The Concert for Bangladesh (1972)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Concert film of the August 1st, 1971 benefit concert held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. George Harrison put together this all-star benefit to gather money for the issues going on in Bangladesh. The first part of the show featured Ravi Shankar performing some Indian music and then the more well-known artists hit the stage. Joining Harrison we get Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and towards the end Bob Dylan. Countless other musicians join the cause as the two shows were edited down to this one film. Overall I can't see how anyone would be disappointed in regards to the music because it's of the highest level from start to finish. Even if you overlook Ringo messing up his lyrics "It Don't Come Easy" the music is just so refreshing and of the highest level. Harrison really hits a home run on numbers like "My Sweet Lord," "Here Comes the Sun," "Something," and "Bangla Desh." Other highlights including a rocking version of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" from Russell and a show-stopping number by Preston. With all of that said, the greatest moment of the concert comes when Bob Dylan walks onto the stage. You can easily tell that the producers thought this was the high point as well considering they included four of his songs here. This was only Dylan's second live show since the notorious electric tour of 1966 so you can tell he's nervous but as a die-hard fans it's usually these moments where he shines the brightest. He delivers wonderful performances of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," " Blowin' in the Wind" and perhaps one of the greatest live performances of "Just Like a Woman." On a technical level the music sounds extremely crisp and for the most part the video footage is just fine. Fans of these musicians will certainly want to check this film out as the music still stands up strong all these years later.
