George Michael: Portrait of an Artist

Being the same vintage as George Michael, and knowing about the music that was the soundtrack to my young adulthood, I expected to like this trip down memory lane.

But it was very much more than that. It was a look at the backstory that explained everything about the arc of George's life and career, and the darkness you could always tell was around the edges.

I had forgotten how influential his coming out was. And I was unaware of his deliberate political provocations. I was also completely unaware of this philanthropic nature and the deliberateness of that as well.

I'm sorry that the demons won that battle for his existence--he's someone we could really count on right now in our current battles with the other demons that have been unleashed lately.

I am going to be thinking about this for a long time. It's not a story I'll be able to shake off. I'm glad I watched.

.... and not enough people who were actually knew personally George Michael -- where is his family, friends? Instead, you get plenty of Academic Talking Heads from some psyche dept. At some college or university or social-psych centre you've never heard of, who never met George, never talked with him, etc., but, oh, they knew exactly why he did, when he did it, etc.

The filmmakers did manage to find one person who personally worked with George in the control room, mixing and recording the songs, etc. Oh, wow, big whoop!

I am so tired of all these documentaries in the last 10 years (mostly end up on Streaming Services anyway) where people who didn't know the Subject personally just go on and on and on about why Artist did this or did that.

Actually, the best of all the recently released documentaries is the only I saw on Netflix, simply titled "Wham!" because it only deals with the Wham! Years - not George's post-Wham! Days.

In the Netflix docu, there are many interviews with people who actually knew and worked (and sang!) with George! Especially nice to see Andrew Ridgeley, showing us all those scrapbooks his mom made (and kept!) all through the "Wham!" years. It would be cool if some savvy publisher -- or even Andrew's family -- published a fascimile-sized book of all these scrapbooks. What a treat that would be!

Anyway, skip this one (please!) and that other British-TV docu that interviews neighbors et al right after George's death. ("So how did you know George?" "How did you react to his death?" and other inane questions. Lots of required camera shots of all the flowers stacked up by the home's front entance. Blah, blah, blah... Seen it all before, folks!

George Michael (and the seemingly left-behind Andrew Ridgeley) deserve better.

Finally.

It was with great interest and pleasure that I sat down to watch this documentary. Could it manage to provide new insight into George Michael's all-too-short life? Could it bring out the artist and the superstar? YES! It does.

In contrast to the documentary film George Michael himself worked on until his death (Freedom), Simon Napier-Bell takes a more thorough approach. Because here he ensures that we go through George's career and life chronologically. In terms of music and career, this will be a reminder of how insanely big a pop star George Michael became. And the reunion with the big hits makes the documentary worth watching (for that reason alone). This documentary shows and also gives new insight into the star's private life. There were great challenges and a great deal of hardship. Documentary maker Napier-Bell manages well to bring out how Michael used music to honestly share his personal challenges through music.

We will never get George Michael back. He was unique, and this film clearly shows how great he was, both as a man and as an artist. But in the same way as documentaries made about e.g. Whitney Houston and Prince, this documentary in all its horror also shows the great personal stresses of being in the limelight all the time. George Michael didn't make it easy for himself in that respect, but he was always honest and stood his ground.

Carels' Whisper and many other songs will ensure that we will remember him primarily for the music. This documentary will also ensure that new generations become better acquainted with the superstar George Michael.

The reality of this "documentary" is that it is in a lot of respects lazy like most documentaries these days. They are just outsiders and fringe people giving one on one quotes that don't really involve the person. The really thing that irked me was that he was like Bill Gates and wanted to give away all of the money that he earned. He is not like Bill Gates. Bill Gates isn't giving away any of his money, he's established a not for profit that will hold all of his money and grow it. That is what is whole third world country "health" business is about, growing his business and wealth for future generations. 10 Billion invested into vaccines turned into 200 Billion. Bill Gates is not giving away anything.

I was a young guy when Wham took off, and the George Michaels solo career followed.

This documentary tells the George Michaels journey from would be pop star into a well respected and extremely talented solo performer.

George starts off his musical career as a teenager full of hopes of conquering the world of pop music. Along with his best friend Andrew Ridgeley, Wham is formed and they explode onto the scene. Slowly but surely the star quality of George starts to burn bright.

Over the years, George turns from a bright eyed enthusiastic pop star into a cynical performer, who seems to be at odds against himself as a reluctant celebrity under the scrutiny of the media. There are insights into his family life and partners.

The story telling is relevant and good in this documentary. They could have touched more on his relationship with Andrew Ridgeley, and also his death was never clearly discussed.

I liked the Wham documentary better, but this is still good, particularly if your a George Michael fan.