one direction: reaching for the stars

For those who don't have a tween girl in their lives, you may be unaware that British boy band One Direction has been slowly taking over the young minds and hearts of girls in America and around the world. But no fear, to coincide with the recent release of their third album, Midnight Memories, there are also some films, official and unofficial, coming out which chart the band's ever-growing success. Inception Media Group is releasing on DVD and digital video the unofficial documentary One Direction: Reaching for the Stars on December 10, one week before the band's own official documentary, One Direction: This is Us is due to hit stores.

One Direction: Reaching for the Stars traces how the five personable British lads - Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Niall Horan - went from being young hopefuls on the UK The X Factor to hitting the top of the charts with songs like "That's What Makes You Beautiful," "Live While We're Young," and "Kiss You."

One Direction and their fans, L-R: Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, and Harry Styles. 

The five boys, all from different parts of the UK, all auditioned as solo contestants on The X Factor in 2010. But instead of being sent home after not getting through the first round of auditions, they were instead put together as a boy band, where they had a few weeks to get to know one another and put together an act. With Simon Cowell as their coach they became his last act on the show. One Direction didn't win, or even come in second in the competition, but they ended up becoming the hugest act from the show, and have been gaining popularity ever since.

Fans will be happy to learn that each boy gets a short bio, which also details their romances to-date. The film follows them on the road from The X Factor stage to selling out Madison Square Garden in New York on their world tour. Although the only extra on the disc is a trailer for the documentary, Directioners, or 1D fans, will still be happy to learn a few tidbits about their favorite band member. They may be disappointed that there are no significant clips of the band's music, however. The brief but fast-moving widescreen documentary has 5.1 digital surround sound and an aspect ratio of 16 x 9 (1.78:1) and running time of 68 minutes.

Although heavy on the talking heads, One Direction: Reaching for the Stars also features behind-the-scenes clips of the band's world tour as well as interviews with the boys. It becomes clear after watching the film that music maestro Simon Cowell not only was able to initially spy their talent, but has been involved in everything about their careers - from grooming, to creating tour contract clauses which limit alcohol consumption, to helping pick songs written for them by hot singer-songwriters like Ed Sheeran. The boys are currently at the height of their fame, and this documentary captures that moment in time.

Previously published on Blogcritics: DVD Review: ‘One Direction: Reaching for the Stars’

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