‘It was so visceral, the reaction to The Beatles’ music...’
You would think that perhaps the well had run dry in terms of films about The Beatles but following the huge success of Peter Jackson’s exquisite 10-hour extravaganza Get Back interest has never been higher. To tide us over until Sam Mendes’s four (!) Beatles films drop in 2027 (a biopic for each member), documentarian David Tedeschi presents us with Beatles ’64 – a chronicle of the Fab Four’s arrival in America for their now legendary appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show…
While some of this footage is well-worn by now, Tedeschi has unearthed some new stuff – primarily footage of the band relaxing between shows. What’s remarkable about The Beatles back then is that they were always on. The Liverpool quartet exude star power and watching them banter between themselves or confound journalists is to watch four men who were born to be superstars. It’s impossible to imagine them doing anything else. Then there is the music, of course. There is plenty of great live footage here to be enjoyed but where Beatles ’64 really soars is in the retrospective interviews with everyone from Ronnie Spector, Martin Scorsese (who also serves as producer) and the surviving members themselves. The film is also lent some extra gravitas by the fact that it features the final on-screen appearance of David Lynch. And of course, he is erudite, warm and compelling. He will be sorely missed.
Beatles ’64 is the latest addition to The Beatles legend and it’s a damn fine one. My only criticism would be that it wasn’t long enough.
