VHS
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A collection of behind-the-scenes footage and concert clips compiled by longtime road manager Al Bicknell between 1964-66. | |||||||
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The Fab Four from Liverpool--John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr--in their first movie. Nobody expected A Hard Day's Night to be much more than a quick exploitation of a passing musical fad, but when the film opened it immediately seduced the world--even the stuffiest critics fell over themselves in praise (highbrow Dwight Macdonald called it "not only a gay, spontaneous, inventive comedy but it is also as good cinema as I have seen for a long time"). Wisely, screenwriter Alun Owen based his script on the Beatles' actual celebrity at the time, catching them in the delirious early rush of Beatlemania: eluding rampaging fans, killing time on trains and in hotels, appearing on a TV broadcast. American director Richard Lester, influenced by the freestyle French New Wave and British Goon Show humor, whips up a delightfully upbeat circus of perpetual motion. From the opening scene of the mop tops rushing through a train station mobbed by fans, the movie rarely stops for air. Some of the songs are straightforwardly presented, but others ("Can't Buy Me Love," set to the foursome gamboling around an empty field) soar with ingenuity. Above all, the Beatles express their irresistible personalities: droll, deadpan, infectiously cheeky. Better examples of pure cinematic joy are few and far between. | |||||
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The Beatles followed up their debut film, "A Hard Day's Night," with this fanciful spy spoof. When Ringo adds a new ring to his collection, he's unaware of how important -- and dangerous -- this piece of jewelry is. On one hand, a religious cult considers it a sacred object... and the wearer must become a sacrifice to their gods. On the other hand, the ring has magical abilities that hold the key to supreme power. Soon the boys from Liverpool are engaged in a slapstick and madcap chase round the world, as a crazed scientist, a pack of crooks, and several religious fanatics set out to capture the band. Includes scores of Beatles hits! | |||||||
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A typically Beatlesque film (i.e. atypical) originally produced for television, this short film was intended to be an off-the-wall road movie with the Beatles and three dozen or so friends on a psychedelic bus. Shot with only a vague script and only bare outlines of scenes, the movie was meant to document a trip to the seaside resort town of Blackpool, England. Made in September of 1967, The Beatles' brilliant rock album is transformed into colorful and energetic images. The film also contains the only live version of John Lennon's "I Am the Walrus." Third of the Beatles films to include Victor Spinetti, famous for his mohair sweater wearing role as the television director in A Hard Day's Night and as the determined scientist with the laser in Help! The movie was originally shown on BBC TV on December 26, 1967 inexplicably in black and white. | |||||||
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Featuring various incarnations and representations of the Fab Four, The
Beatles: Yellow Submarine Special Edition carries within its animation all the
magic and imagination of the music it is set to. It tells the story of the invasion of
Pepperland by the Blue Meanies, who have devoted themselves to the defeat of music. At
this point, John, Paul, George and Ringo answer the call for help, hopping the yellow
submarine to save the threatened wonderland. Featuring the eponymous hit song among other
classics like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "All You Need is
Love", this special edition carries its colours brightly, renewing the definitive
experience that is Yellow Submarine. This restored, animated valentine to the Beatles offers viewers the rare chance to see a work that's been substantially improved by its technical facelift, not just supersized with extra footage. Recognizing that its song-studded soundtrack alone makes Yellow Submarine a video annuity, United Artists has lavished a frame-by-frame refurbishment of the original feature, while replacing its original monaural audio tracks with a meticulously reconstructed stereo mix that actually refines legendary original album versions. What emerges is a vivid time capsule of the late '60s and a minor milestone in animation. The music represents the quartet's zenith--Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The story line, cobbled together by producer Al Brodax and a committee of writers, is a broad, feather-light allegory set in idyllic Pepperland, where the gentle citizens are threatened by the nasty, music-hating Blue Meanies and their surreal arsenal of henchmen, with the Beatles enlisted to thwart the bad guys. Visually, designer Heinz Edelmann mixes the biomorphic squiggles, day-glo palette, and Beardsley-esque portraits of Peter Max with rotoscoped still photographs and film; Edelmann's animated collages also nod to Andy Warhol and Magritte in properly psychedelic fashion, which works wonderfully with such terrific songs. High orthodox Beatlemaniacs can still grouse that the animated Fab Four are (literally) flat archetypes, but that's missing the sheer bloom of the music or the giddy, campy fun of the visuals. Making sense of the story is second to submerging blissfully in the sights and sounds of this video treat. |
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It was one of the great moments in the history of show business: It was
1:20 p.m., the 7th of February 1964, and Pan Am Yankee Clipper flight number 101 taxied
down the runway at New York's Idlewild airport, carrying a human cargo of four young
British musicians who were destined to conquer Great Britain's former colony, the U.S.
