MovieChat Forums > Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) Discussion > How did this movie get made?

How did this movie get made?

posted 15 years ago by dlade-632-243680
28 replies | jump to latest

A great thing about cable is you get to catch up on all kinds of cult classics. I never saw this movie when it first came out, although I do vaguely remember it. When I caught it on HBO this past week, I was astounded by how bad it was.. so bad, and over the top, it actually was fun to watch.

I also was astounded by how much serious talent (not Frampton or the Bee Gees) was in this film, and the range of celebrity guests in the final credits. Plus the flamboyance of the sets. Someone obviously spent a lot of money on this pic. Anyone know the story behind this movie? How did they decide to make it? Was it someone's vanity project? Some threads also indicate some of the stars involved (Billy Preston) were so ashamed when they saw the final product, they wanted their names removed. How did they get talked into it in the first place?

[–] jefgg 12 years ago

Producer Robert Stigwood appeared to have the Midas touch until this movie.

[–] boramaster 12 years ago

Did you notice that Stigwood totally dropped of the map after this foul thing? Still, the Steve Martin bit is still memorable in a good way, which is the only reason I gave it 2 stars.

[–] clojomo-2 12 years ago

I totally agree. I guess I've somehow managed to avoid seeing this until now, 2013, 35 years later. Word of mouth and my better instincts had me avoiding it. Now that I see it, it's with good reason. This is a colossal vanity project on the part of anyone who was involved. To qualify as 'abysmal' would be an insult to abysmal films! It was embarrassing to watch it. It wasn't fun, it was painful. Not a feather in anyone's cap, especially Sir George Martin (how/why did he ever agree to this travesty?) and the BeeGees, whose work I love, but seeing them as Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band merely diminishes them. After all their accomplishments, what in the world did they think they were gaining by singing back-ups for Peter Frampton? Wonders never cease, but it's not surprising that this film took a major bath , economically.
This is truly a cautionary tale, writ large. This movie, and the Village People (& Co) in Can't Stop the Music, have to rank as the two most RANK and self-indulgent delusional exercises in excess. Live and learn.

[–] preppy-3 12 years ago

Well said clojomo. I'm ashamed to admit that I saw this in a THEATRE! I was 16 and had never heard the Beatles songs up to that point so I didn't have anything to compare it to. The big problem was they picked people who COULDN'T sing to do some of the songs! How can we forget (try as we might) Donald Pleasence, George Burns, Steve Martin, Frankie Howard and Alice Cooper (he can sing but not here)? The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton were OK, Aerosmith's cover of "Come Together" was GREAT and Sandy Farina wasn't bad either but all together the movie sucked! The "plot" was so stupid it was insulting. I saw it with a bunch of kids my age and they tore into non-stop either laughtinga t it or booing it:) The only part people liked was Aerosmith (they're a Boston band and I saw it in a suburb of Boston so...) A few weeks later I heard the Beatles sing the somngs and realized how terrible ALL the covers were in that movie! I will NEVER forgive Earth, Wind and Fire turning "Got To Get You Into My Life" into a DISCO song!!! I do disagree with u on one thing clojomo--this IS funny enough to laugh at. If u see it in the right frame of mind (i.e. dead drunk) it can be fun!:)

[–] thbryn 12 years ago

"his is a colossal vanity project
================================"

This was made at the height of the Disco Era. A time of "vanity."
Although this wasn't a disco picture, movie studios and rec co's were looking to make money in some pretty crazy ways that weren't done previously.

I've never seen it and while not really even curious if I get a chance I may give it a look. I feel the same about "Xanadu." That was a disco flick.
Kisskiss, Bangbang

[–] tabbycat 11 years ago

Sandy Farina wasn't bad either

Is there another Sandy Farina in this movie I missed?

Can't sing, can't act, no presence.
This was the result of a coast-to-coast talent search?
I didn't see any.

The Career of Sandy Farina
1978 - 1978

[–] preppy-3 11 years ago

OUCH! Guess you didn't like her huh?:) I disagree with saying she can't sing. She was one of the few performers in the movie that COULD sing. As for her acting...who can tell? She didn't have one word of dialogue. I think she might have had a big career but that movie destroyed any chances.

[–] VinnieRattolle 12 years ago

A gave a pretty massive answer to your query here but decided it was deserving of its own thread: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078239/board/nest/217058039

[–] Druff 11 years ago

I was 9 when this movie came out, and I'd loved the Beatles for as long as I could remember, thanks to Yellow Submarine being on TV once a year. My older sister was head over heels in love with Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees, and she took me to see Sgt. Pepper when it came out. We had the preview magazine and the album, too. I was completely oblivious to any sort of a poor reception at the time. I was kinda surprised years later when I read about what a debacle it actually was. I'm about to watch it for the first time in 35 years, bracing myself for a rude awakening...

[–] Druff 11 years ago

Also, I have to say that all of the "How did this movie get made?" type posts in this forum are pretty irritating. It's easy to look back on something decades after the fact and point and laugh. But at the time, the idea would have sounded like a no-brainer to anyone, and anyone would have stepped over their mother to get involved. The concept was "Let's take the biggest stars of today and have them do music by the most universally beloved band of all time." It's a corny idea today, but back then it was old school showbiz. You nitwits act as if they should have consulted a crystal ball or jumped into a time machine, should have known what a wonky freakshow it would turn out to be.

[–] JohnQ1127 11 years ago

Yeah, it's pretty shocking this film was made. Just the sheer audacity of it is pretty shocking not to mention the horrible renditions of Beatles songs.

And what's even more shocking was that the Bee Gees were the biggest recording act in the world in 1978 and they chose to do this piece of garbage. The Bee Gees were also contemporaries of The Beatles so it makes it even more bizarre that they chose to do this film.

Peter Frampton although not as huge as he was in 1976-77 was still a pretty big deal in 1978 and this film killed his career. Why he agreed to this film when he was still so popular is mind-bogling.

I actually went to see this in the movie theatre when I was 12 years old. I went with my older sister who was a big Peter Frampton fan and she actually bought that piece of crap double soundtrack album as well.

I remember this was on HBO during the summer of 1980 and I must have watched it 10-12 times because I really liked the songs and my older sister didn't own any Beatle albums. I went to flea market that summer and I bought a used copy of Abbey Road for $3. I knew the songs because of the movie but when I heard the original it was like a something went off in my head. I was like "ohhhh now I get it." Anyway that record didn't leave my turntable for 2-3 months and then I bought Sgt. Peppers in October and that blew my mind and I listened to that during the month of October & November and then John Lennon was killed in December. It was a very strange and kind of surreal.

[–] info-996-828544 9 years ago

It's very easy to see how it got made. The real question (I have not seen it) is how it appears to have been made so badly according to all the reports. From what I can gather the story relies on cartoon type villains, which sounds to me as if someone had failed to learn from Yellow Submarine (1968) which was a real cartoon, and apart from the Artwork and the music, had little to recommend itself to a sequel or quasi-sequel..

But that is very much the film industry that we see today: someone has a good idea (The Beatles with their music) and the industry looks to exploit it. How can it fail? It's the Beatles music.