The Beatles: Eight Days a Week

Reviewing documentaries is always a bit tricky, since it is often difficult to separate the quality of the film making from your emotional attachment to the subject material. In my case, my early life was saturated with Beatlemania. Although I was only 2 year's old in 1963 at the start of it all, I had three older siblings who ramped up the excitement so much that it permeated my young mind. I still remember being vehemently "Sssshhed" since I was making too much noise during the live and ground-breaking "All you need is Love" telecast!

Ron Howard's film focuses on "the touring years" which as depicted were truly manic, spanning from 1963 to 1966 before then skipping forward to 1969 for their final rooftop concert. This was in a time when airline travel was not the more comfortable and smoke-free environment it is today, so these worldwide trips much have been seriously gruelling, even without the adoration that reached dangerous proportions when they reached their destinations.

Howard has clearly had his research team scour the world for archive clips since – whilst sensitively skipping some of the more 'commonly seen' materials, like the "jewelry shaking" clip – the film shows concert action I certainly had never seen before.

The film is also nicely interlaced with celebrity cameos recalling their linkage to the Fab Four's performances (often moving, like Whoopi Goldberg's) and the group's "legacy" effect on modern-day art (in Richard Curtis's case rather less convincing). One of the most striking of these is that of Sigourney Weaver recounting her attendance as a pre-teen at the Beatle's Rose Bowl performance in LA. There, in the newsreel footage of adoring fans, is the unmistakable face of the 'before she was famous' actress: at least I hope it really was her (as the clip's timing implied) and not a lookalike, since that would be really disappointing!

Also featuring – although not enough for my liking – are Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, recounting their feelings about the events and what happened behind the closed doors of hotel rooms or – most notably – a meat truck.

What shines through is the honesty and intelligence of Lennon and McCartney, typified by the idiotic questioning of journalists, some of who had done so little homework they didn't even know there wasn't a Beatle called Eric! Some of the group's off the cuff responses were priceless: "What is the secret of your success?" asks one journo. "We don't know" quips John. "If we knew we'd form another group and be managers."

While the film has enormous energy in its first two thirds, it rather runs out of momentum in its final reel…. a bit like the Beatles did in fact. It also has elements of gimmickry like the smoke rising from photo cigarettes which gets a tad tiresome after the tenth occurrence.

But this is a very watchable and enjoyable rock down memory lane for 50-somethings and for any fans old and young of the Fab Four's music. Highly Recommended. Note that the documentary itself is about 90 minutes in length, with another 30 minutes of live concert music tagged onto the end post-titles (which for travel reasons I was unfortunately unable to stay for so can't comment on).

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I don't usually watch documentaries, but when I heard about this one I was unusually excited. I personally love and idolise The Beatles and particularly John Lennon so much, and the thought of seeing them on the big screen just made me happy.

The documentary is very entertaining and shows us a lot of new Beatles footage that was of course fantastic to see. It had some great contributions from famous people such as Whoopi Goldberg and the surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, which were nice too see but I think a little more variety of celebrities would have been nice.

The film shows a side of The Beatles that nobody usually sees. It shows them as just kids who were out of their depth, which was great because it really brings them down to our level. It was very interesting to see that in a way the fans killed The Beatles and that they thought the music was getting lost in the hysteria.

It only touches on the controversy surrounding them a little, which is a shame because it was very interesting to learn about.

You come out with a new view of them as people and not as a brand. It does a good job at humanising them, which I applaud it for doing as it will inspire others to peruse their dreams.

There's something magical about seeing these people together even on film because the chemistry they have is so strong and the music is phenomenal. Hearing the music again was great. Especially when it's remastered.

There's also a really cool bit involving Sigourney Weaver. It really shows how big The Beatles were.

They reused some of the footage a bit too often and it can get a bit irritating over time.

I would definitely recommend it to a fan of The Beatles, it's good to learn about them. If you aren't a fan then you won't like it. It's well crafted with only a little problem here and there. Overall, it's good and I would recommend it to a Beatles fan.

9/17/17. This documentary is a good reminder of just how crazy teenagers were in the '60s. What struck me about the Beatles now was just how good their sound was and how talented they really were. They deserved all the success they got, but as humans they just couldn't maintain their professional ties, to the detriment of pop music. They were a cultural phenomenon and true rock icons who had it all but couldn't keep it going. Perhaps, that is the saddest part of watching this - they made wonderful music, but only for a short time, in retrospect. Together, Lennon and McCartney were the best music writing team ever. Separately they were hardly half of what they were together. They balanced each other out. While McCartney continued to be successful, none of his own works ever surpassed the work he did with Lennon. (Although I did like Ram) And, Lennon turned into an embittered, cynical angry man who just couldn't get over the slights he tried to overcome. And, when he finally got close to getting his act together we all know what happened that one December day.

After more than 50 years, there's not much new that can be said about the birth and rise of the "Beatlemania" phenomenon, so don't expect any great surprises or revelations in Ron Howard's documentary of the Beatles touring period. The footage is great as are the interviews (even the 'celebrity' interviews such as Whoopi Goldberg add something to the story). No reason to suggest Beatle's fans watch this new addition to Beatle-nostalgia (they will), but the movie's worth viewing by anyone who remembers the era or likes the music (or, of course, both). I still find it sad to watch images of John Lennon, knowing how pointless and untimely his death was.

"Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years" (2016 release; 137 min. including bonus feature) is a documentary about the Beatles' touring days from late 1963 to August 1966. As the movie opens, we find the boys singing "She Loves You" in Manchester, November, 1963, and in glorious full color mode, no less. A bit later we get "Twist & Shout" from that same evening. To see it on the big screen is utter and pure delight. Along the way, we hear the Fab Four add their personal perspective on these times. "We were not an overnight sensation", reminds Paul, and we then get a very brief glimpse of their touring days in Liverpool and Hamburg. The movie spends, rightfully, more on 1964 than all the rest combined and it is a true treasure trove of rare and unseen footage, alongside the more familiar footage. Sigourney Weaver tells about attending the first Hollywood Bowl show, and later Whoopi Goldberg talks about being at the Shea Stadium show.

Couple of comments: this documentary is directed by none other than Ron Howard, with the full cooperation of Paul, Ringo and the Lennon and Harrison estates. Howard and his team must have roamed the earth to come up with all of the fantastic footage, and make some pointed comments along the way (the Beatles had a contractual provision prohibiting segregated shows in the South, a remarkable stand considering the circumstances). The sound quality has been painstakingly remastered as best as possible. As a lifelong Beatles fan who was too young to have seen them in person or fully appreciate what all took place half a century ago, this movie is sheer delight from start to finish. The theater version came with a 30 min. bonus feature immediately after the end titles, namely "The Beatles At Shea Stadium", their entire set from August 15, 1965. It absolutely blows the mind what happened there. And to think that as the headliner, the Beatles played for all of 25 minutes! Watching the crowd is as much fun as it is watching the guys. Here again, the old footage has been restored and remastered.

"Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years" opened this weekend on a single screen for all of Greater Cincinnati, at my local art-house theater. I couldn't wait to see it. The Saturday matinée screening where I saw this at was PACKED to the rafters, to my surprise and delight. On my way out of the theater, there was already a long line waiting for the next screening. It seems this movie is hitting a nerve, and this has the looks to be a solid success on the art-house theater circuit. If you love the Beatles, you do not want to miss this. "Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!