Within 48 hours, the Beatles were performing on the Ed Sullivan Show, capturing
73,000,000 viewers, thus making television history. This is The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit, a day-by-day audio visual account of the group's arrival on American shores. This full-length film takes us on an historic, musical ride back in time. This is the real Hard Day's Night, culled from hours of footage shot at the time, some of which has never been seen before, and the Ed Sullivan appearances will give audiences of all ages an opportunity to relive a time of glorious, innocent mayhem. People will be able to see and hear what happened, as it happened. Such a time will never come again. Ed Sullivan secured as many segments as negotiations would permit--three--and so these historic performances are preserved intact. And the Maysles Brothers, American filmmakers of great distinction, secured the wondrous realities off-stage. The 83-minute film contains more than 13 performances, which have been visually restored to near perfection. The tracks have been digitally remastered to produce a superb hi-fi sound. Between performances, the viewer will join the Beatles in their limos, hotel rooms, and on their trip from New York to Washington, D.C., to Miami, Florida. If you were there, this is a fabulous journey back into a glorious time of youthful joy. If you weren't, this is the way to catch up fast. Includes the hits: "I Want To Hold Your Hand," "She Loves You," "I Saw Her Standing There," "Please Please Me," and many more. |
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DVD
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This Fall, 1969 concert brought John, Yoko, and the Plastic Ono Band to Toronto's Rock-and-Roll Revival Festival--introducing Yoko to the heroes of her husband's childhood: Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard. | |||||
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A 4-Disc set. HELP!: The Beatles followed up their debut film, A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, with this fanciful spy spoof. When Ringo adds a new ring to his collection, he's unaware of how important and dangerous this piece of jewelry is. On one hand, a religious cult considers it a sacred object and the wearer must become a sacrifice to their gods. On the other hand, the ring has magical abilities that hold the key to supreme power. Soon the boys from Liverpool are engaged in a slapstick and madcap chase round the world, as a crazed scientist, a pack of crooks, and several religious fanatics set out to capture the band. Watch for the English Channel swimmer who seems to be perpetually lost and appears in nearly every location. Includes Beatles' hits including "Help!" "Ticket To Ride" "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" and many more. Originally had the working title Eight Arms To Hold You but the band changed the title after failing to produce material relating to the title. MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR: A typically Beatlesque film (i.e. atypical) originally produced for television, this short film was intended to be an off-the-wall road movie with the Beatles and three dozen or so friends on a psychedelic bus. Shot with only a vague script and only bare outlines of scenes, the movie was meant to document a trip to the seaside resort town of Blackpool, England. Made in September of 1967, The Beatles' brilliant rock album is transformed into colorful and energetic images. The film also contains the only live version of John Lennon's "I Am the Walrus." Third of the Beatles films to include Victor Spinetti, famous for his mohair sweater wearing role as the television director in A Hard Day's Night and as the determined scientist with the laser in Help! The movie was originally shown on BBC TV on December 26, 1967 inexplicably in black and white. THE FIRST U.S. VISIT: A day-by-day look at The Beatles first tour in the USA, beginning with their arrival on February 7, 1964. Featured are off-stage looks at all four individually as they sample America, clowning on the road and in the hotel room. Included is never-before-seen footage of their activities in New York, Washington D.C. and Miami, shot by the Maysles Brothers, and their three unforgettable performances on the Ed Sullivan Show - preserved intact, as well as their first American concert in Washington, D.C. YOU CAN'T DO THAT: THE MAKING OF "A HARD DAY'S NIGHT": A 30th anniversary retrospective of the movie that launched the Beatles to stardom on the silver screen. Hosted by Phil Collins (who appeared as an extra in the movie), this reminiscence includes interviews with the film's writer, producer, and director, as well as Roger Ebert, Micky Dolenz and others. | |||||
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It was one of the great moments in the history of show business: It was
1:20 p.m., the 7th of February 1964, and Pan Am Yankee Clipper flight number 101 taxied
down the runway at New York's Idlewild airport, carrying a human cargo of four young
British musicians who were destined to conquer Great Britain's former colony, the U.S.
