Description
DESCRIPTION: Original Air Date: 27th of November 2004: The idea of a documentary evolved because of his former bandmate Andrew Ridgeley being prepared to speak on camera and his father also agreeing to be interviewed. A Different Story begins with Michael on a promotional tour in Milan, Italy for the album Patience released earlier in the year, showing brief clips of Michael in a radio interview with fans outside chanting his name.
Filmed over a year, the film chronicles the most up to date events (for that time) of Michael’s life, beginning with his childhood in Hertfordshire, England, reflecting on his time as part of Wham!, and the first on-screen interview together with Ridgeley since the split.
“One way or another, I realised there was the potential here to make a really in-depth documentary about the timeline of my career”. – George Michael
Michael discusses his success as a solo artist beginning in 1987 and the big impact of the successful album Faith which earned Michael a Grammy for Album of the Year in 1989 and the battles he had with the public and personal life including his sexuality. During the promotion of the album Michael states that he had been striving to have the same level of success as Michael Jackson and Madonna. However, during the interview he admits that as the Faith Tour ended and it started to fade, “I felt like I was going insane”.
It also touches briefly on the court case with Sony Music and the music business.
MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN AND EVEN MORE HAS BEFY SAID ABOUT GEORGE MICHAEL, YET WE HAVE HEND VERY LITTLE FRON GEORGE’S PERSPECTIVE ABOUT HOW A YOUNG BOY TROM HERTFORDSHIRE CAVE TO BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST AND BRIGHTEST STARS OF HAS GENERATION.
In addition to previously unseen and candid material of George himself, the film has special contributions from the likes of Mariah Carey, Elton John, Boy George, Sting, Noel Gallagher and Andrew Ridgeley. Including are several archive clips from several years throughout the entire duration of George Michael’s career both with Wham! and as a solo artist.
George Michael’s been British pop royalty ever since he took the charts by storm with Wham! In 1982. He’s been a solo star for 20 years achieving huge international success with hits albums like FAITH to the more recent PATIENCE but yet he’s remained an enigma.
In GEORGE MICHAEL: A DIFFERENT STORY George gives a brutally honest guided tour of his life, opening up for the first time about the extraordinary tension berween his personal and professional life.
He takes us back to his childhood in Bushey, where he and Andrew Ridgeley get together to discuss the Wham! years. He talks about dealing with the pain of losing his Brazilion boyfriend Anselmo to Aids at the same time as giving one of his most powerful and poignant performances of his career at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 1992.
He addresses the battles he had with his former record label Sony in the early gos and honestly discusses the controversial incident in LA and the romifications following it. He talks about his recent attempts to attack the superpowers’ foreign policy in song and discloses many more intriguing aspects of his life and career that he previously kept concealed.
MORE THAN A MUSIC DOCUMENTARY, GEORGE MICHAL: A DIFFERENT STORY
DIRECTED BY SOUTHAN MORRIS
“A candid, self-deprecating and altogether winning carcer-to-dare overview, ‘George Michael: A Different Story finds the witty and articulate pop star looking back with unblinking candour and wry humour on an eventful 2o-year plus run…already well received at the Berlin festival” VARIETY
FULL CAST: George Michael, Sting, Mariah Carey, Elton John, Noel Gallagher (Oasis), Simon Cowell, Geri Horner (Geri Halliwell Spice Girls), Boy George (Culture Club), Andrew Ridgeley, Kenneth Goss, Martin Kemp (Guitarist & Songwriter for Spandau Ballet), Rest of cast listed alphabetically: David Austin, Helen DeMacque (as Pepsi Demacque-Crockett backing singer of WHAM! and vocalist of Pepsi & Shirley), Paul Gambaccini, Shirlie Kemp (backing singer of WHAM! and vocalist of Pepsi & Shirley) Jack Panayiotou, Phil Ramone and Andy Stephens
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 1 Hour 33 Minutes
Background: An edited 90 minute version of A Different Story was first broadcast on British television channel BBC One in the UK on 27 November 2004. The DVD offered here is that particular version of this release. Following the broadcasts, the documentary was then screened at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival on the 16 February 2005 with a cinematic release in Germany on 12 January 2006. The North American screening took place at Manhattan’s Tribeca Film Festival between the 25 April and the 7 May 2005. The film was also part of the official selection at the Copenhagen and Rio de Janeiro Film Festivals. The film was released in Japan on 23 December 2005. On 28 February 2006, the British Board of Film Classification announced that the film would receive a 15 certificate rating. It was given a UK limited cinema release on 6 March 2006.
Nancy L Ryan (verified owner) –
Excellent picture. I am very pleased. I had purchased this DVD from another website a few years ago and the quality was not so great… I am so pleased to have this documentary in much better quality now thanks to MVR!