The Lost Weekend: A Love Story -- a movie review

 

This past weekend I watched the new documentary "The Lost Weekend:  A Love Story."   This film told the story of May Pang and her 18-month relationship with John Lennon in 1973 & 1974.

This documentary was extremely well made.   It frequently used line-drawing animation to get the story told and I found it to be extremely effective.   There were some very good interviews with not just May Pang herself but also with Julian, Chris O'Dell, and several others that were there.    The story was told not just through these modern-day interviews but with archive footage from the 70s and archive talk show footage of May from the 1980s.     The variety of interviews really helped keep the story moving.

My absolute favorite part was all of the previously unseen photographs and home movie footage in the documentary.    Just when you think that the majority of "Lost Weekend" photos have been seen (especially thanks to May's Instamatic Karma book) - this film is released, and there are so many more!  There is some home movie footage that belonged to Julian that shows John, May, and Jules on a boat and swimming, which is just precious. 

If you have read May's book, Loving John, then you know everything that is told in this film.   There is nothing new or unknown that is told.    However, May's book was written in the 1980s and not very many modern John fans have read it, so the stories very well could be new for some.   I actually found it refreshing that May's story has not changed over the years.    Often, when someone re-tells their story, things get embellished or changed around, but this was not the case when it comes to May.   

Of course, the film is May's story.   It is not John's, and it is not Yoko's.  This is May's memories and her point of view.   Some might find it all to be a bit controversial because May's version of the story is not the same as Yoko's or even John's.     May and the Lost Weekend often gets glossed over or removed when learning about John's life, so it is good for May to continue to tell what happened from her point of view because the official Lennon estate will not tell it.  

My only complaint would be that the placement of some of the photos was not historically correct.  For example, in talking about John and Ringo in 1974, a photo of them at the Copa Cabana Club in 1976 was shown.   Little things that happened from time to time, but that is just me being my usual nit-picky self about dates of photographs and isn't a reason to not watch the film or anything. 

    Even if you have read the book, it is worth watching The Lost Weekend:  A Love Story because of the interviews and the rare photos.     

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Meeting the Beatles in India -- Film Review

 

First, I want to thank the 8 people who bought a ticket through my link for "Meeting the Beatles in India."  I truly appreciate your support for this site.  

I watched the film "Meet The Beatles in India" on Friday night with great hope that it was going to offer new Beatles information, and the film did not disappoint.    

The film is the story of Paul Saltzman, a Canadian who was going through a time of self-discovery in his early 20's.   He decided to travel to India for a job opportunity, and while there, he wanted to learn transcendental meditation from the Maharishi.   Having been in India for his job for a while, he had no clue that The Beatles were in the Ashram with Maharishi, and he was originally denied access to the ashram.   So Paul, who really wanted to meditate, decided to camp out in a tent outside of the gates for eight days.    After that, he was finally allowed inside and learned about meditation.   He joins The Beatles, their wives (girlfriend for Paul), and Mal Evans, who are sitting around talking.   Suddenly, he was in with The Beatles and was allowed to take photographs of them. 

The film goes along with Paul sharing some amazing stories about being with the Beatles, including a personal performance of George singing "The Inner Light" and observing John and Paul writing "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da)

The film doesn't just tell Paul Saltzman's stories but also more about The Beatles' time in India and the White Album.    One of the most interesting parts is the interview with the man who was the real "Bungalow Bill."   While I knew that the song was inspired by someone John encountered at the ashram, I never really thought about how "Bill" would have his own story about The Beatles.   I really enjoyed hearing him talk about his memories.   It is really worth watching the Q&A section after the film because there is more with "Bungalow Bill," and we learn some about his mother's connection with The Beatles and the friendship she kept with George until his death in 2001. 

The scenes with Mark Lewisohn were excellent.  I just wish there was more.   His insights were very necessary.   The part with Paul and Mark discussing exactly how many songs from The White Album were written in India was so interesting and a great topic.   

I liked that Paul and Mark were on the grounds of the actual ashram where The Beatles stayed.  However, it was disappointing that we weren't able to see more of the bungalows and grounds.  I also thought some of the interviews were pointless and not needed.  I would much rather hear more from people who were actually with The Beatles, such as the Indian musician who played the flute on "The Inner Light," than from people who did not spend time with The Beatles. 

