meeza
Despunrado! Why I don't come to my senses and stop the pun plethora in my reviews! I can't tell you why! Wait!! Take it Easy! Don't leave! Because I can tell you is that "History of the Eagles" is the best rockumentary I have ever seen with my lying eyes; I mean staring eyes. Director Alison Ellwood's documentary focused on the entire Eagles history; and Ellwood effectively took it to the limit on chronicling the full cycle of the Eagles story. Don Henley and Glenn Frey are the hybrids that created the genesis of the Eagles; and they provide their experiences on being Eagles; from the band's formation in the early 70's, to the band's bitter breakup in 1980, to their Eagle reunion in the 90's, to how they function as Eagles today; pretty much their life as Eagles recording artists and their lives in the fast lane and sporadically the slow lane. But the documentary also showed the perspectives of other new kids & old kids in Eagles town with interviews with other present & past Eagles including: Timothy B. Schmit, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner. Even if you are not an Eagles fan, I would still highly recommend "A History of the Eagles" because of its expert depiction of life in a rock & roll band; which sure has its highs but at the same time those peaceful & easy feelings were far & few in between because of all the interpersonal friction between the band members. OK, I am about to be already gone. Now its for you to view this perfect piece of documentary filmmaking one of these nights; or days for that matter. Such a lovely place..... ***** Excellent
Mr-Fusion
Don't walk into "History of the Eagles" expecting an actual history of the band. This is a story steeped in revisionism, told from the perspectives of Glenn Frey and Don Henley. And you don't get far into the film before you start to wonder what's been left out. This is a band with an almost legendary period of drug use, infighting and unchecked egos, and only a fraction of the bad stuff is paid any lip service; just a formality so they go back to self-praise. Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon don't receive any attention once they've left (no insight or commentary). Two integral founding members are but a memory. But the film's biggest disappointment is the short shrift given to Don Felder. We don't get much in the way of input from him as Frey and Henley continue telling the story. He had legitimate issues with the way the band was being handled (power being taken away from himself, Timothy B. Schmidt and Joe Walsh, getting screwed out of song credit and royalties), but they're summed up with "Felder was unhappy".But I was surprised to hear the audio between Frey and Felder as they were figuratively at each other's throats in 1980. Equally surprised that David Geffen flat-out stated that Don Henley is a malcontent (not that anyone else was lining up to say anything less than flattering about the man). The Eagles are the quintessential American band, and their story deserves to be documented in full. This is little more than a puff piece. Which is hilarious because Glenn Frey still comes off as a dick.5/10
steve-flaunty-770-898945
The reviewers before me have pretty much summed this film up. I would put my money on 80% of the viewing demographic will have grown up with the Eagles and many of them, like myself, would know them first and foremost for their music. All of us have heard snippets of stories and probably read differing opinions as to how they imploded and reassembled and then generally just came and went again at random. Many of us would have been to a concert, possibly more than one and seen them in the flesh, marveling again at their magical ability to blend voices and instruments into some of the best music produced in modern times. This documentary knits it all together. There will be millions of words written online over the coming months and perhaps years critiquing this film for better or for worse.I have adopted the stance that this is a group of musicians that are just as human as all the rest of us, extraordinarily gifted in their chosen fields and were at the intersection of preparation and opportunity just at the right time. The addition of a copious amount of personal home movie footage, some never aired before adds the essential layer to the production and wraps the package up like a tightly constructed wine. I'm sure there are many who will be watching this who will see themselves in the background of some of the footage, even at the third encores and will will be gasping in their living rooms grateful for the fact that the passage of time is the best camouflage for human recognition. Could you just imagine..." OMG Mom, I don't believe you did that ! How am I going to explain this to my friends !! "
stephenrtod
I loved The Eagles back in the 70's, especially after I finished my military service. Now, watching this special, "The History of the Eagles," and downloading lyrics, I can see that, even without the music, the words are pure poetry. Having taught poetry for nearly 5 decades, that is my ultimate test of whether the lyrics are real, authentic, if you can divest them of the music and they're still poetry. Only the best artists can maintain that precious risk; take away the musical safety net, which might even support a simple three chord progression, and if what you have is still addressing key tenets of the Human Condition, then you aren't merely experiencing entertainers, money makers, or businessmen, you and dovetailing delightfully with poets.Joe Walsh utters one of the most honest speeches I've ever heard a public figure deliver, and he struggles manfully, painfully, as if ripping heartfelt wisdom from deep within his being, about how in the final analysis, our lives are like fine-spun, intricately-woven novels; however, along the way, what we sense and experience is like running into a sudden comet or meteor, delectable or horrifying.Don Henley, who always seems to know just what to say in the moment or afterwards, described his immediate ambiguous feelings directly following the cessation in 1980 of the band's efforts: "Horrible relief." I have to wonder how much of a gifted artist's time, effort, soul, life and genius they must invest. Henley comments that he often wondered why he was successful when equally-talented artists did not reach the apex of Henley's success. Glen Frey sends out a desperate, impassioned plea to his wife and children to support him and hope that their "second act" did not change him too drastically.I admired the coloratura guitar riffs of Don Felder, and I was deeply saddened, when I learned that he had been replaced in one furious collision of egos and cat fights, some borderline, behind the scenes; others, embarrassedly right on stage in front of cheering but partly bewildered audiences. Frey conjures up the perfect analogy between a good band and a baseball team. You are all aligned in teamwork, energy, synergy; however, you don't have the ball in your own hand all of the time. Felder craved more opportunities to sing. Frey himself admitted that the longer The Eagles were together, the less and less he sang lead. Why? Because they had Don Henley. Henley himself mused that Felder's insistence he sing lead on one song was tantamount to Henley's demanding to play lead guitar on "Hotel California." I've watched this special now three times. It is so completely honest that no one individual emerges unscathed, yet most of them proceeded, like "Hotel California" not only from innocence to experience; but, moreover from some degree of benightedness toward a larger sense of awareness, maturity, good judgment and enlightenment as human beings, as artists, entertainers, writers, and people who realized how their creations behind the scenes and before jubilant audiences, mattered far more than they ever dreamed or feared or ever imagined could be realized.The deep lessons I derived focused upon Henley's efforts to save Henry David Thoreau's "Walden" from commercial vandalism and decimation; Joe Walsh's gratitude at being driven to rehab so that he, too, could experience "A Second Act" with his band mates.I think that "The History of the Eagles" should be required viewing of any budding producers, agents, or artists. It is one slice of life, one sobering view of fame, celebrity, success and failure, of Phoenixes emerging from their own self-induced immolation, of a group of young men growing up as their country and citizens in it also evolved painfully, sometimes jubilantly, with a lot of luck and some daunting disappointments.Watching the movie is almost like watching and listening to a magician explain patiently how the trick worked as well as disclosing those times when it didn't work.
