History of the Eagles

The story of an American band

Documentary
English     7.6     2013     USA

Overview

Alison Ellwood’s intimate, meticulously crafted patchwork of rare archival material, concert footage, and unseen home movies explores the evolution and enduring popularity of one of America’s truly defining bands.

Reviews

Grant English wrote:
At over 3 hours long (187 minutes), the film delivers the history of The Eagles primarily from the perspectives of the founding members and unquestionable leaders of the band – Don Henley and Glen Frey. Along the way, we get treated to both archival footage, concert footage, archival interviews as well as current interviews with former bandmates. We hear from jilted bandmates, abandoned producers and record labels. Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Brown, and Bob Seger all make appearances as well. What is great about the film are the ugly parts. We get to see the egos clash, the drug use, the alcoholism, the women-chasing, and even the back-stage nasty contract negotiations. David Geffen, founder of Asylum records and later Geffen records shows his dark side in the film as The Eagles and him fought for years over the rights of the songs. The dynamic between Glen Frey and Don Felder is even more explosive. There is even footage from the last concert that Frey and Felder played together before the band broke up in 1980. The conversation is absolutely incredible and it’s like watching a train wreck. You just can’t believe they got this on film and you can’t walk away. What makes the whole thing even MORE compelling are the jump cuts to the modern-day perspective of Frey and Felder which still shows there isn't a lot of love lost between the two. Henley and Frey are compelling story tellers. They have the ability to be objective and biased at the same time. It's unreal to watch it in action. This is the big draw of the film - the raw, authentic, story telling. From a cinematography point of view, there is nothing spectacular about it at all. It’s basic, it's not a distraction but there is nothing spectacular about it either. The editor did a great job in breaking these shots up among the live footage. If you are an Eagles fan – this is a must. If you are a music fan – you need to see it. For the rest of the populace - it's an interesting perspective on a great band. It's not to the level _20 Feet From Stardom_ or _Muscle Shoals_ but it's definitely worth a watch.

Similar

John Safran's Music Jamboree was a light-hearted Australian music documentary television series, hosted by John Safran for SBS television. The program was produced by Selin Yaman and directed by Craig Melville, Clayton Jacobson and a number of other directors under the production company Ghost of Your Ex-Boyfriend Productions in association with SBS Independent. It screened in 2002, and consisted of sketches and outlandish public stunts, typical of Safran's work. The series won two Australian Film Institute Awards; "Best Comedy Series" and "Most Innovative Program Concept". SBS followed the series up with the similarly styled John Safran vs. God in 2004. An infamous stunt of the series was sneaking nine friends into an exclusive Melbourne nightclub by dressing them up as the masked American metal band, Slipknot. The producers arranged entry for the impostors by pretending to be an American management company over the phone. Other stunts included disguising himself as well known entertainers such as Ozzy Osbourne and Prince to harass the public, sketch versions of music videos such as Eminem, the creation of Jew Town, a Jewish boy band to compete with Christian pop, and returning to Yeshivah College to pay homage to Kevin Bacon in Footloose. He also details his time in the hip-hop group Raspberry Cordial, and the related incident in which he met the Beastie Boys and the band's former DJ attempted to steal his girlfriend at the time.

More info
John Safran's Music Jamboree
2002