The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon where you can purchase or rent this film.   I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

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Yesterday - A movie review (with spoilers!)

WARNING!  IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED ABOUT THIS MOVIE, DON'T READ!!!!





Like many of you, I saw the highly anticipated movie Yesterday.    The idea behind the film is interesting.   Something happens (no one really knows what), and several things that are part of our culture are no longer remembered by anyone but one guy named Jack.    Things such as cigarettes, Coca-Cola, Harry Potter, and, of course, The Beatles were all unknown.    Honestly, the world Jack wakes up to is literally my version of Hell -- no Diet Coke or Beatles?   No, thank you.

First and foremost, this is not a Beatles film.   It is a romantic comedy.    It is the typical story of a guy who has the woman of his dreams right in front of him and doesn't realize it until it is too late.  Then said guy does whatever it takes to get the girl.    I think any major band could have been the focus, and the story would haven't have changed.

However, The Beatles are the focus, and it is the Beatles' music that made this film so enjoyable for so many people.    Actor Himesh Patel performs all of The Beatles music himself in the film.  He does a good job keeping the songs close to the originals.    Since he is apparently the only person who remembers the Beatles, his character, Jack, "writes" all of The Beatle's songs and becomes famous because of his amazing songwriting.    The idea behind this is that The Beatles' songs are so amazingly good that it doesn't matter who is performing them.   They will always be hit songs.   Is this true?    I can see some of the songs being loved by the masses even if they aren't sung by The Beatles, but all of the songs?    Isn't part of what made the Beatles so good was the harmonies and musical abilities of the four band members?   Could one person and a guitar REALLY make all of the songs popular?

As the movie goes along, we discover that Jack isn't the only person who remembers The Beatles.  There are two others out there!   They meet Jack, and instead of being mad that he is taking credit and making money from the songs, they are delighted that he is sharing the music with others.   You later see them dancing in Sgt. Pepper jackets (which makes no sense to me at all...but it is a fantasy film).

The scene that no one wants to talk about because they don't want to spoil the film happens towards the end of the film.    The two others did some digging and gave Jack an address to a man living on a beach.   The man was none other than John Lennon.    When you see "John" open the door, it is a little shocking.   The actor playing him DOES look like what we think John might have looked like if he were still alive in 2019.    The hair, the nose, the glasses, the voice.    Many fans have said this was a very emotional scene.   It makes you think about how John should still be alive, and if he wasn't famous, he wouldn't have moved to New York, and he wouldn't have been murdered.    This John sits on a boat named Imagine and gives advice to Jack.  Advice that we like to think John would have given him if he were alive today.    It was a poignant part of the film, but it also gave me a creepy feeling. 

One thing fans are going to like is all the little Beatle-isms sprinkled throughout the film.   The album cover is a dead ringer for the famous Paul McCartney selfie from when he was a teenager.   As a fan, there are jokes in the film that others might not catch.   I appreciated the nod to us because the filmmakers had to realize that one of their main demographics was the Beatles fan community.

I went with some non-Beatle people to see the film, and they enjoyed it.   It is a nice film.  Very predictable plot, but still a nice little film.    It isn't going to be my all-time favorite movie, but I would watch it again.

There is also a soundtrack now available if anyone is interested.

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I used to be Normal - A film review

Fans outside the Beatles hotel in Melbourne in 1964

I know, I know--  I got a little confused and so I am doing Wednesday Review on a Thursday.


The film I am reviewing is called "I Used to Be Normal....a boyband fan girl story."      This documentary follows four women who are devoted to four different boybands and hears their thoughts, experiences, and devotion to their favorite boyband.

The groups represented are The Beatles, Take That, Backstreet Boys, and One Direction.    The big thing that stands out is that the mania that happens from the girls who love the bands is the same no matter what generation they are in.     As Beatle fans, we can argue that Beatlemania was bigger, more widespread, more intense, etc.   But when you watch the footage of girls screaming and going crazy, it all looks the same, no matter if they are screaming for The Beatles or for One Direction.   


