Beatles '64

The Beatles are undoubtedly the greatest band of all time. Having watched Beatles '64, I'm left with mixed feelings. While it offers glimpses of their historic visit, it doesn't truly reflect the depth of the experience. The documentary feels more like a collection of random shots pieced together for attention rather than a cohesive, visionary exploration of the event. There are better youtube videos out there that provide more insight and context. That said, I'll give it 5 stars for the nostalgia it evokes and the inclusion of some fantastic live music moments. You might still find something to appreciate, but for most, I'd recommend you may skip this one.

Paul and Ringo were listed on the long list of producers to this documentary, and being the last of the Fab Four, provided some modern commentary. They certainly do not need the money, so its puzzling as to what they thought this added to The Beatles history. And that's what it is, just one year, all be it a milestone one in which they 'conquered America'.

Its a bit of a hotch potch of footage and interviews, both of the times and contemporary. Some of the live music performances were effectively used, the sound was good, and they provided short intervals of interest.

One for die hard Beatles fans only.

Greetings again from the darkness. It's been 60 years since 'Beatlemania' hit the United States. As impressive as Taylor Swift's ascendance has been, it pales in comparison to the cultural impact of the Fab Four those many years ago. Documentarian David Tedeschi, working with raw footage shot by brothers and renowned documentary collaborators, Albert Maysles and David Maysles, takes us back to those frenzied 14 days of The Beatles' first U. S. trip, including the infamous appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show".

The footage is fascinating not just because it includes the band performing live on Sullivan, at the Washington Coliseum, and at Carnegie Hall, but rather because it puts us in the Plaza Hotel room where they stayed, and in the backseat of the cars as they are transported. We hear interviews and conversations, and gain some perspective on what these young men went through physically and emotionally and musically on their first trip across the pond. Girls were hyped for this group of four lads who certainly didn't fit the mold of traditional masculinity, while parents were caught off-guard.

What I found most thought-provoking of all was Tedeschi's presentation as history intertwined with one of the most impactful moments in U. S. history. President John F Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. The plane carrying The Beatles touched down on February 7, 1964. In plain language, Beatlemania struck as a nation mourned. You may view these as unrelated, but music is known to heal. Perhaps the frenzied young fan reactions to "I Want to Hold Your Hand" that caused the rift with parents and older Americans was just the diversion needed to help a country move forward. That first appearance on the Sullivan show took place on February 9.

Tedeschi supplements the video with a multitude of interviews. We hear from fans, other musicians, and the band members themselves ... even Marshal McLuhan. Surviving members Paul and Ringo were involved in the film's production, as were the estates of John and George. Archival interviews are included here - George from his own lawn, and John on a couple of TV talk shows. Paul is shown at the museum that featured Beatles photography. Yet, the interview that packs the biggest punch is likely that of Ronald Isley of The Isley Brothers. He acknowledges the impact of sales when The Beatles recorded "Twist and Shout", and he punctuates this with the fact that it did not lead to an invitation for The Isley Brothers to perform on the Sullivan show.

It's clear how much respect these four young lads had for black musicians and how much their music influenced The Beatles. They were excited to meet with and learn more about the key black musicians such as Little Richard or the Ronettes. Ronnie Spector is interviewed here and offers her recollection of the band, the music, and the times. Tedeschi's (and the Maysles') work offers an inside glance at what was happening at the time, and when we hear the wisecracking and see the raw energy of the boys, it helps to know that George (the youngest) would not turn 21 until the band returned to England. We get the feeling they believed this happened to them, not that they caused it. Perhaps they were at least partially right ... as the times, they were achangin'.

Streaming exclusively on Disney+ beginning November 29, 2024.

Since this documentary was produced for the Disney streaming channel you should probably assume that it's not for the super hardcore fans who are always grumpy and impossible to please. It's much more for the casual fan. And for young people (under 40 let's say) who know very little about The Beatles.

There are lots of "talking heads" interviews which are okay, but not really all that exciting to watch. Some are more interesting than others.

The old footage of The Beatles performing and not performing is the most enjoyable to watch. I saw quite a bit of footage that I had never seen before and there are some wonderful moments.

