– Customer review on 13/07/2011

Soul food for Beatles tragics - from one who loves all things Beatles. George was such a delicious character, and in his death, he bought together the two remaining Beatles members, Paul and Ringo, who put in superb performances along with all the other magnificent balladeers on stage. Goerge's music was quite intricate and the lyrics extremely beautiful. I recommend that you put this dvd on, have your fave snacks ready, turn up the sound as loud as your system permits, and drink in this magnificent collection of beautiful performances from these ingenues who inhabit our world (thank heavens!)

– Customer review on 27/12/2007

CONCERT FOR GEORGE

This is the benchmark by which all concert films and tribute concerts should be judged. Tribute concerts can be a dicey affair. Anyone remember remember the Liverpool tribute to John Lennon? No? There's a reason! But this is a concert that had no pretensions. It's simply a tribute by George's friends for his friends and it's no exaggeration to say that this is one of the best concerts ever.

It's also one of the best concert films ever. We get the entire concert from start to finish without any commentary or embellishment. It hardly needs it. My first tear came at the very beginning when Olivia lit the candle. Rock fans, avoid the temptation to skip through Ravi and Anoushka Shankar's set. You will miss one of the most amazing pieces of music you will ever hear. This is followed by a brief but vintage performance from Monty Python with Tom Hanks inexplicably standing in for John Cleese. Then Eric Clapton leads the band on stage and everything they do is perfection. There are no egos, no-one trying to steal the show, and despite plenty of opportunities for “too many cooks” style problems, the performances are spot-on and the sound is magnificent.

The unsung heroes of the night are lead guitarists Andy Fairweather Low and Albert Lee who brilliantly recreate George's slide parts. If the solo in Give Me Love doesn't make you swoon, then see a doctor – there is something wrong with you. Andy also stood in for any absent vocalists during rehearsals.

The second disc contains the theatrical version of the film and, oh dear, they go and break the cardinal rules by interrupting the songs. So instead of getting to hear Tom Petty singing Handle With Care, we hear it in the background while he talks about how it was written. Why do directors always make the mistake of confusing the concert film with the making of the concert film? This made me glad I didn't see it at the cinema.
It hardly matters though, because we have the entire show on Disc 1 anyway. So Disc 2 can just be considered the extras disc, which also includes four short pieces on Ravi's orchestra, George's band, Monty Python and memories of George.

Highlight: far too many to mention
Feature: * * * * *
Extras: * * * * ½
Audio: Dolby Stereo, Dolby 5.1, DTS