Personally, I love the BoyBand phenomenon.   Anyone who knows me knows that I loved the New Kids on the Block in 1989, and I still love them.   However, I have never been comfortable grouping the Beatles as a "boyband."  The Beatles wrote their own songs, played their own instruments, didn't dance, and took off their shirts on stage, and they were a serious group.  They are NOT the same as the Backstreet Boys.   However, this film lays out WHY The Beatles should be considered the first boyband (at least in the early years), and while I am still not 100% on board, it was a compelling argument.

The Beatles fan who is interviewed is a first-generation fan from Melbourne, Australia.   She tells about how she stayed outside the Beatles hotel when they came to her town (and swears that John waved to her) and she also saw the Beatles in concert (in the 3rd row!).  She goes through her memorabilia and talks about and discusses how the Beatles and their music has helped her get through difficult times in her life.

The other fans were interesting.  I feel so sad for the One Direction girl by the end of the documentary.

I am sure a film about boyband girl fans isn't for everyone, but I enjoyed it.   It is always nice to hear a first generation Beatles fan share her first-hand memories.


The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon where you can purchase/rent this film.   I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

https://amzn.to/3P2H7Mq

Mighty Good: The Beatles - film review

In 1977, filmmaker Tony Palmer released a documentary about music that he called "All You Need Is Love."    Part 14 is called "Mighty Good" and it is about The Beatles.    I decided to watch it on Amazon Prime this weekend because it had a terrible review.    I thought it might be good for a laugh to watch a terrible Beatles doc.    And while this isn't a great film, it does have quite a few amazing moments.

It goes through the basic story of the Beatles.   The Cavern, touring, blah blah blah -- we know the story.  Strangely, an extremely long period of this film isn't even about The Beatles, but about hippies and love-ins.   There is way too much footage shown of half-dressed hippies dancing around with painted things on their tummies.

What redeems this documentary is not the story or the Beatles footage but the interviews conducted by Tony Palmer.  Many of the interviews were done in 1968, but others were from the mid-1970s.

You get an interview with Paul, where he is wearing the red plaid scarf he frequently wore during that time period.  You also see some interview clips from Alan Williams,  Derek Taylor, and George Martin from the 1970s.

The real gems are the ones from 1968.    You get a "blink and you miss it" short clip from Ringo and another from Paul.  But the real treat in this film is the 1968 interview with Queenie Epstein.   This is the ONLY interview Queenie ever gave on film and so it is your only chance to see and hear her.   And---- I now know where they got the character that was Leggy Mountbatten's mother in The Rutles.  I expected to hear Queenie say something about how it was "the trousers."   But no--- really, Queenie's interview was so touching and must have been so difficult for her just one year after her son's death. I really think this interview needs to be preserved in a better place than this somewhat lame film.     Someone needs to take out these little nuggets of interviews found in various places and put them into one film that tells the Beatles story through first-person interviews. 

There really isn't any reason to watch this short documentary unless you are bored or you want to see Brian Epstein's mum.


The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon where you can purchase/rent this film.   I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

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Above Us Only Sky -- a movie review

This past weekend in the UK, a new documentary was shown on television called "John and Yoko:  Above Us Only Sky."    Once all of my Facebook friends saw the documentary, they jumped online and couldn't stop raving about it.   Luckily, the film has been "leaked" online to those of us outside of the U.K. and so tonight I sat down and watched it.


Above us Only Sky goes right along with the Imagine box set that was released earlier this year.  It shows the making of the entire Imagine album.     A lot of the footage is obviously taken from the film that John and Yoko were making called Imagine.  We have seen a lot of this footage before.  The 1988 Imagine documentary,  numerous videos Yoko made for John's songs over the years,  Gimme some Truth, etc.     However, countless hours of footage was recorded during that time in 1971, and we haven't seen it all.    Many of the things shown in this documentary are NEW to Lennon fans around the world!    It all starts with John teaching George the song "How."  John sitting at the piano and sharing with George this new song will make you smile.

 Most of this footage was shot in and on the grounds of Tittenhurst Park.   I enjoyed the footage of young Julian playing in the pool and in the gardens, mixed with him telling his memories of his time there.   However, Julian says something towards the end of the film that is just heartbreaking.

