The documentary on the iconic band premieres December 12.
The Bee Gees are one of the most iconic bands in the history of music, so it’s fitting that they should be the subject of an in-depth documentary from one of Hollywood’s most iconic filmmakers. The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart comes to HBO Max December 12 from acclaimed producer and director Frank Marshall, and judging by the brand new trailer, it’s going to be a pretty emotional journey.
The Bee Gees, formed in the late 1950s by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, shot to international stardom in the 60s and 70s. Hailed as the “Kings of Disco,” the trio wrote over 1,000 songs over the course of the next few decades, including 20 #1 hits like the timelessly groovy Saturday Night Fever theme song “Stayin’ Alive.” Marshall’s documentary chronicles the band’s nearly 50-year career, featuring revealing interviews with eldest brother Barry and archival interviews with Robin and Maurice. (Maurice passed away in 2003, and Robin died in 2012.) The film features a wealth of never-before-seen archival footage of recording sessions, concert performances, television appearances and home videos, as well as interviews with musicians Eric Clapton, Noel Gallagher, Nick Jonas, Chris Martin, Justin Timberlake, music producer Mark Ronson, singer Lulu, record company executive Bill Oakes, and others. (In addition to being a huge pop star who famously sings with a falsetto, Timberlake also played Robin on the “Barry Gibb Talk Show” series of SNL sketches, which makes him a doubly unique authority on the subject of the Bee Gees.)
Disco faced a massive and unfair backlash after its dominant mainstream success, and the Bee Gees unfortunately suffered the brunt of that hostility and became labeled as extremely uncool for many years. In addition to exploring the complexities of achieving incredible fame and fortune while working closely with family, Marshall’s documentary reminds us of how many all-time bops the Bee Gees actually wrote, strongly making the argument that they were never uncool. Check out the trailer below and be prepared to get some vintage tunes irrevocably stuck in your head for the rest of the day.
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