Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (film)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the name of a 1978 musical film featuring new versions of songs originally written and performed by The Beatles. It is mostly remembered as one of the most expensive flops in the history of the music industry. The plot is based more on a previous stage version of the 1967 album than the album itself and tells the loosely-constructed story of a band and their wrangles with the music industry, attempts to battle evil forces bent on stealing their instruments and corrupting their home town of Heartland. The film is presented in the form of a rock opera with the Beatles' songs providing dialogue to carry the story. The film's tagline is "A splendid time is guaranteed for all".
Conceived in the wake of the huge success of Saturday Night Fever and produced by Robert Stigwood (who had also produced Fever as well as Grease), Pepper's was one of a number of musical films to be released in 1978 and pulled together several music stars at the height of their popularity including the Bee Gees (whose music had been integral to Fever), Peter Frampton (whose album Frampton Comes Alive! had been one of the biggest rock hits in recent years) and Aerosmith along with well-known actors including George Burns, Steve Martin and Donald Pleasence. This combination of talent with the hugely popular music of The Beatles seemed like a sure recipe for success but the film and soundtrack were critical disasters and the production failed to make back a significant portion of its expenses. Many of the principals involved (including the Bee Gees) continue to reference the film as an embarrassment and a low point in their careers. It has appeared on IMDB's Bottom 100 list of movie flops.
The film was nearly universally panned by critics who noted the wooden acting of Frampton and the Bee Gees (who despite thick British accents were playing American musicians), the insubstantial and juvenile plot and strained attempts at hipness which were undercut by the presence of old-guard actors like Burns.
The soundtrack album was rejected both by Beatles fans and mainstream buyers. Whereas the former objected to the awkward treatment of classic songs such as Martin's comedic take on "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"), the latter, while buying soundtracks featuring disco and pop hits in droves, had no interest in an Alice Cooper version of "Because" or hearing unknown actress Sandy Farina's competent vocal work on "Strawberry Fields Forever". Nonetheless Aerosmith's version of "Come Together" was a hit single and later appeared on the Armageddon soundtrack. While the double-LP shipped enough copies to retailers to reach the top 5 on the US album charts, most of these were eventually returned without selling and the album was still a cut-out bin staple years later. The ensuing financial fallout all but destroyed Robert Stigwood's record label RSO.
Like many films that originally flopped, the film has become popular in the cult circuit thanks to a DVD release of the film and a CD release of the album. The DVD has even gained a few five-star reviews.