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Beatles '64

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Beatles '64

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Summary

Documentary that tells the story of the Beatles' first trip to America, in February 1964. The visit, which saw the Fab Four play on The Ed Sullivan Show and instantly become global sensations, was captured by pioneering film-makers Albert and David Maysles. The restored footage appears alongside old and new interviews with the band and their fans to lift the lid on a tour that changed music forever.

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Review

A star rating of 3 out of 5.

Jamie Healy

This documentary gets a release in the 60th year of the Beatles' first touching down at New York's JFK airport, poised to change the cultural landscape for ever. Film-making brothers Albert and David Maysles were granted access (nearly) all areas for the group's 14-day visit, and their footage has been cleaned up and augmented here by David Tedeschi, with new interviews with famous fans who were swept up in the events of February 1964. Shooting in cinéma vérité style, the Maysles capture John, Paul, George and Ringo as they run rings around the press, are besieged by teenage girls and lark about in hotel rooms. Their visit also saw them wow a record TV audience of 73 million onThe Ed Sullivan Show, while their Washington Coliseum gig proves what an exciting live act they were. Sadly, a surfeit of talking-head testimonies kills the pace of the film, while the hodgepodge of interviews with the Fabs from later in their lives is more jarring than illuminating. Ultimately, this feels like a needlessly reheated Apple confection, the Maysles' material having been first released asWhat's Happening! The Beatles in the USA(1964) and then in a re-edited format asThe Beatles: The First US Visit(1991). The film does make a telling companion piece with Disney'sGet Backdocuseries, which offered a similar candid look at the band, then in its death throes, just five years later. By contrast, the prevailing mood ofBeatles '64is one of hope for the future.

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7.2/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameGeorge HarrisonGeorge HarrisonJohn LennonJohn LennonPaul McCartneyPaul McCartneyRingo StarrRingo Starr

Crew

rolenameDirectorDavid Tedeschi

Details

Released on

2024-11-29

Languages

English

Formats

Colour

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