All of the footage from the recording sessions are great.  Klaus Voorman gives his memories, and so does Alan White, Jim Keltner, and others that were there.    The footage of Jealous Guy was my favorite.

I am sure all of you will enjoy learning more about Claudio, who is famous for being the hippie guy who meets John outside his house and then gets invited in for breakfast.   There is extended footage of that and a little background of who the young man is and why he was there.

The strangest part is when they show footage of John and Yoko doing this photo shoot:

They show May Pang watching John and Yoko passionately kiss each other while John's hand is on Yoko's breast.   It is just so bizarre to see May Pang during that time (even though we know she was working for them during this time) because, in just a few years, John would be photographed kissing her!

There is some film of them in New York in 1971, including shots of the infamous "clock" at the St. Regis Hotel.  I have the bootleg audio of "Clock" and always believed that none of the footage of it survived.  But there it was in this documentary!

Fair warning to those who love John Lennon -- this is an emotional film, and they don't even go into John's death.   I am not a huge Yoko fan, but I do appreciate the love John had for her, and it is shown in this documentary.  Yoko gives the reason why she believes she met John, and it is pretty amazing.

Look out for this film because it is one of the best John documentaries pertaining to his solo years I have seen since the NYC one from several years ago.

The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon where you can purchase/rent this film.   I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

https://amzn.to/49VF8kK

Looking for Lennon - a film review

Looking for Lennon is a documentary about John Lennon's formative years in Liverpool and is available on DVD/Blu-ray.   If you are like me, your first thought is "Great -- just what we need--another documentary about the childhood of John Lennon (insert eye roll)."    I first saw this film at the Fest for Beatles Fans in New Jersey in 2017 when it still had time stamps on the bottom of the screen and even then I was amazed by how well made this film is and how interesting it was.

Sure, it does go over a lot of the same ground that anyone that loves John Lennon is familiar with.   John's father left for the sea, John's mother got pregnant and gave the baby up, etc etc....onto John and the Quarry Men perform at the Church Fete and met Paul McCartney who could tune a guitar and play 20 Flight Rock.    However -- there are several stories that I had NEVER heard before.   John in a boxing match at school?    Fighting over a cap gun?    How did he really act after his mother died?

The folks interviewed for the film are some pretty heavy hitters:  members of the Quarry Men, Hunter Davies, Sam Leach,  Jugan Vollmer, plus others that aren't so heavy of hitters but have some fun stories to share.   Many of John's schoolmates that weren't his best friends, but still ran around with him were interviewed as well as some of the friends he had in art college.    The saddest story is hearing Nigal Walley tell his story of watching Julia Lennon die and how he often thought if only he had talked to her a bit longer, the accident wouldn't have happened. 

I did not care for some of the things in the film.   The first one if the old "John beat Cynthia" accusation.   Cynthia says in her book that John slapped her once.   While that shouldn't be condoned, that is far from "John beat Cynthia."     No one saw John beat Cynthia and since both parties have passed away, I think it is time to say that is something that is undetermined and not a fact.     Someone from one of the bands in Mersey side said that John grabbed a woman's bosom and punched her at the well-known Paul McCartney 21st birthday party.    I find it strange that I have never heard that before.    With all the people who have talked about John hitting Bob W., surely it would have been mentioned that he was also violent towards a woman.   

The other issue I had was Hunter Davies getting out his little red book to prove that John told him that when he was 5 he had to choose between his mother and father while in Blackpool.    Mark Lewishon has debunked that story.   I feel like Davies took out that book to prove that Mark is wrong.  What Davies doesn't understand is how children's brains work.     The details had been worked out between the adults, but they very well may have asked John which parent he wanted to go with.    Maybe the adults even meant for the rest of the day and not for the rest of his life.  But as a child and then as the memory grew with John, it got turned into him having to choose between his parents.   John wasn't lying.   He told the story from his memory of it as a five year old. 

