In 1996, Oasis member Liam Gallagher stated, “It’s really important to be bigger than the Beatles […] I think we’re better than the Beatles… They ain’t the best band in the world — we are.” Those comments were, rightly, met with controversy in the music world. At the time, Oasis was a five-year-old band that had been releasing hits in the UK for a little over two years. On the precipice of a big American breakthrough, initiated by the mainstream hit “Wonderwall,” these comments struck the wrong chord with potential audiences.
In the new documentary, OASIS: SUPERSONIC, director Mat Whitecross presses Liam about this statement. Liam replies, “What we did in three [years] took the Beatles eight […] I thought we were the [best] and I thought we’d be doing that all over the world. I thought America would buy it, everyone would buy it… But that my friend is cocaine for you.”
In the film, the Gallagher brothers reflect on the journey that left their relationship fragmented, and their band broken-up. Despite numerous reports of their contentious relationship, they both agreed to do the film, though they are interviewed separately. They waver between honest reflection and their usual grandiose posturing. But for Whitecross, this was the ultimate hurdle to overcome. He tells The Independent, “I’m not a musician, but it feels to me the trajectory that band took is impossible now and that’s a tragedy. You also get the sense that people don’t know the real Liam and Noel, they think they’re these caricatures, which is not even close to the truth. I hope we can redress the balance.” Audiences must decide for themselves if Whitecross achieves his goal.
— Diana Martinez, Film Streams Education Director
