Clocking in at 111-minutes, this finely crafted doc ends abruptly, but that’s about the only major qualm I have with it. Marshall’s treatise is a deep-dish exploration of Andy, Maurice, and Robin Gibb’s life and career, their whitewater journey through the mountainous alleys of ’60s and ’70s pop. Of course, soon after creating the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack and becoming icons of the disco genre, The Bee Gees were castigated out of the business in the wake of an anti-disco backlash, which started in and around ’79 and ’80. Their careers started taking dark turns, but that’s mostly tackled near the climax of Marshall’s doc. Truth be told, and something many STILL refuse to acknowledge, is the breakthrough effect the Brothers had on the industry then and, even now. The music they created was genuinely great. The likes of Justin Timberlake and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, interviewed as talking heads here, speak of the unabashed joys of being a BeeGees fan. The great songs were endless; “To Love Somebody,” “Jive Talkin’” “Nights on Broadway,” and, of course, the five number-one singles from the “Saturday Night Fever” album, still, to this day, the only movie soundtrack to ever win the Grammy for Album of the Year. The driving narrating voice of Marshall’s doc is 74-year-old Barry Gibb, the only surviving brother of the original trio (Maurice passed in ’03, Robin in ’12) and owner of that infectious falsetto that would be the vocal signature of the band. The friction between the Brothers over the years is also told from his point of view, ditto the experience of that anti-disco backlash, which culminated with their post-70s work being relegated to songwriting for the likes of Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, and Dolly Parton. There are neat inside-the-music stories told as well, including some involving recording legends such as Atlantic Records boss Ahmet Ertegun, and Eric Clapton. It all culminates with a heartbreaker of a final line uttered by Robin.

Score: B

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