Anyhow--I am getting a little too geeky here and need to wrap this up.    It is a great documentary with lovely scenes of Liverpool.   It includes real John Lennon solo and Beatles songs (must have cost a LOT!) which you never see in straight to DVD documentaries.    Some of the accents are hard to understand, so if you have an issue with accents, make sure you turn on the closed captions. 

Right now I know the film is available at Wal-mart in the USA.   Once it is availabe on Amazon, I wil put up the link. 

Yellow Submarine 50th Anniversary - A Review

On July 9, 2018, I had the opportunity to see the classic animated Beatles film, Yellow Submarine on the big screen for the first time.     As a Beatles fan, it is always fun to experience a Beatles' movie in a group setting.   It is nice to hear others laughing at the jokes and singing along to "All Together Now" at the end of the movie.


I saw the film at the Tivoli in St. Louis which I would guess seats about 300 moviegoers.   The room was almost filled.   I noticed a variety of ages from first-generation fans all the way down to small children.   Many of us were wearing Beatles or Yellow Submarine T-shirts.  The cutest thing I saw was a little boy holding a stuffed Yellow Submarine and Paul doll. 


The general plot of the Yellow Submarine is extremely basic and is just as relatable and relevant today as it was 50 years ago.   The Blue Meanies are doing whatever it takes to remove all of the music and love out of Pepperland and it is up to The Beatles to restore order to the land.     The Beatles are our heroes and we are thrilled that they are able to beat out the baddies with love and music.   

The animation is dated.   It looks very much like the late 1960's.    It is very colorful but the characters are flat.   Maybe I think this because I watch Pixar and Disney animated films that are popular today.  The animation actually reminds me of some of the stuff you'd see on Sesame Street in the 1970's.  However, even with the outdated style of animation, it still seems to work and parts (the sea of holes for example) almost appear 3D in this new release of the movie.

The most disappointing thing about the Yellow Submarine is that John, Paul, George, and Ringo did not record their own voices.     I do not like the voices used for the Fab 4, and I have a hard time distinguishing between the four, especially when they are not on the screen.     I have come to accept this over time, but I can't help but think just how much better this movie would have been if John, Paul, George, and Ringo had made the time in 1968 to provide their own voices.   Thankfully you do hear the REAL Beatles throughout the many great songs that are used in the film.    They sounded wonderful in the 50th-anniversary film and mixed along with the vibrant colors, the music sequences were outstanding and well worth the experience. 

The VERY best part is the last few seconds when you see the four real Beatles hamming it up.   I got a kick out of hearing John announce that "newer and bluer meanies are seen in the vicinity of this very theater...."  while I was actually sitting in a theater and not on my couch. 

I know the 50th-anniversary showing is still being released in more cities around the globe.  If you were on the fence about going, I do encourage you to go.     I haven't heard if a new Blu-Ray/DVD is going to be released, but it should be.   The 1999 version has been out of print of some time.   Right now the only new things available for the anniversary if a vinyl single.

Yellow Submarine movie poster selfie!  2018

The concert for George - a film review

In celebration of George Harrison's 75th birthday, The Concert for George was shown at a few theaters around the United States.     The concert was held on November 29, 2002, at the Royal Albert Hall in London.   It was in many ways a memorial service held for George.     Eric Clapton organized it and Olivia and Dhani Harrison invited George's friends to become involved and perform songs of George.

It isn't every day that you get the opportunity to watch a Beatles film on the big screen, and so when I learned that a theater in St. Louis was showing The Concert for George,  I was excited to attend.   When I got to the theatre and found out that they had reclining seats -- well what more could you ask for?   Kicking back, eating popcorn and watching some of the best musicians playing the music of George Harrison -- my way to spend a rainy Thursday night.

I had only watched the concert one time before -- when it was originally released.   Maybe when I saw it in 2003, it was too soon for me, because I recall that I just found it sad and I didn't have a desire to watch it again.    My feelings had nothing to do with not enjoying the tribute, but just an overwhelming sadness that George wouldn't have wanted a tribute concert in the first place and that he wasn't there with all of his friends.

