 Film Reviews: Aug 2010
Ahh, those conspiracy theories, gotta love ‘em! Despite the facts, conspiracy theories never die, they just continue to grow larger. One that never seems to go away is the “Paul McCartney is dead” conspiracy, which started in fall of 1969. You probably know the story: Paul was killed in an automobile accident in November of 1966; the Beatles brought in a ‘double’ to play Paul and continue making albums; there were clues left on album covers and in the grooves of the records themselves.With mounting record sales, of course the record company would deny it, only increasing the paranoia. The “Paul Is Dead” hoax seems to rear its head every now and then, with new “clues” still being found. Do a simple google search on “paul is dead” (I got 47,100,000 results!). Now there is a new DVD that gives the story a new twist. "Paul McCartney Really Is Dead - The Last Testament of George Harrison" asserts that in 2005, an anonymous package containing micro cassette recordings by George Harrison was delivered to the offices of Highway 61 Entertainment. The tapes seemed to be narrated by none other than George Harrison himself, dated December 30, 1999. “George” describes the “Paul Is Dead” hoax unfolded. Some of the “facts” are the same as in 1969: Paul died in a car wreck on November 9, 1966. But instead of the remaining Beatles deciding to get a “double” for Paul, MI5 (British Intelligence) steps in and forces them to do so, stating… Her Majesty’s Government believes that if Paul’s death is made public, a rash of suicides would likely follow”.With the help of Dick Clark (?!), who holds a Paul look-alike contest, the Beatles find William Campbell, who is given plastic surgery courtesy of MI5. The Beatles now continue with the Paul double and continue to record. John Lennon, ever the anti-authority figure, decides to leave clues (both audio and visual) on their album covers. So, the cover-up begins… John Lennon is “eliminated” in 1980 because he was about to go public with the truth about the cover up. Then George Harrison was attacked in his home in 1999, the film implying that it was an attempt to silence him. OK, this is a new twist, and it sounds interesting. But suddenly, the whole premise of the DVD falls apart as the “clues” are described! Instead of concentrating on the Big 4 (Sgt. Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour, The White Album, and Abbey Road), the film includes album clues that predated Paul’s supposed death (already mentioned as November 9, 1966 in the film) from the following albums:
The film also leaves out a number of the original clues that would have made the film more “credible” than these false clues. For instance, only a few of the clues from the Magical Mystery Tour booklet are mentioned. However, "Paul McCartney Really Is Dead” does give a few “new” interesting clues (mostly audio). And the story of John Lennon naming William Campbell “Faul” (as in fake-Paul) is humorous. But, it is obvious that this is not the voice of George Harrison on the tapes. Hell, in the YELLOW SUBMARINE film, the George actor’s voice is more convincing than this one! And why would George use the old micro cassette format in 1999? With a modern recording studio in his own house, wouldn’t he have had the most recent technology? In 1992, the MiniDisc recorder was introduced. I knew several average folks who had these by 1999. Well, at least George didn’t record his “last will and testament“ on old 8-track tapes! There are other blatant errors in the film. The Beatles trip to India to see the Maharishi (with the intent of having the Maharishi make Paul’s soul enter Faul) happens before the Magical Mystery Tour project. “George” calls YESTERDAY AND TODAY “our new album after Revolver”. He also calls LET IT BE the last album?! I guess George forgot the LET IT BE/GET BACK sessions of January 1969, which preceded ABBEY Road? Yoko doesn’t enter the picture until after the break up of the Beatles. “Rita”, who was a passenger in Paul’s car during the fatal crash, was given a new identity by MI5: Heather Mills. Unfortunately, Heather Mills was not born until January 12, 1968! "Paul McCartney Really Is Dead - The Last Testament of George Harrison" is really a missed opportunity and could have even been somewhat entertaining to the average Beatles fan – had Joel Gilbert not let so many blatant errors slip into the “story”. He really should have hired a Beatles-fan as his factual editor. Or at least check the timeline dates on the internet! Overall, this film is an insult to the intelligence of any Beatles fan!
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"Paul McCartney Really Is Dead - The Last Testament of George Harrison" DVD (Highway 61 Entertainment)