The Concert for Bangladesh (1972)

The first benefit rock concert when major musicians performed to raise humanitarian relief funds for the refugees of Bangladesh of 1971 war.

Director:

Saul Swimmer

Stars:

George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Harrison	...	Himself
Bob Dylan	...	Himself
Ravi Shankar	...	Himself
Ringo Starr	...	Himself
Eric Clapton	...	Himself
Leon Russell	...	Himself
Billy Preston	...	Himself
Klaus Voormann	...	Himself
Jim Keltner	...	Himself
Pete Ham	...	Himself (as Badfinger)
Tom Evans	...	Himself (as Badfinger)
Mike Gibbins	...	Himself (as Badfinger)
Joey Molland	...	Himself (as Badfinger)
Jesse Ed Davis	...	Himself
Jim Horn	...	Himself

Storyline

Ex-Beatle George Harrison organized this spectacular concert on August 1, 1971 at New York's Madison Square Garden to help and aid the people from Bangladesh with all the money raised destined to that cause. Along with Harrison the concert features Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Leon Rusell, Klaus Voormann and an Indian music section by Ravi Shankar and a set by the legendary Bob Dylan.

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Plot Keywords:

concert | bangladesh | eric clapton | bob dylan | ringo starr | 

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Taglines:

The Greatest Concert of the Decade! Now you can see it and hear it...as if you were there !

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 1972 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Concerto para Bangladesh

Filming Locations:

Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden - 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apple Corps, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, U.S. Committee for UNICEF

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

More of the proceeds from the concert were frozen by the Internal Revenue Service than were given to UNICEF, pending a tax investigation. It took nearly ten years to release the remainder to UNICEF, by which time the crisis in Bangladesh had long passed.

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Goofs

In between 'Blowin' in the Wind' and 'Just Like a Woman', Bob Dylan attaches his capo to the second fret of his guitar. George Harrison then leans over to speak to Leon Russell, but immediately in the next shot, Dylan's guitar is capoed on the fourth fret and George is back in his regular position. (This is most likely due to the deletion of another Dylan song, 'Mr. Tambourine Man', which was played with a capo on the 2nd fret and is included on the film's soundtrack album.)

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Connections

Featured in The Concert for Bangladesh: The Making of the Film (2005)

User Reviews

My friend came to me....

sadness in his eyes / told me that he wanted help/Before his country dies.

That's what Harrison wrote in his single "Bangla Desh" ,released late July 1971 ."My friend" is ,as anybody knows,Ravi Shankar.

Apart from Leon Russel's dreadful performance -with the eventual exception of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" - ,all that remains is good ,even splendid.

Highlighs include Clapton/Harrison's duet on "while my guitar gently weeps" ,the lovely "Here comes the sun" with the late Pete Ham on an acoustic guitar and Dylan's five songs which are a well chose menu :only "it takes a lot ...." seems weak by comparison but when you deal with such classics as "Tambourine man" "Blowin' in the wind" or "Hard Rain's a gonna fall";and Harrison's and Russel's back up vocals on "just like a woman" are worth the price of admission.

Bob Geldof who was praised during the eighties for band aid was not the first one .....