But the years have passed now and I felt like George's 75th birthday was a good time to watch it again with fresh eyes.   This time I was able to enjoy it for what it has become:   A time capsule of what was going on in Beatles world in the 2000's.     So many of the performers, who were influential to the Beatles and especially George Harrison have now passed away.    Billy Preston, Tom Petty, and Ravi Shankar were the three big names that stood out.    However, through this film, we are able to travel back to the early 2000's and see them again.   We get to see Dhani Harrison for the first time since he was just George's little son and discover that he grew up to be quite a guitarist himself.  We get to see Paul McCartney play ukelele to "Something" for longer than he does in concert and remember that in 2002, it was something new that he had started to do. 

The concert is an amazing tribute to George Harrison.    It really touched upon all of the aspects of George as a person.    The Indian portion reminded us of George's spiritual life and his love for India and the instruments.   The performance of "The Inner Light" was especially lovely.     The Monthy Python Lumberjack Song was a great way to show George's humor and remind us that sometimes George was in the Lumberjack choir himself.    Ringo's "Honey Don't" reminds us that George loved the old rockers.     There really was a great variety of George songs performed from all aspects of George's career, even up to the song he released the year of his death, "Horse to the Water."

Some of my very favorites were Ringo's performance of "Photograph."    George wrote the song and as Ringo pointed out before he sang it, the lyrics have a different meaning now that George is no longer with us.     I liked Tom Petty's performance of  "I need you."    I was blown away by Paul's performance of "For You Blue."     Nothing can beat Eric Clapton doing his guitar solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."   However, my very favorite was  Billy Preston's performance of "Isn't it a Pity."    I forgot how much I like  Billy Preston.   And while he sang, I thought about how George and Billy experienced a lot together.   They first met in the early 1960's while Billy was with Little Richard and George called Billy to join the Beatles on Get Back and Billy almost stole the show every night during the 1974 Dark Horse Tour.      Billy really put his heart for George into that performance and I am so glad that we have it to remember Billy.

There really was only one thing I disliked about the film.    It was nice that they showed some backstage banter and interviews with individuals about the concert and about their memories of George.  However, there was no need to interrupt in the middle of a song to add these things.   Right dab in the middle of my all time favorite song, "Handle with Care" they cut to Tom Petty telling the story of the Traveling Wilbury's and that song.    Ummm...I already know this story.  I want to hear the song!    They didn't do this on a lot of songs, but enough for it to bother me.


If you have never seen the Concert for George or if you haven't watched it since the original release, you need to watch it again in 2018.    It is a wonderful tribute to an amazing guy -- our sweet George.


The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon where you can purchase this film on DVD..   I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

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Brian Epstein- Inside the Fifth Beatle: a film review

I watched another Beatles program on Amazon Prime recently.   It is called Brian Epstein:  Inside the Fifth Beatle.  It is a an hour long program all about one of the most overlooked people in the Beatles story-- their manager, Brian Epstein. 

Because this documentary is from 2004 there are interviews with people that knew Brian Epstein that are no longer alive.  And while back in the day, these folks were commonplace at Beatle conventions and other documentaries, it was nice to see and hear their stories once again.  Alistair Taylor, Alan Williams, Sid Bernstein, and many others were featured. 

It was a nice overview of Brian's life, and I appreciated that while the documentary did mention that Brian was homosexual, it didn't overly focus on that fact.  Yes, being gay was part of who Brian was, but there is so much more to him and his life than just that one thing.   I think it was handled well.

There were several photos and video footage that were new to me in this documentary. One particular piece of footage that I really liked was an interview with Brian in the backseat of a car.   I would love to find the full footage after seeing the brief clips.

The film really wasn't long enough and didn't go into enough detail about Brian's life. The movie that needs to be made about Brian Epstein has not been made yet.   However, this is a good overview of his life and is especially good for those who aren't familiar with Brian or are new fans. 


The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon where you can purchase/rent this film..   I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

https://amzn.to/3TvfTAJ

Scream and Shout: 31 Days that Changed America Forever -- a Review

Over my holiday break I decided to end my Netflix subscription and try Amazon Prime instead.  And as one does when a new streaming services is available, one of the first things I did was put "Beatles" in the search box and see what they had to watch.   There were several listings that I wasn't familiar with, but the one that I thought sounded the most interesting was "Scream and Shout:  31 Days that Changed America Forever."    It is all about the 1964 North American tour, and it promised to show newsreel footage and interviews.

