Tedfoldol
everything you have heard about this movie is true.
Afouotos
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Skyler
Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
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.
kiljanja
Unfairly trashed by all mainstream media at the time of its release in early 1965 when I first saw this movie. This was the first time that I saw concert footage of the Beatles:- in color! The Beatles open and close this movie playing LIVE in front of screaming fans at the height of Beatlemania. The energy blew me away. I was 14 at the time. All the other groups mouth along to their records which was a bit disappointing I thought back then. Fans of this particular genre of pop music, particularly mid 60s British, are going to love this treasure trove. As well as some of the better known bands like the Animals and Herman's Hermit's this film also contains performances by the superb Rockin Berries and Four Pennies; two bands huge in England but never had a big hit in North America. All performances are lovingly filmed although spartan in appearance. No annoying split second cuts that have so long been the standard in music videos these days. I cannot believe this style is still in vogue to this day. There are no doubt thousands of fans such as myself who deeply enjoy music of this era and a movie such as this is a rare and valid document.
mesadude
I grew up listening to the early British bands and loved their music. This is a wonderful time capsule preserving for everyone a rare glimpse of the early British music invasion. I still have some of the albums from those bands and listen from time to time to reminisce. "Pop Gear" sets the stage for the visual British invasion experience. Highly recommended to anyone interested in this music.
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?