Release date Nov 29, 2024
Beatles '64
Documentary • For The Beatles • Directed by David Tedeschi
Last updated on December 1, 2024
Release date Nov 29, 2024
Documentary • For The Beatles • Directed by David Tedeschi
Last updated on December 1, 2024
“Beatles ’64” documentary released on Disney+
Nov 29, 2024
“Beatles ’64” special screening in London
Nov 28, 2024
New documentary “Beatles ’64” announced
Oct 14, 2024
From Wikipedia:
Beatles ’64 is a documentary film directed by David Tedeschi and produced by Martin Scorsese. It was released on Disney+ on 29 November 2024.
Premise
The film documents the cultural impact of the Beatles on the United States in the aftermath of their first three-week visit to the country in February of 1964, in which their historic first performances on The Ed Sullivan Show occurred. It includes archival footage from the Beatlemania era, and examines the personal dynamics of the group’s members during the period.
Production
The film was directed by David Tedeschi, who had first become involved with Apple Corps following his role as an editor on Martin Scorsese’s documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World, with the two directors becoming “very good friends with Olivia Harrison,” the wife of the late George Harrison. It was produced by Scorsese, Olivia Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sean Ono Lennon, Margaret Bodde, Jonathan Clyde, and Mikaela Beardsley, with Jeff Jones and Rick Yorn serving as executive producers.
The film features footage shot by Albert and David Maysles originally for the 1964 documentary What’s Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A., digitally restored in 4K by Park Road Post. New interviews with McCartney and Starr were also filmed. Footage of the Beatles’ February 1964 performances on The Ed Sullivan Show and at the Washington Coliseum in Washington, D.C. has also been restored, with audio from these performances remixed by Giles Martin using de-mixing technology developed by Peter Jackson’s WingNut Films and previously used for Beatles releases on the 2022 reissue of Revolver and the 2023 reissue of 1962–1966.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack album from the film was released digitally and on streaming platforms on 22 November 2024, a week prior to the documentary’s release. The album contains studio recordings by the Beatles of songs featured in the film, as well as the original versions of tracks covered by the Beatles (e.g., the Chuck Berry recording of “Roll Over Beethoven,” the Little Richard recording of “Long Tall Sally“). The compilation also includes a cover of “Yesterday” performed by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1968. […]
From TheBeatles.com, October 14, 2024:
BURBANK, Calif. (October 14) – Today, Disney+ announced that Beatles ’64, an all-new documentary from producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi, will stream exclusively on Disney+ beginning November 29, 2024. The film captures the electrifying moment of The Beatles’ first visit to America. Featuring never-before-seen footage of the band and the legions of young fans who helped fuel their ascendance, the film gives a rare glimpse into when The Beatles became the most influential and beloved band of all time.
On February 7, 1964, The Beatles arrived in New York City to unprecedented excitement and hysteria. From the instant they landed at Kennedy Airport, met by thousands of fans, Beatlemania swept New York and the entire country. Their thrilling debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show captivated more than 73 million viewers, the most watched television event of its time. Beatles ’64 presents the spectacle, but also tells a more intimate behind the scenes story, capturing the camaraderie of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they experienced unimaginable fame.
The film includes rare footage filmed by pioneering documentarians Albert and David Maysles, beautifully restored in 4K by Park Road Post in New Zealand. The live performances from The Beatles first American concert at the Washington, DC Coliseum and their Ed Sullivan appearances were demixed by WingNut Films and remixed by Giles Martin. Spotlighting this singular cultural moment and its continued resonance today, the music and footage are augmented by newly filmed interviews with Paul and Ringo, as well as fans whose lives were transformed by The Beatles.
Beatles ’64 is directed by David Tedeschi and produced by Martin Scorsese, Margaret Bodde, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison, Sean Ono Lennon, Jonathan Clyde, Mikaela Beardsley, with Jeff Jones and Rick Yorn serving as executive producers.
The movie goes from New York to Washington D.C. and Miami, which was chaos. There’s over 17 minutes of footage that’s never been seen before.
David Tedeschi – Film director – From Rolling Stone – Inside the New Documentary ‘Beatles ‘64’, November 16, 2024
How did the movie come together?
I edited a film for Martin Scorsese called “George Harrison: Living the Material World”. As a result, we were very good friends with Olivia Harrison. We interviewed Paul and Ringo for that film. So there’s a relationship with Apple — we know them. Apple was aware that they had this footage and they wanted to do something with it, so they reached out to me.
Where does this footage come from?
David and Albert Maysles, who became very famous later in the sixties. This is their second movie-they made a movie that was rarely shown called “What’s Happening!” And one of the reasons it was rarely shown is they didn’t really have rights — a variety of rights. So Apple took ownership of the actual Maysles negatives.
Hardly anyone has seen “What’s Happening!“
Al and David, they were just phenomenal filmmakers and pioneers, and what they were doing was very unusual. So “What’s Happening!” did play on American TV, but it was considered too, how shall I say this, radical or obscure. And what played on American TV had interstitials with Carol Burnett.
“What’s Happening!” has a beautiful moment when the Beatles have just landed, riding in the car from the airport. Paul is holding up a transistor radio, hearing their song on the air. He looks right at the camera and says “I love this!” It’s so intimate.
