Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?) (2010)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Absolutely the worst movie.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

I, for one, am glad that someone has made a film about this singer/songwriter. The film does fill in some of the questions I had about his life (for example, when I learned in the mid 1990s that he had died of a heart attack, I wondered where he'd been and what he was doing in the years prior to his death as he had somewhat disappeared from view). I also like the fact that many of his contemporaries and musician friends who knew him from the late 1960s & 1970s were given the opportunity to share their thoughts about him. It gives the film viewer insight into Nilsson's talent and also his personal weaknesses.The final minutes of the film discusses Nilsson's marriage and family --this answered another question for me as when I read his obit it stated he had 6 children. Featuring an interview with his Irish wife as well as statements from some of his children adds further glimpses into this talented man. The film does hint there's a lesson to be gleaned from learning about Nilsson's life (i.e., the perils of achievement/success and subsequent overindulgence). I was grateful, too, as a balance, that the love he and his wife and children shared was also portrayed.

I just happened on this incredible documentary on Netflix. I always loved Harry Nilsson's music but I never knew anything about him. This documentary is really an extensive work of art, compiling all the film footage about Harry and the people who knew him best. Particularly interesting was the recording studio footage and old movies of him performing. For all the music he wrote and performed and for all the famous musicians that he ran with, I just don't ever remember hearing about him, (in the tabloids and the like) only his music. Who knew he lived life on the edge? Too bad this documentary didn't get much publicity, as it is truly excellent. Most of the people that can remember his music will truly never know who is the guy behind all those wonderful songs with that melancholy melodious voice. Thank you for showing some of us who Harry Nilsson was, the guy behind Everybody's Talking but not about Harry.

For those of us alive at the time, it was impossible to not have heard of Harry Nilsson and to have been appreciative of a song or two. "Without You" has always been one of my favorites, but beyond that I was in the dark. This movie shines light on the body of work that somehow I missed with so much incredible music being made at the same time.It is a whimsical but honest look at one of the all-time great raconteurs, a fellow traveler with a coterie of out-sized personalities who largely burned brightly but briefly. Watching how his unlimited talents were gradually eroded away with self-indulgence is a tragicomic spectacle, leaving behind a wake of stories of a life lived at extremes.Watch it. It will be time well spent.

Biodoc on the enigmatic singer/songwriter who, according to friends' accounts, spent the last 15 years of his relatively short life seemingly on a mission of self-destruction. He died at 52, overweight and dissipated, of heart disease, after a protracted rampage of virtually non-stop overindulgence in alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana and cocaine, raucous partying, and flagrant misuse of his vocal instrument (he confided to a friend that he shouted out his lyrics at one performance with such force that spattered blood was left on the microphone).All of this despite the fact that he was: (1) widely considered to have perhaps the most gifted pop singing ability of his generation; (2) successful, after years of effort, in terms of industry acclaim - a Grammy, an Oscar, a decent recording contract with a top label, and at least two stellar albums - 'Nilsson Schmilsson' (originals), and 'A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night' (standards); and (3) very happily married (for the third time), with a lovely young family that he seemed to adore.The film's strengths begin with the completeness of its account of Nilsson's life, including fine use of archival film footage and many stills of Nilsson; the editors do an especially good job of bringing movement to the stills. We learn of his close ties to John Lennon and, later, Ringo Starr (Lennon often said that Nilsson was his favorite American musician).Even more impressive are the talking heads, often a documentary's weakest aspect. Here we get people like Perry Botkin, Jr., Ray Cooper, Mickey Dolenz, Terry Gilliam, Mark Hudson, Eric Idle, Rick Jarrard, Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks, Jimmy Webb and Robin Williams, all telling amazing stories about Nilsson – many uproariously funny, others deeply pathetic - and everyone conveying their deep affection for him. Equally informative and moving are interview segments with Nilsson's wives – Annie and Una, his son Zach, and cousin Doug Hoefer. Best set of heads I can recall in a biodoc.The most glaring deficiency of the film is that it crowds out Nilsson's music. Even the performance of his greatest hit, "Without You," is cut short after about 8 bars. Arrrrgh!! There is no excuse for this, not given that the movie runs a full two hours as it is. Lose a few head shots and we could have heard at least that song through, and perhaps one or two more, like "One," or his Oscar winning cover of "Everybody's Talking.'" The filmmakers are simply too intent on plumbing Nilsson's psychological mystique and not attentive enough to his music. My grades: 7.5/10 (low B+) (Seen at the NWFC's Reel Music series, 01/07/07)