SunnyHello
Nice effects though.
Odelecol
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
ActuallyGlimmer
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
Neil Welch
The Beatles went from garage band (before garage bands existed) to the world's biggest act, and invented stadium concerts while doing so. But were they any good as a live act?Ron Howard's documentary cobbles together excerpts from most of the surviving sources of live Beatles performances and, accordingly, doesn't contain many surprises for anyone who has followed their story in any great detail. But for younger viewers, who may well be familiar with the music but not necessarily with the hysteria which surrounded it, this film is likely to be something of an eye-opener.In the early stages, as it becomes clear that The Beatles are gaining a following beyond their local fans in Liverpool, they are delighted. When they go to America to be greeted with screaming hysteria on a vast scale, they are pleased, but shell-shocked. And when, less than 4 years later, they finally stop performing to live audiences, they clearly hate the whole thing. This film shows that transition happening.But even now, and even to someone who knows the story inside out, there is something jaw-dropping about the spectacle of seeing the four of them step on stage in front of 56,000 young girls who are delivering sound beyond the volume of a jet engine.The cinema was full. This was personal history for much of the audience, fascinating documentary material for the younger members. The sound and images have been remastered, though much of it still reflects the limitations of 405-line TV and standard 8 home movies etc.The music still works, though, yeah. Yeah yeah.
proud_luddite
The Fab Four are the subject of this documentary beginning from the days of phenomenal superstardom during their concerts from 1963-1966.The storyline of this film (directed by Ron Howard) is great entertainment not only as a story of fame and its joys and pitfalls but also as a great trip down memory lane for this beloved group of artists.The pitfalls are few - at least as exposed here. Firstly, these superstars were relatively unscathed compared to rock artists of lesser fame. The film is a good chronology up to the mid-1960s but then it jumps to 1969. It does not delve into the years after 1966. Yes, the title tells us this is just the touring years but the viewer is still left hungering for more story up to and including the eventual breakup - a hunger that is not satisfied.But the footage and interviews do provide wonderful nostalgia for that wonderful decade that was made so great partly (some might say mainly) because of The Beatles. Such moments include the super-high in the beginning, the shift to less enthusiasm due to exhaustion from touring, dealing with a planned segregated concert in Jacksonville, controversy from John Lennon's comment on the group being more popular than Jesus, the magnificent music, and the presence of young men who were mature way beyond their years. A bonus is the unintended laughter caused by some 60s fashion (cat-eye glasses) and the screaming fits of young hysterical female fans. The latter had me howling out loud.
Jason Voigt
...at 137 minutes, I felt there was something missing. Before I go on to a small rant, I'd like to just say that there is no absolute way to do a comprehensive look at the Beatles in any short length of time. That would take up a number of hours! I would also like to point out that there are several people who have helped the Beatles become who they are, in any part of the world. Whether they are a disk jockey playing their music on the radio, or attending their performances while they were nobodies.I am disappointed that there was not one mention of Ron Elz (a.k.a. Johnny Rabbit), who was the first to play a Beatles song in a major radio market, St. Louis. The story goes like this: George Harrison was the first Beatle to set foot in the United States, where he started at Lambert-St. Louis Airport in September 1963. By that time he was a star in Europe, but in America no one took notice yet of Beatlemania. George was on his way to his sister's house in Benton, Illinois (two hours away) but before he ventured that way, he stopped at a few radio stations in St. Louis and gave away promo copies of Beatles records to anyone who would listen. Elz was the first and only person to respond and played "I Want to Hold Your Hand" on his "Make It Or Break It" nightly segment. The audience chose to 'break it'. Harrison became friends with Elz. There was also a DJ in West Frankfort, Illinois that played a Beatles record, long before they were noticed in America. The Beatles would invite Elz to introduce them on stage at their first concert in America, in San Francisco. Needless to say, they were more than appreciative of him.That said, the movie was interesting. Not much stuff I didn't know, especially for a long-time Beatles enthusiast. It was cool hearing from random celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg and Sigourney Weaver about the impact of Beatlemania, along with people not many have heard of, including the DJ from Miami who hung around the Beatles during their tour. Great clips and photographs, many I have never seen.
grantss
Directed by Ron Howard, a documentary on the Beatles, focusing almost exclusively on their "touring years' - 1963 to 1966. Includes interviews and press conferences with the Beatles, rare footage and recordings and interviews with people who were influenced by the Beatles.Excellent documentary. The fact that it is directed by Ron Howard lets you know that this going to be more than your average blow-by- blow documentary. It's quite an emotional experience, as you see the young, not-yet-famous band start out on the road to stardom, how they deal with the increasing fame and, in some instances, how it overwhelms them. The footage and stills often capture many of their moments of joy and triumph, adding to the engagement factor, plus the concert and studio footage gives you a great feeling of artistic geniuses at work.There's also an energy and pioneering spirit about it all, created largely through Ron Howard's choice of footage and editing. The interviewees, which include such luminaries as Elvis Costello, Sigourney Weaver and Whoopi Goldberg, also show how young people's lives were affected by the Beatles.In addition, the sense of friendship and camaraderie between the four is palpable. Another benefit about having a big-name director/producer make the movie - you get to hear actual Beatles tracks, all wonderfully produced. Not some amorphous background non-Beatles track because the producer couldn't get the rights to play their music.While not covering the entire Beatles history, well, not in any depth - pre-63 and post-67 are covered but really just as prescript and postscript respectively - this is still the most definitive documentary on the Beatles. No documentary I've seen so accurately captures the impact of the Beatles and their influence on music, culture and, especially, everyday people.