Honestly, I did have high hopes for this film.    I bought some of those cheaply made VHS tapes in the 1980's/1990's that promised the same thing.   They always ended up being a mismatch of familiar footage with no rhyme or reason behind it and always ended with Pete Best on the game show "To Tell the Truth." 

Boy, was I surprised by this film!   While the majority of the footage was familiar, there were quite a few clips that were brand new to me and I really enjoyed seeing.    The ones that were familiar weren't news footage that I had seen a million times either -- they were ones that hadn't been shown too often.     And I loved that the film was in chronological order -- so it started in San Francisco (well, actually LAX) and ended in New York.   Whoever put this film together really did a nice job organizing the material so that it went in the right order.

When I first started watching, I was pleasantly shocked to see that one of the guys that comments on this blog and I have communicated with one many occasions over the years, Mark Naboshek was one of the main people interviewed for the film.    Mark has an amazing collection of Beatles memorabilia and he knows his Beatles tour stuff, so I knew the documentary had to better than most with Mark featured in it.   However -- some of the other interviews I could have done without.   There was a lot of non-Beatles music featured that I guess was supposed to be "Beatle-esque."   They interviewed some of the musicians of this new music, and I thought it took away from the story.   Sure hearing an 11 year old boy talk about his love for the Beatles is nice, but what did that have to do with the 1964 tour?

There's a lot of fan footage in this film, which I enjoy because I love seeing the fans from the Beatles touring years, but if you find that to be boring -- you might want to skip this one, or watch it with a remote to fast forward handy.      I think it adds to the charm of the tour and reminds us how insane Beatlemania really was.

This is a film that most fans will want to see at least once and I know I plan on watching it again.  So if you already have Amazon Prime, check it out!    If you don't -- a DVD is available.



The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon where you can purchase/rent this film..   I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara
https://amzn.to/4bRQI2a

The Sgt. Pepper Blu-Ray disc--- A Review

I have seen a lot of reviews about the 50th anniversary Sgt. Pepper album, but nothing about the Blu-Ray/DVD that comes with it.    So, I figured for tonight's "Wednesday Review," I would tackle the video portion of the set.

I watched the Blu-Ray version, but the DVD is the same thing.  The main part of the DVD is the 1992 documentary called "The Making of Sgt. Pepper."  This official Apple production was originally shown in the United States on the Disney Channel (back in the days when you had to pay extra for that channel) in the Fall of 1992.  I was a fairly new Beatles fan when I saw it on a weekend "free trial" of the Disney channel and it totally blew me away at the time.   It was the first time I had ever heard John's isolated vocals for "A Day in the Life" or the "Sugar Plum Fairy" at the beginning of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

It is about time this documentary came out on Blu-ray or DVD!   It should have been out on VHS a long time ago (Maybe it was after it was first shown, but I never had it).  This was made in April 1992, and you get to hear first-hand experience about the making of the Sgt. Pepper album directly from George Martin, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Peter Blake and others.  Since at least two of the men involved are no longer with us, this is a treasure.  

I love to see George Martin behind the mixing board.  He really seems to get a bit emotional when he hears John's voice and when he is talking about John.    ou can see how proud he was of the work he did on Sgt. Pepper, and it really drives home the fact that without George Martin, the Beatles would have been a totally different group.  I especially enjoyed seeing George M. and Paul together at the board, talking about Paul's bass playing on "Lucy."

I do think that documentary was way too short.  It is only 45 minutes long, and they do not talk about all of the songs on Sgt. Pepper.  "Fixing a Hole," "Lovely Rita," "She is Leaving Home," and "Getting Better" are all missing.  I was hoping that when this was released for the 50th anniversary, we would see more of what was filmed.  Surely, there were things that were originally edited out.  

I enjoyed most of the interviews with the non-Beatles people. Peter Blake was interesting.  The guy who played the trumpet on "Penny Lane" was neat to see.  Even Brian Wilson was interesting.   However,  Phil Collins really seemed out of place and not needed.  It is almost like they stuck Phil in there because it was 1992 and he was popular at that time.

