The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years, 2016.
Directed by Ron Howard.
Starring Ron Howard, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon (archive footage) and George Harrison (archive footage).
SYNOPSIS:
Documentary about the Fab Four’s early years performing at sold-out venues around the world.
The only other official documentary that’s ever been made about the Beatles was the superb ‘Anthology‘ in the 90s, but whereas that series covered the entirety of the band’s career, Eight Days a Week focuses on the whirlwind period from 1962 to 1966 when the band toured the world. The title comes from one of their many many pop classics, which was written by John and Paul and inspired by a throwaway comment Ringo made about their hectic schedule. There have been musical phenomena before and since The Beatles (Elvis, Michael Jackson, The Spice Girls, One Direction), although considering that there was no social media when they were around to statistically document their impact, it’s arguable that there truly has never been anything like ‘Beatlemania’.
It’s clear from this documentary that what saw them through the sheer hysteria of the touring years was their wit, their easy-going nature, and their camaraderie as a group – Ringo says the other members felt like surrogate brothers to him, and they wondered how Elvis managed to cope with the craziness on his own. Apart from their undeniable talent, The Beatles’ sheer liability is one of the main reasons why they have inspired so much devotion, debate and discussion over the last 50 years. One of the unique things this documentary brings to the table is a generous amount of never-before-seen footage – director Ron Howard and his research team have searched far and wide for fresh clips of the band in concert, and it’s a joy to see and hear their timeless and rarely-equalled songs polished up in gleaming HD (and thanks to sound producer Giles Martin, with the screaming of the fans kept to a minimum).
Although Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr both contribute new and engaging interviews, the absence of Lennon, George Harrison and their producer George Martin is definitely felt (due to lack of footage, Lennon’s contribution is mainly quips and sound-bites). Apart from plenty of insights from Howard, there are also contributions from people who worked closely with them (such as their American tour roadie) and famous fans – Sigourney Weaver appears as a teenager in some early concert footage, Richard Curtis acknowledges the influence of the band’s humour on his romantic comedy scripts, and Whoopi Goldberg remarks on how she saw them as not ‘just a bunch of white guys’, and their music as universal and ‘colourless’. Important historical events from the 60s are touched upon, such as the Civil Rights movement – there’s a sequence where the band refuse to play to a segregated audience, with John Lennon dismissing the idea with his trademark candour as ‘stupid’.
Even though the film ends as the band quit touring to pour all their imagination and talent into recording Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band (arguably their greatest work), the film also makes sure to note that they were evolving into more mature and experimental artists during their touring years – Ron Howard tells of how his teacher used songs from their Rubber Soul album as examples of poetry, compared to the more simplistic pop lyrics they were writing only a couple of years earlier. He also speaks of his admiration for them in turning their backs on what was at that point the most profitable aspect of their career (i.e. touring – they famously lost out on a lot of royalties from record sales due to poor money management) so that they could fully commit themselves to being recording artists, and fulfilling their creative needs that way.
It might not feature any earth-shattering revelations about the band’s history, but if you’re a fan of the Beatles (as I am) then this documentary is sure to delight, entertain and enlighten. If you’re not, you may still find it an interesting examination of how a musical phenomenon can both reflect and influence a period of history. I would personally love to see a follow-up documentary that focuses on their studio years (as McCartney puts it, the ‘quite complicated’ period) to examine the question of whether or not the lack of touring contributed to their break-up.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Eric Bay-Andersen
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https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
