The Compleat Beatles

The Compleat Beatles is absolutely one of the best documentaries I have ever seen on any subject. Everything is done perfectly from the content and pace to the combination of music and visuals, and the writing and narration are outstanding. I can think of only two complaints: One, the quality of some of the post-Beatles interview footage looks exceptionally dated, and two, it's not (yet?) available in DVD. Unlike the Beatles Anthology this work lacks interviews with the Beatles themselves, other than newsreel footage and the like, but rather than a negative this adds to the impact of the film and to the mystique of the Beatles. While Anthology may be more filling with its abundance of information and first-hand stories, this is a much sweeter treat.

Anyone who has an even passing interest of one of the greatest rock bands ever MUST get a hold of a copy of this video.

Everything you could ever want to know about John, Paul, George and Ringo is included, with even a little information about their formative years. All the music is chronicled and plenty of behind-the-scenes glimpses of the Beatles' collective genius give the most discriminating fan plenty to nod their moptops about.

Even if you think you have all stuff on the Beatles, this should "Compleat" your collection.

10 stars. And you know that can't be bad.

If you haven't got enough dough to afford the gigantic Anthology box set ,this is the DVD to buy .This documentary is so absorbing it can even grab people who are not particularly interested in the group.It covers the whole story till the split and includes much footage of the time ,live performances or studio work .Particularly of great appeal are George Martin's numerous interventions which shed light on the recordings more than Lewisohn's or McDonald's books will ever do ,in spite of their brilliancy."The compleat Beatles " really lives up to its name .It was the first documentary about my favorite group I had seen and I still rank it among the best in a topflight competition.

I give this film a 10 because it was (and is) the Beatles story in a 2 hour nutshell. The rights to the film were brought by McCartney prior to the release of the Anthology documentary, presumably to cancel out the obvious rivalry that would occur on the high street! So i'm afraid, unless you have got a copyalready the chances of getting a new DVD of it are extremely remote! The fact that the Beatles didn't have any input into this documentary is a good thing, mainly because 'Anthology' is the Beatles story, according to the Beatles, so heavily censored, this constraint is not present on 'Compleat'. Love the music and when I first watched the film i was knocked out by it!

1995's "The Beatles Anthology" surpassed all previous Beatle documentaries, including this one. But of those past ones, this is the best. The only drawback is that the Beatles don't appear in interviews much. But the music is great, and the information will satiate any beginning Beatle fan.