The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years - directed by Ron Howard
At this point it would seem unlikely that there isn't anything left to say about The Beatles.
They have been world famous for longer than I've been alive and even people that I know who are half my age know a decent amount about them.
Amazingly though Ron Howard's new documentary manages to provide new insight.... at least to me - a person who likes the band but doesn't love it.
The secret is that Howard focuses on a pretty narrow piece of Beatles history.
As indicated by the title this film looks at the years that the band toured with their famous first trip to America and of course the rest of the world.
As revealed here it seems that a lot of what came to pass in later years was rooted in the events of the years 1962-1966
The format for this movie is pretty simple but highly effective.
Following events pretty much chronologically with interspersed interviews with the members of The Beatles, their management, journalists and even some celebrities it moves surprisingly briskly considering that there isn't a lot of what might be considered high drama.
I guess that this is testament to the fascination that the four Liverpudlians still hold even for a casual fan.
The pleasure here is in the somewhat intimate portrait the is presented of four friends navigating a fascinating period in the history of not just music but of everything.
Race relations are discussed as the band finds that a concert in the Southern States of the US is likely to be segregated - something that they find highly problematic.
With input from historian/journalist Dr Kitty Oliver and a certain Whoopi Goldberg this section does much to reveal the power that music has in breaking down such barriers.
Goldberg gets a couple of moments throughout the movie with her telling of how she got to go to the Shea Stadium concert a highlight for me.
Other notable celebrity moments include brief input from Eddie Izzard who likens the bands banter in interviews to a comedian's handling of hecklers.
Even briefer but for me even better is Sigourney Weaver telling of how she dressed to impress Paul McCartney when she attended the Hollywood Bowl concert.
We even see the young Sigourney in footage of the show.
As a bonus the final quarter of the film's running time is taken up by a 30 minute 4K remaster of the Shea Stadium concert.
Arguably this section is just as revealing as the documentary proper that preceded it.
We see the band playing very much as a band certainly but it is the recognition of four friends having a good time that most resonated with me.
I loved this final half hour.
There are something like ten songs played and two or three are not at all familiar to me.
Regardless each and every one is great.
There is footage of the New York crowd with the many instances of what these days would be called pitch invasions.
And the teenaged girls screaming and som fainting is looked at in some detail.
If nothing else this movie will make clear exactly what Beatlemania was and why some music writers and social historians believe that we are unlikely to see its like again.
Journalist Larry Kane requested a single interview but was instead offered the chance to tour with the band.
He was reluctant given the other major news going on at the time with the Vietnam War, Kennedy Assassination and racial unrest but without actually confirming it it is clear that his time with The Beatles was a very important part of his career.
Ron Howard and his editor Paul Crowder make a lot of good decisions with this film.
What could have been yet another dull assembly of footage documentary instead becomes compelling and somehow fresh.
Even things that I knew about the band such as the 'bigger than Christ' controversy are given context.
In the case of the much misunderstood John Lennon interview line it is revealed to be a turning point for him.
We don't see a lot of interview footage from Lennon but George Harrison fares a little better.
Mostly (and unsurprisingly) it is left the the surviving band members McCartney and Starr to comment on the events portrayed.
The big names behind the band are also given a little bit of time with George Martin receiving a special dedication at the end (he died just this year)
I would be interested in the opinion of a genuine fan of The Beatles but for me as a kind of fan this was one of the finer music documentaries that I have seen.
RATING: 82 / 100
CONCLUSION: Proof that even the familiar can be compelling Ron Howard's documentary is a must for music fans, Beatles fans or in fact history buffs. Excellent.
Starring: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison, Richard Lester, Sigourney Weaver, Whoopi Goldberg, Larry Kane, Elvis Costello, Eddie Izzard, Howard Goodall, Neil Aspinall, Kitty Oliver, Jon Savage
Screenplay: Mark Monroe
Music Score by: Ric Markmann, Dan Pinnella & Chris Wagner
Cinematography: Michael Wood
Cinematography: Michael Wood
Edited by: Paul Crowder
Running Time: 138 minutes
Language: English
Rated: PG - Language and drug references
Running Time: 138 minutes
Language: English
Rated: PG - Language and drug references
They have been world famous for longer than I've been alive and even people that I know who are half my age know a decent amount about them.
Amazingly though Ron Howard's new documentary manages to provide new insight.... at least to me - a person who likes the band but doesn't love it.
The secret is that Howard focuses on a pretty narrow piece of Beatles history.
As indicated by the title this film looks at the years that the band toured with their famous first trip to America and of course the rest of the world.
As revealed here it seems that a lot of what came to pass in later years was rooted in the events of the years 1962-1966
 |
| Behind the scenes and concert footage is split fairly evenly but stay for the final 30 minute Shea Stadium footage |
Following events pretty much chronologically with interspersed interviews with the members of The Beatles, their management, journalists and even some celebrities it moves surprisingly briskly considering that there isn't a lot of what might be considered high drama.
I guess that this is testament to the fascination that the four Liverpudlians still hold even for a casual fan.
The pleasure here is in the somewhat intimate portrait the is presented of four friends navigating a fascinating period in the history of not just music but of everything.
Race relations are discussed as the band finds that a concert in the Southern States of the US is likely to be segregated - something that they find highly problematic.
With input from historian/journalist Dr Kitty Oliver and a certain Whoopi Goldberg this section does much to reveal the power that music has in breaking down such barriers.
Goldberg gets a couple of moments throughout the movie with her telling of how she got to go to the Shea Stadium concert a highlight for me.
Other notable celebrity moments include brief input from Eddie Izzard who likens the bands banter in interviews to a comedian's handling of hecklers.
Even briefer but for me even better is Sigourney Weaver telling of how she dressed to impress Paul McCartney when she attended the Hollywood Bowl concert.
We even see the young Sigourney in footage of the show.
 |
| Celebrity comments are great but it is the revelations of Larry Kane who toured with the band that truly fascinate |
Arguably this section is just as revealing as the documentary proper that preceded it.
We see the band playing very much as a band certainly but it is the recognition of four friends having a good time that most resonated with me.
I loved this final half hour.
There are something like ten songs played and two or three are not at all familiar to me.
Regardless each and every one is great.
There is footage of the New York crowd with the many instances of what these days would be called pitch invasions.
And the teenaged girls screaming and som fainting is looked at in some detail.
If nothing else this movie will make clear exactly what Beatlemania was and why some music writers and social historians believe that we are unlikely to see its like again.
Journalist Larry Kane requested a single interview but was instead offered the chance to tour with the band.
He was reluctant given the other major news going on at the time with the Vietnam War, Kennedy Assassination and racial unrest but without actually confirming it it is clear that his time with The Beatles was a very important part of his career.
 |
| Director Howard with McCartney and Starr (left), George Martin (centre) and a typical crowd (right) |
What could have been yet another dull assembly of footage documentary instead becomes compelling and somehow fresh.
Even things that I knew about the band such as the 'bigger than Christ' controversy are given context.
In the case of the much misunderstood John Lennon interview line it is revealed to be a turning point for him.
We don't see a lot of interview footage from Lennon but George Harrison fares a little better.
Mostly (and unsurprisingly) it is left the the surviving band members McCartney and Starr to comment on the events portrayed.
The big names behind the band are also given a little bit of time with George Martin receiving a special dedication at the end (he died just this year)
I would be interested in the opinion of a genuine fan of The Beatles but for me as a kind of fan this was one of the finer music documentaries that I have seen.
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