Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile (2004) on Netflix
TV-1420041h 49mDocumentary
Brian Wilson meant Smile to follow the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, and the album went unfinished. Interviews, archival footage and vintage tapes revisit that work and his later return to it.
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Plot summary
Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys left Smile unfinished in 1967. The album was meant to follow Pet Sounds, and the documentary traces its making through interviews, archival footage and vintage audio tapes, then follows Wilson as he takes up the material again decades later and brings it to the stage in 2004. Three parts carry the story: the original sessions, the record's rebirth, and its live performances. Wilson talks about the project with dozens of people who worked alongside him, while his surviving bandmates declined to take part. The title comes from a Stephen Foster song whose opening line shares its initials with his full name, a coincidence he mentions.
