Search / Destroy: The Beatles Films...

While you're at it, what about adding the Lord of the Rings idea that didn't get off the drawing board.

Was the Orton thing the one where they were different parts of someone with multiple personalities or was that another idea that never made it?

"Daddy, what's that?"

"Oh, that's just an umbrella with a hot dog head, he's eating a purple mountain goat."

OK
http://www.christiewalsh.com/fun/beatles/mmtbus.jpg

I got the video, and watched it when we got back from the Trafalgar square poll tax demonstration. To wind down.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19961027/REVIEWS08/401010326/1023

im sure many know this, but ebert teaches a graduate level seminar on the movie.

Help -- I'm with Alfred: a little forced & hoky. Some good bits, though (Ringo: "They loom large in me legend.") and long on, um, "period charm".

Magical Mystery Tour -- The jury's out until I can finally watch a decent print. I waited for years to see this, only to have it ruined by a crappy, grainy, midnight-movie screening accompanied by constant voice-over from the weed-headed doofuses I went with.

Let It Be -- I'm with Guilty: fascinating as a dozen reality TV series. I pick out new details with every viewing, but then I've been known to obsess over hours of Get Back bootleg tapes, too. Still, I think it's a great movie, and praise to McCartney for even attempting the project.

Gooooo.... tooooo.... the window....

Degree in woodwork. I ask you.

Fiendish thingy!

The miniaturized George scene is forced and hokey. The bit with the houses is forced and hokey. But the opening scene kills me every time: "Whose name is terrible, whose name is baleful, whose name is the black mother, mother of darkness, whose embrace with Rama made the whole world tremble...."

Second place goes to Yellow Submarine (though are those indeed their voices?). I've sadly never seen Let it Be. Help was entertaining, as I remember. Never saw Hard Day's Night either.

For sheer slappy, clever banter and such I'd have to take AHDN. I saw it in a theater in college and couldn't help but laugh out loud the whole time. Something about them just being sooo big. I wrote a little song ages ago based on hanging out with Paul's grandad ("hes not quite nice, but hes a clean old man/but we know hes out tonight having his way withour money" cant remember much else ill post if i can)

I've never made it all the way throuh MMT. I love the soundtrack album and do enjoy it in pieces, but its just hard to roll with as a whole(even with chemical enhancement)

So, Lance was the cartoon series. Oops.

is this confirmed? If so I should sell my old one while I can still get a bunch of dough for it. Although apparently the AHDN dvd release out now has fucked up 5.1 sound that is terrbile and the earlier version is much more prized, so I should probably keep this old Help DVD.

Anyway, yeah, AHDN: utterly classic and amazing. Help: well, it LOOKS great, the sets are cool, the clothes are awesome, the songs are good, the story is goofy. MMT: I haven't seen this in 20 years. I remember being really disappointed with it when I was 13. Let it Be: also, haven't seen this in ages. Yellow Submarine: classic, if not for the story, then for the weird peripheral characters (that sheep thing; the backgrounds in the Elenor Rigby sequence).

I have not seen Candy or the Magic Christian, Ringo's late 70's films. Verdict?

If anyone is looking for decent copies of MMT, I got one at Borders for $10. It's actually kind of shady looking...all region, ugly packaging, but whatever. Let it Be and Help I got on eBay...bootlegs for sure.

Waiting for Blount to leap to the defense of Help! though....

An extended interview with a 60-ish British woman, with a lot of photos mixed in--very sweet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XQ90_dqTXo

Some Beatles music, but mostly they use the originals of songs later covered: "Chains," "Honey Don't," "Boys," etc. Freda's almost apologetic for telling her story (and it is primarily her story, although of course you get some of the band's too--but more things like "Hey, the Beatles had Beatle parents"); she resisted for a long time, but wanted to get this done for her grandson. She has all of four boxes of memorabilia up in her attic, having given most of it away in '74. (She expresses only mild regret.) Most amazing thing is that she was there at the beginning, and was still there past the end.

She calls the drummer "Richie"!

Just like Dave Edmunds and Carl Perkins.

Why would she call those guys Richie too?

I saw an amazing documentary called Beatles First US Visit some years ago. All behind the scenes footage shot for their archives by, I believe, the Hard Day's Night folks. Really amazing stuff. One of the best films I've seen of them in any form.

Most of it is on Youtube, but looks like Apple blocked the first two segments. So best bet is to rent it. Highly recommended if you haven't seen it. Some remarkably candid stuff from their early days. Not something I had seen outside of books and imagination.

I believe that "first us visit" thing is a reedit of a TV doc by the Maysles bros. who of course later did Gimmie Shelter.

The First US Visit is fun - esp nice to see George actually enjoying himself around the press.

Saw a trailer for Eight Days a Week yesterday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fFyZzqPDws

The footage will be great, and I usually like hearing Paul and Ringo now. I wish it were directed by someone other than Ron Howard.

title suggests a sequel (The Studio Years?) can't be far behind? is Howard trying to remake Anthology?! can't hurt like seeing as the original glacial unwieldy beast is far from loved by anyone these days, even fans. isn't even out on Blu Ray.

really ? I didn't know the Anthology was considered bad. I thought it was like the definitive video since it involved everyone (except JL of course) and was made with all the material they had.

On the way from the beloved American Beauty director:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/20/entertainment/beatles-biopics-sam-mendes/index.html

yuck. that guy is such a hack.

I got sucked into watching Birth of the Beatles on YouTube recently. It’s so inaccurate, but has its charms.

And now...

https://stereogum.com/2487085/first-look-at-the-beatles-actors-in-character-revealed/news/

Did you get around to seeing "Help" yet, Ned?