There are also some ugly moments, too. There's one moment when a New York City cop threatens to throw two teenage girls down a flight of stairs just because they aren't staying at the hotel. Yikes! Talk about police brutality! The girls were very peaceful and didn't deserve that.

There's also an ugly moment when some random male adult is telling young teenage girls that their love of The Beatles is "psycho-sexual" and that they are "sick". That guy seemed totally perverted! He was the one who was "sick". What a weirdo.

The musical performances sounded really good, especially listening with headphones.

Anyway, overall I enjoyed it quite a bit and would recommend watching it.

First, I'm a huge Beatles fan. Always have been and I'm an old guy (62). I've seen most, if not all, The Beatles films and was looking forward to this one. So much so, that I opted in for a month of Disney+ so that I could watch this and also the remastered "Let it Be" film.

While 1964 was a crucial year for The Beatles and important to what they meant to America, especially after the Kennedy assassination, I have to say that I preferred Ron Howard's spin much more as it was much more Beatle-centric to me. Beatles '64 kind of meanders all over the place and there are awkward segues into the psychology of Beatlemania (from later in the 60s) and just the kind of mood of the early 60s. Those segues are ridiculous and just out of place in this film. The clips don't age well and really had ZERO to do with John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

There were fan interviews (new and from 64) and that was ok, but there were other interviews that didn't make much sense to me. Jack Douglas's interview was good, but in the scheme of things, it was more about him and less about The Beatles, so a good interview, but out of place here.

The film has recent interviews with Paul and Ringo. Ringo seemed to add to the conversation with a few things I hadn't heard before. Paul just kind of fell back on his 'same old stories'. I mean, did we NEED to hear Paul give the talk about how the early hits were "From ME to YOU. SHE loves YOU. Please Please ME...". Good God, how many times can he recycle that? I really wish he'd open up a bit more. It was nice to see Ringo drum a bit and talk about the drum riser used on the Sullivan show, etc. Paul... eh, he really didn't add much and his F bomb, to me, was really out of place, especially on the Disney+ channel. Seemed a bit forced, too. The George and John interviews added more than Paul's.

Speaking of the Sullivan stuff- Why they didn't use the pristine video versions that came out about 10 years ago, I'll never know. The clips they used from the Sullivan show in Beatles '64 were much lower quality than what has been otherwise released.

I did enjoy the Ronnie Spector and Smokey Robinson interviews very much. The Beatles definitely beat the drum for the black American groups, so that was cool. Smokey singing 'Yesterday' was good too, but if this was about 1964, it was odd to see that which was at least a year later. Small point. It was cool to see George request "Got My Mind Set On You" on the phone. Prophetic.

I never realized how ANNOYING Murray the K was. He just kind of latched on and it was funny to see George say "we never knew how he got there...".

There was stuff that was later than '64 in the film too, which was kind of weird considering the film's title.

For me, there wasn't much I'd not seen before. The original films came out in the 80s or 90s as "The Beatles First Visit to the US" home video and, for my money, that is MUCH BETTER than this one. You can find it on the Internet Archive. Watch that as it's a much better representation.

It was nice to see how funny they were on the films of the train and in the hotel in New York. I'd forgotten that and Beatle Humor is such a big part of them. George masquerading as a train bartender was funny. I'd forgotten about that. John seemed a bit subdued and Paul, Ringo, and George were really hamming it up.

The NEXT film should be the restored Washington DC concert (which parts are shown here). They really improved the sound in the clips used in this film (though it's odd to see George singing "Roll Over Beethoven" on one mic, then move to another mic right in the middle of the lyric line. The reason he did this was because, in the original film, his mic was dead, so he jumped over to John's mic. Well, in this film, both mics mysteriously are working, so when he moves and you don't know this, you kind of go "Why did he move?". Peter Jackson restored that a bit too much. The dead mic and Ringo's funky drum riser kind of illustrate how UNready the US entertainment industry was for The Beatles as a live act.

All in all, it was 'OK' and worth a watch, but it really adds nothing new to The Beatles mythology.