Search - Paul McCartney - Wingspan - An Intimate Portrait on DVD

An Incomplete Documentary

Randy Carver | Everett, WA | 02/28/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I wish Alister and Mary would have spent more time trying to find footage to make this documentary more complete. If anyone has connections on how to get more newsreel and music video footage it would be Paul, and his daughter Mary and son-in-law Alister. I have seen important Wings footage on MTV, etc. that was not included on this DVD. For example: Where is the Wings over the World footage when Ringo visits them backstage, and the 1976 Rockshow interview with a very confident sounding Paul? How about the footage from the James Paul McCartney show where Wings plays several songs live? How about the Rockestra band playing "Lucille" live during the Concert for Kampuchea? I have them playing that on my bootleg video, and Mary could not get it? How about asking the detailed questions about the events in these videos? They should have definitly interviewed Denny Lane! Since he recently made a CD of old Wings hits, I'm sure he would have been available to answer a few questions from Mary. Speaking of questions, Mary should have asked the more detailed and tougher questions. Since she didn't do this, she shows me that she is not the biggest Wings fan out there, and she should have consulted her dad more about what questions would make this story sound complete in order to make this a world-class video like the Beatles Anthology. Her questions only let us see the tip of the iceberg, and are nothing that any big Wings fan does not already know.I have seen many, many Wings videos on bootleg tapes that would have fit nicely into this DVD, such as: Goodnight Tonight, and Mull of Kintyre. Almost every video they showed on this DVD was cut and just partially shown. They should have shown the entire length of all the "good" music videos, and shown partials of some of the "mediocre" ones. Better yet, they should have archived ALL the videos in the Special Features section of the DVD.I speculate that Paul just left everything in the hands of Alister and Mary and just let them do it all themselves, while he acted like executive producer and provided the majority of the funding for this DVD. Mary is inexperienced and should have taken more time to do this right. 2/5 stars for this one."

It's A Family Affair

Mike King | Taunton, MA United States | 01/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For this "rockumentary," Paul McCartney is interviewed by his daughter. He is very playful and relaxed, given his familiarity with the interviewer. At the beginning of the program we witness the dissolution of the Beatles and the marriage of Paul and Linda. Interestingly, none of the other Beatles were in attendance at the hastily arranged nuptials. Later, Paul wonders if he can make it as a solo artist. After releasing a couple of solo albums, he decides to form a new band. His wife Linda would be a member of the group, even though she had little musical experience. Paul admired Denny Laine's guitar playing and singing with the Moody Blues. Denny was asked to join his new group Wings. As it turned out, Denny Laine was the ONLY member of Wings to stay with the group from start to finish, other than Linda. However, his musical contributions - what songs he wrote and sang on, or contributed a guitar solo to - are never discussed. Mr. Laine was not interviewed for this DVD, nor are any clips of old interviews with him included. Other band members are only mentioned in passing although, to be fair, most only lasted with Wings a short time. As Paul said near the end of the program, he proved that he could have major hits and successful world tours with another band after the Beatles. After Paul's infamous drug bust in Japan, he felt that it was time to give everything a rest. Thus Wings ended, not with a bang but with a whimper. Surprisingly, there is no booklet or even an insert included with the DVD. The extras include complete live performances of two songs - "Jet" and "Let 'Em In" - as well as the studio session for the instrumental "Rockestra." The discography contains mistakes; when you click on the song list for "Wings Over America" it displays the song list for "Wings At The Speed Of Sound." A little more attention to detail and interviews with other band members could easily have made this a 5 star DVD."

It's his story, but it's ours too

GBS | Chicago, IL USA | 11/19/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Wingspan", as noted, purports to be one thing but clearly becomes another.While we certainly feel his warmth of memories to his late wife, Linda, the story of Wings had little directly to do with her. Wings was a performing and recording band, they played concerts and made records. But what is also impossible to argue, Linda McCartney's actual contributions to either live shows or records was minimal. Those records and shows rested in the hands of Paul and his able band of musicians.What's disappointing is how little we really know of the MUSIC of Wings from this DVD. How little of the musicians, how they came into the group, what became of them, how they contributed. That's a real shame; they worked hard to keep up with an ex-Beatle, to do him and themselves proud, and make records that could stand up to the legacy of Paul McCartney.Instead, we get to know more about Linda McCartney than perhaps we really need to know. It's no surprise that their love was incredibly strong - we've known that all along, they were very open, public and direct about that. And her impact on his life was, without question, immeasurable. But, it is also fair to say that her direct impact on the music of Wings was VERY measurable, and the overemphasis on her contributions defeats the thesis of this program.It's unfair to diminish Linda McCartney's place in the life of her famous husband, but it's equally unfair to overshadow with her memory the fine collaborations of the various members of Wings. That's the real Wings story, and sadly, you won't find much of it here."

"Wingspan" satisfying but could have been expanded

C.H. | Beach Park, IL | 11/14/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In intimate conversation with daughter Mary (whose husband directed), Paul McCartney discusses life after the Beatles, and how his next challenge was to form a band, pack up the family, and hit the road. 88 minute film seen on ABC-TV is satisfying for fans but footage shown could have been expanded. We just get snippets of great songs and rare concert footage, and there isn't any interviews or commentary with the rest of the band (save for Linda's posthumous comments) especially from loyal, talented, long-suffering Denny Laine who was there from start to finish. DVD extras include an additional 22 minute discussion between Paul and Mary, promotional videos for "Jet" and "Let 'Em In" (which were both taken from the "Rockshow" film) and the superstar jam "Rockestra". Just three videos? Also included is a discography and a photo gallery, with 100 pictures. A neat package, but they should have alloted themselves more than 88 minutes to cover a nine-year career, especially with all the great music involved."