George Michael: Freedom (2017)

A year after the tragic death of George Michael, we get this film from the star a fine documentary. George Michael worked with this documentary before he died, and has been finished completely after his death. As a fan of George Michael, I found this film first and foremost interesting as it gives an insight into the music, albums and concerts. George Michael had great musical ambitions, which he achieved. Whether it was commercial with the Faith album, or the artistic and more demanding List Without Prejudice album. However, I missed the mention of the Patience album. The film has many music collegues that come with input and comments about George Michael and his music. But we also hear about his conflict with the record company and thus an insight into a cynical industry. George Michael also invites viewers into his private sphere, and the personal ups and downs he experienced throughout his life. The documentary, on the other hand, does not address any of the drug problems he had with, which led to prison sentences. George Michael was a great singer and songwriter, and this documentary shows it with full weight. On the other hand, it carries that it is made by himself, good and bad. After watching the movie, I think the best thing about it was the insight of the albums Listen and Older, which he was most proud of. See it as a reminder of the great artist he was. What a loss.

"George Michael: Freedom" (2017 release from the UK; 95 min.) is another documentary about the life and times, but mostly the music, of George Michael. As the documentary opens, we touch briefly on Wham! before moving on to "Faith", and how its global success overwhelmed George Michael. By the time we move on to "Listen Without Prejudice", we are well into the documentary.Couple of comments: this documentary is co-directed by David Austin (who has directed two previous documentaries on George Michael) and... George Michael himself. So if you are expecting to "get the dirt" on what George Michael really is like, you will be sorely disappointed. Instead, we get a chronological overview of the music in his solo career, with plenty of excerpts and correlating commentary by Michael himself and many other talking heads, including Elton John, Liam Gallagher, Mark Ronson, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder, etc. You can pick up some interesting tidbits here and there (I never knew that George Michael wrote "Heal the Pain" as a tribute to Paul McCartney). Given that this documentary focuses on his solo career, there is no sight of or commentary by Andrew Ridgeley. While there are a couple of passages that discuss his personal relationships, that also is kept to a minimum. While his fight with Sony gets LOTS of screen time, other non-music incidents (such as his arrest in Hollywood) are left out entirely. So again, if you are looking for a more personal side of George Michael, this is the wrong documentary for you. If on the other hand you want to revisit some of Michael's best tunes and get the inside scoop of them, then this documentary will be right up your alley."George Michael: Freedom" premiered in the US recently on Showtime. I really didn't know what to expect, but nevertheless looked forward to catching it. Bottom line is this: "George Michael: Freedom" is pleasant viewing, no more, no less. But one day someone is going to make the definitive George Michael documentary, a la "Amy" by director Asif Kapadia.

George Michael is honored in a fine documentary released in October 2017, a film he wrote and directed and supervised about his life in show business before his death on Christmas Day 2016. The film was completed under David Austin's direction. As he states in the film, 'Stars are almost always people that want to make up for their own weaknesses by being loved by the public and I'm no exception to that.'The movie is a frank and honest account of George Michael's professional life and career. Though the film was made by the man himself, various artists add to the narrative – Tony Bennett, Mary J. Blige, Emmanuelle Alt, Naomi Campbell, Ricky Gervais, Elton John, Liam Gallagher, Cindy Crawford, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Kate Moss Nile Rodgers, James Corden, Stevie Wonder, and many others.The film highlights conversations with Michael, his crisis with Sony, his 'coming out' as a gay man and finding love with a Brazilian man who subsequently died of AIDS, his driving force to be the best performer and songwriter ever known, his many successful videos and clips from live performances and much, much more.This is a very beautifully made film, steaming with love from Michael and from his many fans, and filled with information about the positive impact he made on the world. Completely entertaining and a fine tribute to an enormously gifted artist.

What I really liked about this documentary was the insight we got, from George himself, into the beautiful lyrics that he wrote and performed, especially after the death of his first real love, Anselmo. George told us what inspired his song writing before and after his meeting with Anselmo and he showed us, with the help of musical clips, how his various emotions manifested themselves through song. His happiness when he met Anselmo, his sadness when Anselmo died and when his mother died of cancer, his anger when Sony refused to let him go and his humour after his unfortunate encounter in a Beverly Hills loo, Ricky Gervais made us laugh with his take on the affair. Elton John seemed to understand George well and perhaps surprisingly, Liam Gallagher too.They, along with a few other celebrities, helped us get to know George better and by the time Chris Martin started to sing "A Different Corner", his tribute to George at the Brit Awards, there were tears in my eyes. I met George Michael many years ago and we all knew he was gay, but most of all it was obvious that he was a very kind person and very vulnerable, which comes across during this fine documentary. You will laugh and probably cry when you watch Freedom, I dare you not too!