Sorry, this movie sucks

A lot of fun.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

So basically, after watching the four hour Tom Petty documentary, I was interested to see what other 3-4 hour music docs there were. The History of The Eagles seemed like a good way to go from here. I mean, they are legends and one of the highest grossing artists ever. So what happens when I first start watching this hopefully exciting documentary?......... LOTS OF DEPRESSING STUFF. I'm not complaining because this stuff happens in real life. But I think the problem is me. I did not know what I was getting into which made me upset. Part One focuses on their height. Glynn Johns misunderstands them, they do huge amounts of property damage, smoke a bunch of weed, Don Felder being a dick, threatening death on each other and a bunch of other bull that I want to forget. Part 2 is the solo careers, the reunion, Don Felder getting fired and stuff. I feel confused. Am I suppose to like the people in the band or just accept that they have great music? On one hand, Glenn comes off as being honest, a leader and showing that without him and Don Henley, we wouldn't have the band. On the other hand, he comes off as very Intimidating and scary. Timothy seems to be the only guy that is very chill and feels like the child in the room when the parents argue. The main point. Does this change my view of the Eagles? Does that make me want to go and buy more of their records? Does it make me want to see them live after I seen this documentary? Here is the thing. I like the music and it is classic so yes I will buy the records. Seeing them live? That is a thing I am still on debate about after watching this film. It is either a yes or no thing for me. Yes it changes my view but the music is still great. The reason I gave it a 5 is that the doc had a very negative effect on me and put me in a bad mood. This is real life and I understand. So maybe I should have rented something else on Itunes. Half of the score is for the music.51/100 C

The reviewers before me have pretty much summed this film up. I would put my money on 80% of the viewing demographic will have grown up with the Eagles and many of them, like myself, would know them first and foremost for their music. All of us have heard snippets of stories and probably read differing opinions as to how they imploded and reassembled and then generally just came and went again at random. Many of us would have been to a concert, possibly more than one and seen them in the flesh, marveling again at their magical ability to blend voices and instruments into some of the best music produced in modern times. This documentary knits it all together. There will be millions of words written online over the coming months and perhaps years critiquing this film for better or for worse.I have adopted the stance that this is a group of musicians that are just as human as all the rest of us, extraordinarily gifted in their chosen fields and were at the intersection of preparation and opportunity just at the right time. The addition of a copious amount of personal home movie footage, some never aired before adds the essential layer to the production and wraps the package up like a tightly constructed wine. I'm sure there are many who will be watching this who will see themselves in the background of some of the footage, even at the third encores and will will be gasping in their living rooms grateful for the fact that the passage of time is the best camouflage for human recognition. Could you just imagine..." OMG Mom, I don't believe you did that ! How am I going to explain this to my friends !! "

