical film featuring new versions of songs originally written and performed by The Beatles. The film, based more on a previous stage version of the 1967 album than the album itself, tells the loosely-constructed story of the titular band, their wrangling with the music industry, and their attempts to battle evil forces bent on stealing their instruments and corrupting their home town of Heartland. The film is presented in the form of a rock opera, with the Beatles' songs providing the dialogue that carries the story.
Conceived in the wake of the huge success of Saturday Night Fever and produced by Robert Stigwood (who had also produced Fever as well as Grease), Pepper's was one of a number of musical films to be released in 1978. The film pulled together a number of popular music stars, including the Bee Gees (whose career was peaking and whose music had been integral to Fever), Peter Frampton whose album Frampton Comes Alive! had been one of the biggest rock hits in recent years), and Aerosmith, with well-known actors including George Burns, Steve Martin, and Donald Pleasance. The combination of this array of talent with the hugely popular music of The Beatles seemed like a sure recipe for success; however the film was a critical disaster and failed to make back its expenses. Many of the principals involved (including the Bee Gees) continue to reference the film as an embarrassment and a low point in their careers.
The film was nearly universally panned by critics who noted the wooden acting of Frampton and the Bee Gees (who, despite their thick British accents were ostensibly playing American musicians), the insubstantial and juvenile plot, and the strained attempts at hipness which were undercut by the presence of old-guard actors such as Burns, who incidentally, was the only actor to have a speaking role in the entire film.
An accompanying soundtrack album was released; this was rejected both by Beatles fans (who objected to the awkward treatment of classic songs such as Martin's comedic take on "Maxwell's Silver Hammer") and mainstream buyers (who, while buying soundtracks featuring disco and pop hits in droves, had no interest in an Alice Cooper version of "Because" or hearing unknown actress Sandy Farina's vocal work on "Strawberry Fields Forever"). Although the double-LP shipped enough copies to retailers to reach the top 5 on the US album charts, many of these were eventually returned without selling and the album was a cut-out bin staple for years following its release.
However, like many films that flopped originally, the film has become popular in the cult circuit thanks to a DVD release of the film and a CD release of the album. The DVD even gained a few five-star reviews.
