StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

blewis-29 Having been 16 at the end of 1964, this took me back. Great history here too with some acts that never translated to this side of the ocean. (Although The Rockin' Berries had a pretty good U.S. hit with a cover of the Reflections "Poor Man's Son".) More history - The Fourmost and Tommy Quickly were in Brian Epstein's stable and each got to record Lennon-McCartney cast-offs; Hello Little Girl (Fourmost) and Tip of My Tongue (Quickly) - the latter possibly the worst song ever written by L&M. What a trip hearing early Spencer Davis with 16 year old Steve Winwood picking up lead guitar and vocal in the middle of the song. And Alan Price on keyboards for the Animals - a group he founded - just before he split with Eric. (And the late Chas Chandler on bass - he more than anyone responsible for bringing James Marshall Hendrix to the world.) Forgive the wardrobes (gold lame pants) and the sets - just early Carnaby Street sign of the times. And Matt Munro - an accommodation to the older set during the period of transition - he was thought to be the Sinatra of England.I could have watched five hours of this! Bob Lewis

dojo625 It's a very entertaining time capsule of pop culture and lots of fun to watch. The host is such a 60's stereotype that he's sometimes distracting. Yes, I know he's a very famous British artist, but no less off putting.It's a shame some of the performers aren't identified - the lesser known bands remain unknown. But you can't miss a very young Steve Winwood with the Spencer Davis Group. Wow, he really stands out with his bluesy voice...loved it.I'm still wondering how all those musicians played electrical instruments in the movie without any cords or cables. Ahhh..the 60s were indeed magical.

barham I had wondered what had happened to a little film I saw in the early 70s called Go-Go Mania and now I know - its original English title is Pop Gear.Nice viewing for pop music historians. There are good performances by obscure groups here that never made it to the US. Too bad the performers didn't always think to write the name of their group in bigger letters on their drum kits, sort of as a way of preserving their work for posterity. Nor does the film pop up the name of the group and the song the group performs (the benefits of pop-up video!)I caught this film on a cable channel over the July 4 holiday and sat frantically flipping through a book on British pop music trying to identify some of these groups!Anyway, for those of you not familiar with British pop music of the 60s, here's what I caught:The Nashville Teens perform "Tobacco Road" and "Google Eyes", both written by John D. Loudermilk. Do not be fooled by the name - it is a British group.The Honeycombs are identifiable by their female drummer, Honey Langtree.I thought the performance by the Four Pennies was particularly good - they sang with a passion. This was a group that unfortunately never even surfaced in the US - Lionel Morton, Fritz Fryer, Mike Walsh, and Alan Buck. Too bad we missed out!Another good performance by a 5?-man group whose lead singer has red hair - sadly I couldn't identify these fellows. Anybody out there who can help me out?Eric Burdon and the Animals are always a treat. A little guy with a huge voice.The description of the film says Spencer Davis is in here too, though I turned it on too late to catch them.And the grand finale looked like footage of the Beatles from "A Hard Day's Night". 'Nuff said about the Beatles.The music holds up extremely well - the dance numbers were something else. They positively date the thing in the 60s. The tight gold pants worn by one group of women look awful. And the dresses worn by another group look like sacks - they called this fashion?

enfilmigult Among the plethora of 60's-era chestnuts AMC unearthed for its marathon music-movie weekend, "Pop Gear" actually stands out memorably. It isn't a movie, just a sort of drive-in Top 40 sort of deal, with various bands performing on a soundstage, a dance number or two, and a crooning host whose hair defies gravity. Essentially, it's like American Bandstand without the goofy kids.Despite its obscurity and potentially snooze-inducing premise (it's hard to believe that the print still exists after a few decades), this is pretty interesting stuff. It's no "Woodstock", to be sure, and all of the performances are lip-synced, but the end result is intriguing. Faced with an almost completely static environment, the cinematographer actually holds interest by framing bands very well in widescreen Techniscope, planning some subtle movements between lead singers and the camera, and also staging the occasional dance numbers very well. The director doesn't push it or seem desperate, and avoids resorting to distractingly strange angles or overlong closeups (though the included closeups are startling). The editing is top-notch, as well. Despite being a set-bound, overextended music video, it's stylishly filmed, if cheesily assembled. A few very good songs work their way in, as well ("House of the Rising Sun" being one standout).