The new movie charts George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s journey from school-friends to international pop stars. It arrives in Netflix on July 5, preceded by screenings in some UK theaters the week before.
Based on the trailer it looks like any interviews with George and Andrew after they split are kept off camera which I think is a good idea as it maintains the illusion that they were both interviewed for this film under the same conditions. Look forward to watching it.
This could be really good if it gets behind the scenes into their background and working relationship. Looks like it might.
I watched it earlier today as well. Really good stuff. The off screen narration by George and Andrew worked brilliantly as well. I'll definitely re-watch this soon.
Watched this today and really enjoyed it. Captures the moment and moves along at a brisk pace. One thing I didn't know was that they had Careless Whisper right from the start of the group, but held off recording until they knew they could get it perfect. Smart move that paid off bigtime. Highly recommend this for anyone with any interest in Wham or 80s pop.
Ah damn, I'll have to watch this. Really curious to know how much Andrew really contributed musically.... I've heard varying reports. At some point I heard the "early" Careless Whisper.... Not sure when it was recorded, but they were smart to go back and recut it top-to-bottom. I just recently caught the Freedom Uncut documentary, so I'm on a bit of a GM kick anyway. Gotta pull out the old vinyl of Faith and LWP!
I really enjoyed it. They come across as such great friends and Andrew just genuinely wanted George to achieve greatness. I'm curious what the origins of George's narration are as Andrew clearly recorded most of his recently.
I’d much rather watch Lindsay Anderson’s original cut of his 1985 documentary of them on tour in China, which is held by the BFI and can be viewed by researchers How Wham! made Lindsay Anderson see red in China
Is it really somehow more “evil” than any other multinational I’m sure you do support? Is Rupert Murdoch calling it this week’s Boogeyman?
Yes, I wondered the same thing. I imagine his commentary was plucked from various interviews over the years? Regardless, it was great to hear George speak so fondly of his Wham! days (apart from one particular song!) because he was a bit disparaging about the songs once he went solo. I absolutely loved the doco. It really captured the spirit of the times, as well as being a touching story of a friendship. The archival footage was amazing and the songs really shone.
new doc has AMAZING archival footage , if you love wham this is essential 90 minutes flew like a breeze , just great work made with obvious love/respect for them
It's already available to watch if you've got a computer and are creative enough. Don't support a platform you're not fond of, I wouldn't either.
Yes, it could've easily been longer. Andrew presents himself as the most supportive friend in history! While I believe that was mostly true, they could've spent a little more time on his difficulty with the world leaving him behind. I thought the doc did a great job at balancing their perspectives. GM could be a little insufferable in interviews but he was brutally honest, and Andrew seems to be completely lacking pretention. I didn't understand why they had to stop writing together completely when a collab led to their greatest song. Also, did Andrew play at all on stage and record?
I'm about halfway through at the moment and it's been really enjoyable. I remember at the time I was a teenage boy so I really wasn't keen on Wham! but I've grown up since then and recognise how special they were. It's sad seeing them going from the goofy teens to the serious adults though. At the time Ridgley was considered a joke but he's come out of all that madness in a great place in life and was no doubt an amazing support for 'Yog'. Without Andrew there's be no Wham! and probably no George Michael. I certainly respect Andrew a ton now. Time to finish it now. It's been a treat.
If George's dialogue wasn't gathered from one, maybe two interviews, then the sound designers did a fantastic job making it seem that way. Same for Andrew. It really helped with the relaxed tone. I've seen plenty of other documentaries (Oasis for example) where it's obvious that hundreds of sound bites were edited together to form a narrative.