Within 48 hours, the Beatles were performing on the Ed Sullivan Show, capturing
73,000,000 viewers, thus making television history. This is The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit, a day-by-day audio visual account of the group's arrival on American shores. This full-length film takes us on an historic, musical ride back in time. This is the real Hard Day's Night, culled from hours of footage shot at the time, some of which has never been seen before, and the Ed Sullivan appearances will give audiences of all ages an opportunity to relive a time of glorious, innocent mayhem. People will be able to see and hear what happened, as it happened. Such a time will never come again. Ed Sullivan secured as many segments as negotiations would permit--three--and so these historic performances are preserved intact. And the Maysles Brothers, American filmmakers of great distinction, secured the wondrous realities off-stage. The 83-minute film contains more than 13 performances, which have been visually restored to near perfection. The tracks have been digitally remastered to produce a superb hi-fi sound. Between performances, the viewer will join the Beatles in their limos, hotel rooms, and on their trip from New York to Washington, D.C., to Miami, Florida. If you were there, this is a fabulous journey back into a glorious time of youthful joy. If you weren't, this is the way to catch up fast. Includes the hits: "I Want To Hold Your Hand," "She Loves You," "I Saw Her Standing There," "Please Please Me," and many more. |
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A
Hard Day's Night may have been The Beatles' first big-screen experience but, as they
had become the biggest band in the world by the time of its production, the Moptops were
able to ensure it was a bit different from the band-movie norm. "We'd made it clear
that we weren't interested in being stuck in one of those nobody-understands-our-music
plots," John Lennon would later recall. "The kind of thing where we'd just pop
up a couple of times between the action, all smiles and clean shirts, to sing our latest
record. Never mind all your pals, how could we have faced each other if we had allowed
ourselves to be involved in that kind of movie?" Instead the quartet recruited a young director named Richard Lester--who had previously worked with the Fab Four's beloved Goons--to make a movie that followed them as they enjoyed and endured the phenomenon that was Beatlemania. "The film wrote itself right in front of our eyes," says Lester. "We just took the dirty bits and cut them out." The result is a frenetic hour and a half inside The Beatles' personal space as they engage in all manner of surreal hi-jinks--more often than not involving Paul's "grandfather" (played by Steptoe and Son's Wilfrid Brambell) while dodging the ever-present horde of screaming fans. Although the result now seems a little dated, there remains an almost heart-breakingly good-natured aura around the foursome's na�ve performances while few could argue about the quality of a soundtrack that includes "Can't Buy Me Love", "And I Love Her" and "A Hard Day's Night" itself, to name but a few. Whether the film would have been quite so successful if Lester had followed McCartney's suggestion and called it "Oh, What A Lovely Wart!" will, sadly, never be known. |
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The Beatles followed up their debut film, "A Hard Day's Night," with this fanciful spy spoof. When Ringo adds a new ring to his collection, he's unaware of how important -- and dangerous -- this piece of jewelry is. On one hand, a religious cult considers it a sacred object... and the wearer must become a sacrifice to their gods. On the other hand, the ring has magical abilities that hold the key to supreme power. Soon the boys from Liverpool are engaged in a slapstick and madcap chase round the world, as a crazed scientist, a pack of crooks, and several religious fanatics set out to capture the band. Includes scores of Beatles hits! |
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This 1968 oddity is probably a film only a total Beatlemaniac could love, but it carries both musical and historical resonance. It also gives intimations of what would happen in the next 30 years as artists gained more and more power over how they were presented. The roots of virtually any rock star's vanity project (including Prince's Under the Cherry Moon) can be traced to this little Liverpudlian home movie. Fresh from the success of their films A Hard Day's Night and Help!, and still under the influence of the intoxicants of the era, the Beatles set out to make their own fancifully psychedelic project. What they got out of it was, essentially, a knock-off album with a few good songs and a lot of filler, which is more than can be said for this alternately self-indulgent and mildly amusing British version of Ken Kesey's magic bus tour. Using some of their favorite actors (including Victor Spinetti, who was in their first two movies), the Beatles make an alternative British travelogue, stopping occasionally to sing songs like "I Am the Walrus" and "The Fool on the Hill." Strictly for completists. | |||||
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Featuring various incarnations and representations of the Fab Four, The
Beatles: Yellow Submarine Special Edition carries within its animation all the
magic and imagination of the music it is set to. It tells the story of the invasion of
Pepperland by the Blue Meanies, who have devoted themselves to the defeat of music. At
this point, John, Paul, George and Ringo answer the call for help, hopping the yellow
submarine to save the threatened wonderland. Featuring the eponymous hit song among other
classics like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "All You Need is
Love", this special edition carries its colours brightly, renewing the definitive
experience that is Yellow Submarine. This restored, animated valentine to the Beatles offers viewers the rare chance to see a work that's been substantially improved by its technical facelift, not just supersized with extra footage. Recognizing that its song-studded soundtrack alone makes Yellow Submarine a video annuity, United Artists has lavished a frame-by-frame refurbishment of the original feature, while replacing its original monaural audio tracks with a meticulously reconstructed stereo mix that actually refines legendary original album versions. What emerges is a vivid time capsule of the late '60s and a minor milestone in animation. The music represents the quartet's zenith--Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The story line, cobbled together by producer Al Brodax and a committee of writers, is a broad, feather-light allegory set in idyllic Pepperland, where the gentle citizens are threatened by the nasty, music-hating Blue Meanies and their surreal arsenal of henchmen, with the Beatles enlisted to thwart the bad guys. Visually, designer Heinz Edelmann mixes the biomorphic squiggles, day-glo palette, and Beardsley-esque portraits of Peter Max with rotoscoped still photographs and film; Edelmann's animated collages also nod to Andy Warhol and Magritte in properly psychedelic fashion, which works wonderfully with such terrific songs. High orthodox Beatlemaniacs can still grouse that the animated Fab Four are (literally) flat archetypes, but that's missing the sheer bloom of the music or the giddy, campy fun of the visuals. Making sense of the story is second to submerging blissfully in the sights and sounds of this video treat. |
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| Beatles For Sale | Beatles Video | Lennon Video |
| McCartney Video | Harrison Video | Starr Video |
