Watch Telstar: The Joe Meek Story For Free

The Age of Commercialism

People are voting emotionally.

Overrated

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

I really wanted to see this film at the cinema, but somehow it passed me by. Maybe it didn't come to my local cinema which would have been a shame.Anyway, I forgot about it until I stumbled across the DVD online, ordered a copy and finally got to see it 8 years late! It was well worth waiting for.If you know about Joe Meek's life (and death), you will no doubt spot a few moments of artistic licence where some details are not exactly right such as his refusal to speak to Tom Jones when in reality he did record him. However, on the whole it is the story that I was aware of.Most importantly, it is well written, well directed, extremely well acted by all concerned and extremely entertaining despite the sad ending. It is worth noting that many of the people portrayed in the film are credited with cameo roles in the film so I think it is fair to say that those around at the time approved of the script and were happy to take part in it as well as give advice to the actors. For example, in the extra interview film on the DVD, James Cordon tells how Clem Cattini coached him in order to look convincing as a drummer – and he did a really good job in my opinion! I would add that although Kevin Spacey has clearly been included in the cast in order to try to sell this film to the USA, plus he is a big Hollywood name that would no doubt attract a few British cinema-goers who might other wise pass this film by, his performance as the very British Major was excellent. The first time I have ever seen an American play a Brit convincingly.I'm soiled that I bought the DVD because I can now see this film again and again, which I certainly will.

Picked this up on whim in 2015, as it has Kevin Spacey on the DVD cover, and as you probably know, he is usually excellent. Telstar tells the story of Joe Meek (played by Con O'Neill, who is excellent by the way) the world's first independent record producer. As comical as the on screen action is at times, it's also rather tragic. Personally, I wasn't around during the 1960's, I have to assume the film portrays London accurately during that era. Either way, the backdrop to the film is interesting. It's also interesting to see the conditions under which Meek's hit songs were created, recorded, in a grubby flat above a handbag shop in London. Entertaining from start to finish. One of the best films I've seen in ages. Totally recommended.

Unfortunately all this film did was portray Joe Meek as a disturbed and mildly successful music producer - anyone who didn't know much about music history, or who didn't have the gumption to research the life of Joe Meek any further, could be mistaken for thinking that making a movie about Meek and his final years was a rather odd thing to do.What was sorely lacking from this film was any proper focus on the innovative nature of his work in the recording industry (something which is hinted at in places, but never really explored in any detail until the closing credits tell us that he is considered a visionary pioneer in mus recording).Another glaring omission was the fact that no explicit mention is made of his apparent lack of musical writing abilities and skills (something quire amazing when you consider that he was involved in so many chart busting hits).I also found some of the details rather odd, like the decision to have him accidentally shoot his landlady - something that the eyewitness accounts don't support, or the brief moment in the movie when we are led to believe that Meek was not at all interested in Tom Jones (the 'Welsh' artist that he is told about during one scene in the film) when in actual fact he recorded Jones and then shopped those recordings around major record companies before Jones had his first major success.Then there are also the odd things, like the inclusion of footage of the Beetles becoming hugely successful (news footage shown on TV at one point), without a very clear prior explanation/presentation of the fact that Meek written off the Beatles, believing that they would never make it big.It also seems (not that I was a huge Joe Meek expert before seeing this movie) that the way Meek is played in this movie is far too campy and weird when compared with the actual man himself.In the end, this movie was rushed, and as a result it's narrative becomes a little bit too confused, giving watchers only bits and pieces of information, while missing other vital things out, and then all of a sudden we're watching him shoot his landlady and himself and the credits are rolling.Watchable, but feels like something that the Reader's Digest would make if they were into making film biographies.

British films made by people like Richard Curtis (The Boat that Rocked et al) tend to look at the swinging 60's of London with heavily rose tinted spectacles. All pimms, waistcoats, flower power and crazy shenanigans. All very well but not much to do with reality - I thought Austin Powers would have killed that off in the 90's....which is why Nick Moran's directorial debut is such a breath of fresh air.For those that don't know the Joe Meek at the centre of this film - control freak, gay in the wrong decade, tone deaf drug addicted musical pioneer - get ready for a roller-coaster of a ride. Without wishing to spoil the arc of the story, this is a classic tale of a man with a vision breaking new ground...with disastrous consequences.Con O'Neil dominates this film with a superb manic performance which captures the claustrophobic and chaotic feel of the centre of Joe's universe, his recording studio above a handbag shop in central London in the early 60's. Ably supported by a host of good actors - in particular Kevin Spacey, Pam Ferris, and (even) James Cordon are all spot on. What looks like a cod-60's Curtis-esquire disaster for the first 20 minutes heads somewhere altogether darker once the action cranks up as Joe starts to get some no.1 hits in the charts.A must watch cautionary tale about fame, love, jealously, paranoia and music, this is a fine carachter piece with some excellent nuanced comedy amidst the darker elements, it's a really well executed debut from Mr Moran...enjoy.