Search - Two of Us on DVD

Inspired movie making

Gord Muir | Victoria, BC | 03/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Michael Linsey-Hogg, the director of Let It Be, weaves fact and fiction into a compelling movie about two of the greatest personalities of our generation.McCartney comes off a bit too warm in this but its hard to see that as a flaw. Reputed to be a 'cool' person at the best of times perhaps we see through to the real Paul. Lennon on the other hand is accurately portrayed from the clowning to the acid wit he was so well known for.While the actors don't physically resemble John and Paul that well they certainly come across as them if you just squint your eyes and pretend a little.Best moments in the movie: McCartney in a heartfelt moment telling John how during the break up of the Beatles he felt as though he was losing his best friend. Lennons acid response. "We were never that close mate".A scene in Central Park with the two of them in disguise. Reminiscent of A Hard Days Night is the exchange between them and two mounted police. We laughed out loud at this one and the scene just felt right. A scene in a restaurant when an elderly couple finally get there nerve up to approach John. They make the gaffe of requesting that he sing a few bars of Yesterday (Pauls song). Lennons response again had us laughing out loud and again it felt as though it really was John saying it.The best moment of all is one with John and Paul on the roof of the Dakota. I won't attempt to describe this one but it brought tears to my eyes and confirmed to me that the chemistry between John and Paul was truly magic. This movie brings back a little of the joy the Beatles brought to the world way back when. A celebration of John and Paul and the real world magic of Beatle music."

Excellent Acting

docchalk | Toronto On | 10/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For anyone who loves the Beatles, (Half the population of Earth) you will be rewarded with a fictitious but very realistic account, of what may of happened on this infamous meeting. Paul's character played by Quinn was truly remarkable. Since his death, so much of Johns place in history has been covered and magnified, while in many accounts Paul has been given an unfair shake on his place as an intelligent, sensitive and brilliant musician. I came off feeling how special and warm Paul is both in his humour and listening skills. Both actors though were outstanding. You walk away from this film wanting more. But unfortunatly we know, more did not happen. I would Love to see a movie of this kind be made of George Harrison's life. He is probably the most underrated musical genius of the modern era. Thank You!"

It's All In The Imagination, Luv!

Eliot A. Kopp | Florida | 03/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not a fan of biopics, particularly when most of the dialogue comes straight from the head of the script writer. In point of fact, this and other "you are there" movies require a suspension of disbelief in order to give the events a degree of plausibility. Although it was difficult for me to shake the notion that this movie was a complete and utter fantasy, I decided to enjoy it at face value. In reality, John and Paul did get together in April, 1976, during the "Wings Over America" tour. In the real life get-together, both Yoko and Linda were at the Dakota, and all four of them watched the Saturday Night Live "reunion offer" episode. John and Paul briefly toyed with the idea of going down to the studio as a lark, but all four decided it was too late at night, and the idea was quickly dismissed. After Paul and Linda left the Dakota (on a high note, pun intended!), Paul decided to return the next day by himself. It was on that return that John refused to let Paul in, stating that he had to take care of Sean, and that it wasn't like the old days, when as teenagers they would just show up at each others' homes. Paul left the Dakota, never to return.

Okay.... so back to the movie. If you're into "what ifs?", and you want a fairly realistic version of what might have happened had they met (based on their personalities and prior interactions), this is the movie for you. The John of this movie is the sterotype we have grown to know and love.....pissed off the whole movie. Paul is in his sweet, "we can work it out" mode, as would be expected of him. These fallbacks to stereotype tend to bring a one-dimensional bent to both of their characters, but the movie is well-written, and the dialogue and interaction are strangely compelling. I don't know if this "what if" scenario is as mind-boggling as say, "what if Hitler had won the war", or "what if Oswald had lived", but for Beatles afficianados such as myself, to see John and Paul interacting anytime after the breakup of the Beatles is worth the investment in time and money, and certainly worth suspending one's disbelief for 90 minutes. For further clarification and insight into the complexities of both the personal and the working relationships of John and Paul , please refer to the research of Dr. David M. Kopp, PhD. Dr. Kopp offers a perspective of the inter-relationship between the two Beatles that has rarely been touched upon in other scholarly works."

Surprisingly good

Itamar Katz | Ramat-Gan, Israel | 09/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being the Beatlemaniac that I am, I approached Two Of Us with a combination of fear and fascination. Having seen 'In His Life: The John Lennon Story', I was quite concerned that Two Of Us will turn out no better. The fact that Aidan Quinn and Jared Harris look absolutely nothing like John Lennon and Paul McCartney - even with some make-up and proper hairdos - didn't help one bit.



But I was more than a bit pleasantly surprised. It's probably thanks to the involvement of Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who directed Let It Be in 1970 and consequently probably knew John and Paul quite well, that the characters and the dialogue came across as convincing as they did. (The writing credit for Two Of Us is given to a man named Mark Stanfield, of whom I know absolutely nothing; I feel confident that director Lindsay-Hogg had more than a bit to do with the script.) Two Of Us is not a biography of the Beatles; it has very little plot, in fact, and takes place all in one day in New York City. What it does is imagine a meeting between John and Paul in 1976, while John lived in New York. That meeting is entirely fictitious, of course - though it can't truly be disproved that such a meeting actually took place. But through that imagined conversation it gives us a glimpse into the personalities of these two great musicians - their intelligence, their sense of humor, their different reaction to stardom, and most of all their relationship; what made them such a great team, and what broke them up.



Since it's a talk movie, nothing much except for dialogue between two characters for an hour and a half, it's likely to bore all but true fans of the Beatles; but it's a fantastic piece of writing and storytelling, and is both informative and touching. For those interested in these two musical giants, very quickly you'll get over the shock of how different the actors look from their counterparts and feel like John and Paul had come to life - so intimate and convincing is the script, and so committed are the actors. Two Of Us gives you priceless insight into the lives of two geniuses, and a tale that is both sad and funny. Most certainly recommended."