Yeah, the Maysles brothers were pioneers of direct cinema, as they called it. In that footage, you can see that the Beatles are very relaxed. They have so much charisma on camera. But even the fans, these young women in front of the Plaza Hotel, or what we call the Sullivan Theater now — they also have so much charisma. There’s something about the energy of Al and David that relaxed people, and allowed them to project something on film. I don’t know what it is. I worked with Al when Scorsese hired him for [the Rolling Stones’ concert film] Shine a Light. So as the Rolling Stones were rehearsing, I got to watch Al at work. And he was very sly. People would see the camera, but quickly they forgot about it.
In the trailer, there’s a moment of Ringo talking to Martin Scorsese. Did Scorsese interview him?
We did two interviews: Ringo and Paul. Marty was there for Ringo, and I would say he primarily conducted the interview. We didn’t want to do just sit-down interviews. With Ringo, he has saved a lot of his clothes through the years, so he had one of the suits he wore on the train to Washington. He has it all — that same drum kit that he played at Ed Sullivan. I interviewed Paul at the Brooklyn Museum, when he was there for “Eye of the Storm” photo exhibit. When you look at the handwritten lyrics for ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand,’ it’s an emotional thing.
How far into 1964 does “Beatles ’64” go?
It’s just those three weeks—they arrive in New York, for maybe four or five days, then Washington and Miami. There’s footage from the Maysleses all the way through, but there’s other stuff. We had a great researcher who found a lot of local Miami footage from local archives—a lot of footage was buried, and he really had to go digging in order to find it. So that’s exciting.
It looks and sounds so vibrant.
Wingnut in New Zealand restored the 16-millimeter, so it looks immaculate. But they restored the audio too. Giles Martin produced what you hear. The Washington concert sounds better than it ever has — it their first arena show, and their first concert in the United States. For the studio-recorded tracks, Giles has a lot more control, but this is a live concert, and the joy of it is that it feels like a live concert.
Fans had no idea this film was happening until a couple weeks ago. Did it happen that fast?
For us, it was very fast. From the very first that I heard about it until when we finished it, it was two years. The edit room was open for about a year. That is very fast for us. But I’m told all the time that that’s not fast at all.
David Tedeschi – Film director – From Rolling Stone – Inside the New Documentary ‘Beatles ‘64’, November 16, 2024
From NME, November 14, 2024:
Hey David, why do you think you were asked to direct Beatles ’64?
“I’m a New Yorker; Scorsese is a New Yorker. It’s very much a New York story. New York, Washington, Miami – but New York. The band performed on The Ed Sullivan Show in New York, and 1964 was a key year in New York City. I basically pitched the film that you saw, in large part because I know a lot of people – including myself – on whom the Beatles really had a tremendous impact in an almost spiritual way.”
When did you get into the band’s music?
“I grew up on the Beatles and I always loved them, but when I worked on Living In A Material World, it had a real impact on me. I moved to New York in 1979; I lived through the terrible events of 1980 [John Lennon’s assassination]. I always loved John and Paul. I will admit that I started to meditate when I worked on the George film [laughs]. You immerse yourself for three years in his point of view, his world.”
There’s some interesting stuff in the film about the similarities in temperament and sense of humour among Liverpudlians and New Yorkers…
“The New York press were wolves, just waiting for their prey to land from London. [The press] couldn’t have been more shocked but happy about [the Beatles] ‘cause they’re just looking for a story. They were so happy at the vibe, the humour, the cheekiness of it. And then the music itself! Weirdly enough, ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ hit Number One the week before they came to New York, so it does have a scripted quality. The success had already started before they landed in New York. But it was a love affair: these obnoxious New Yorkers and these four young men – very young men – from Liverpool.”
Were you surprised at how intuitive and self-aware they were at those young ages?
“I was surprised that Ringo, George, John and Paul, all in their own way, were so insightful about what happened and how in the moment they were. When I interviewed Ringo and Paul, there wasn’t a lot of façade. They were very direct.”
In the film, they talk very openly to the press in a way that’s now quite surprising. Was that naivety, or something else?
“I don’t think it was naïveté. They found each other, right? It wasn’t some created band. They had been together for a long time. You can see, when Ringo is answering a question at the press conference [at JFK Airport], that the other three are pretty amused. Part of it was [manager] Brian Epstein. He was very good at promoting them. I understand that after JFK, he advised they do a press conference everywhere they go because it generated a lot of energy.”
Sometimes it’s hard to tell if they’re acting naturally or performing for the camera to consciously shape a narrative…
“John and Paul had a very strong relationship with both of the Maysles. They had contact afterwards. There’s a scene in [New York’s] Plaza Hotel where they know they’re going to Harlem, but they don’t wanna say anything on camera. And then rather quickly, a day or two later, they sort of forget about the camera. Or maybe you’re right, they’re better at performing for the camera and have a better sense of what the narrative is. They are, after all, performers.
“But I also found John so insightful. There’s an interview with [TV presenter] Tom Snyder where he says they would be moved from room to room and sometimes he would ask: ‘Wait… how did I get here?’ I thought that was fascinating ‘cause it gives you an insight into what it must have felt like. Paul describes it as ‘the eye of the storm’. John says, ‘We were in the eye of the hurricane.’”
How did the Maysles get such amazing footage?
“I mean, they weren’t well-known. We don’t really know how they got hired – there’s no real record – but they were remarkable. It’s one thing for them to be with the Beatles – who are of course tremendously charismatic – day after day, so the band get used to them and they have a very nice rapport. But what’s remarkable is all the young fans on the street, who are able to project themselves on film. I believe there was something about the Maysles’ energy that allowed people to be themselves with real emotional intensity.” […]
From NME, November 14, 2024
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