I loved The Eagles back in the 70's, especially after I finished my military service. Now, watching this special, "The History of the Eagles," and downloading lyrics, I can see that, even without the music, the words are pure poetry. Having taught poetry for nearly 5 decades, that is my ultimate test of whether the lyrics are real, authentic, if you can divest them of the music and they're still poetry. Only the best artists can maintain that precious risk; take away the musical safety net, which might even support a simple three chord progression, and if what you have is still addressing key tenets of the Human Condition, then you aren't merely experiencing entertainers, money makers, or businessmen, you and dovetailing delightfully with poets.Joe Walsh utters one of the most honest speeches I've ever heard a public figure deliver, and he struggles manfully, painfully, as if ripping heartfelt wisdom from deep within his being, about how in the final analysis, our lives are like fine-spun, intricately-woven novels; however, along the way, what we sense and experience is like running into a sudden comet or meteor, delectable or horrifying.Don Henley, who always seems to know just what to say in the moment or afterwards, described his immediate ambiguous feelings directly following the cessation in 1980 of the band's efforts: "Horrible relief." I have to wonder how much of a gifted artist's time, effort, soul, life and genius they must invest. Henley comments that he often wondered why he was successful when equally-talented artists did not reach the apex of Henley's success. Glen Frey sends out a desperate, impassioned plea to his wife and children to support him and hope that their "second act" did not change him too drastically.I admired the coloratura guitar riffs of Don Felder, and I was deeply saddened, when I learned that he had been replaced in one furious collision of egos and cat fights, some borderline, behind the scenes; others, embarrassedly right on stage in front of cheering but partly bewildered audiences. Frey conjures up the perfect analogy between a good band and a baseball team. You are all aligned in teamwork, energy, synergy; however, you don't have the ball in your own hand all of the time. Felder craved more opportunities to sing. Frey himself admitted that the longer The Eagles were together, the less and less he sang lead. Why? Because they had Don Henley. Henley himself mused that Felder's insistence he sing lead on one song was tantamount to Henley's demanding to play lead guitar on "Hotel California." I've watched this special now three times. It is so completely honest that no one individual emerges unscathed, yet most of them proceeded, like "Hotel California" not only from innocence to experience; but, moreover from some degree of benightedness toward a larger sense of awareness, maturity, good judgment and enlightenment as human beings, as artists, entertainers, writers, and people who realized how their creations behind the scenes and before jubilant audiences, mattered far more than they ever dreamed or feared or ever imagined could be realized.The deep lessons I derived focused upon Henley's efforts to save Henry David Thoreau's "Walden" from commercial vandalism and decimation; Joe Walsh's gratitude at being driven to rehab so that he, too, could experience "A Second Act" with his band mates.I think that "The History of the Eagles" should be required viewing of any budding producers, agents, or artists. It is one slice of life, one sobering view of fame, celebrity, success and failure, of Phoenixes emerging from their own self-induced immolation, of a group of young men growing up as their country and citizens in it also evolved painfully, sometimes jubilantly, with a lot of luck and some daunting disappointments.Watching the movie is almost like watching and listening to a magician explain patiently how the trick worked as well as disclosing those times when it didn't work.

Remember in THE BIG LEBOWSKI, when Jeff Bridges as "The Dude" complained so much to his cabbie about turning off "Peaceful Easy Feeling" because "he hates the F-ing Eagles, Man"! That rant got him evicted from his cab and earned him a long walk home from Malibu to his crappy apartment. Was it worth it? Well, The Dude just might change his tune if he checks out the new documentary HISTORY OF THE EAGLES currently running on Showtime.I recently watched both parts over two days, and it was well worth the time spent. Even though I never really was a big fan, I can most assuredly say that these guys were truly the biggest American band of the 1970's. Pretty much every album from their 1st through Hotel California was a part of the soundtrack of my teenage years. And as Don Henley mentioned in the beginning of Part 2, with the advent of classic rock radio in the early 80's, they've been constantly with us all the way through 2013. The songs were so good that we just never get tired of them.As far as the movie goes, much like the recent Scorcese long film about George Harrison and P. Bogdanovich's nearly 4-hour marathon on Tom Petty, it's all good. I'm convinced cable TV is the best way to show a rock doc., as you really get to tell and see it all with numerous interviews of those who lived it, without having movie theater time constraints and/or box office totals to worry about. And wow, did the Eagles have a whole bunch of video which I'd never seen. Some of it's great, much of it is "disposable", but almost all of it fascinating for fans.I read some of the comments on the IMDb board bashing Henley and Glenn Frey for coming off as "pompous a-holes". And while they did seem a bit overly protective of their cut of the band's fame and fortune, they have the right to. THEY STARTED THE BAND! Watch this film if you've ever yelled along while driving with the woo-hoo-hoos on "Already Gone", as it will flash you back nicely to the fun of the mid-70's.P.S.-And Dude, I know you once did your wacky dance to The First Edition's "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)", but you may want to skip over the part in the film where Kenny Rogers discusses helping Henley's pre-Eagles band Shiloh try to get started in LA. You will not recognize Kenny and may be a bit frightened with the condition his face's condition is in these days!