The rest of the Blu-Ray was filled with the promo films for "A Day in the Life,"  "Strawberry Fields,"  and "Penny Lane."  They really weren't necessary because we just saw this on the Beatles 1 DVD release.  It feels like they just stuck them on there because the documentary was so short.

It was disappointing that a new film was not released for the 50th anniversary, although, as I said, the 1992 film is a classic. I am glad that it was preserved and looks much better than the YouTube videos. It is a nice addition to the CD set, but it would not be worth buying just for the DVD alone.

 The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon, where you can purchase this box set.  I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

https://amzn.to/3PaLPrn

Deconstructing Sgt. Pepper - A film review

The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band has always held a special spot for me. It was actually the first Beatles album that I owned (cassette tape, actually).  I know that for you first generation fans reading this, it is hard to think that Pepper would be someone's first real exposure to the Beatles, but that is how it was. I listened to that tape nonstop for a very long time, and it was the first Beatles CD I purchased once I could afford it.  For many years, Sgt. Pepper was my favorite Beatles album, and "A Day in the Life" was my favorite Beatles song.  However, I grew and matured as a Beatles fan and was exposed to their entire catalog, and my favorite eventually switched to Rubber Soul.   To be honest, Pepper has been sort of pushed to the back of my Beatles collection, and I really hadn't listened to it in quite a while.

Since 2017 is the 50th anniversary of the Sgt. Pepper sessions and album, it is a great time to dust off the album and give it another listen.  It was with this mindset that I went into seeing the film Deconstructing Sgt. Pepper at the Tivoli Theater in St. Louis with my mom and some other great fans this past Monday night.   I really didn't know what I was going to watch.   I just knew that it was something Beatles.  I quickly learned that I was going to see a lecture by Scott Freiman about the breakdown of the album. I was not familiar with Scott at all, but apparently he teaches Beatles courses at the university level as well as being a very successful composer and producer.

If you are like me, your first thought when you hear the word "lecture" is, "Oh no---this could be really boring." However, I am happy to report that Freiman's lecture was far from boring.  It was very entertaining and educational.  

As the title, "Deconstructing the Beatles," would suggest, Freiman went through the Sgt. Pepper album track by tack and talked about each song in detail.  He gave the background information of why the song was written and then talked about the actual recording of the song.  He showed photographs of the various instruments that were used in the songs, which I found to be helpful because I can read the name of the instrument in a book, but without a photograph of it, the name alone doesn't mean a lot.    

Most of the time was spent breaking down the songs.  Parts of the songs were played by isolating the individual tracks so that you might only hear Ringo's drumming or John's vocals, and then he showed that it all went together to make the song.  There were plenty of photographs of the Beatles in the recording studio as well.  

My only real complaint is that some of the songs he just skimmed over and didn't break it down.   Fixing a Hole, for example, was just mentioned in that "yeah--that song is on there.  It might have been about Paul fixing up his home in Scotland."  I would have liked more information.   If we are deconstructing the Sgt. Pepper album, then let's do it for all the tracks.  

There were some really neat things that came out during this lecture. Some of the things I already knew, but for someone who doesn't know the Melanie Coe story, I am sure would be interested in seeing the video clip that was shown.   I didn't know that in the song "Lovely Rita," the Beatles used a comb wrapped in toilet paper to make a kazoo-like sound.   I also liked hearing what the Beatles were saying underneath the animals' noises at the end of "Good Morning Good Morning."

It was a very interesting lecture, and I think it was a perfect way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Sgt. Pepper album.    I am not sure if this program will be released on DVD or shown on a streaming site anytime soon.   But if it happens to be showing in your area, it is well worth your time to go see it for yourself.

The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon, where you can purchase this on DVD.  I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

https://amzn.to/3wL3FLa

Eight Days a Week- the Beatles Touring Years: A Review

I had a bigger interest in the Beatles documentary, "Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years," not just because I am a huge Beatles fan but because several years ago, I was contacted through this blog by someone who was connected to Apple asking for my assistance in the documentary.  I was in regular contact with this person until Ron Howard took over, and then my involvement ended.  I liked the way the film was heading, and I was excited to see the final product.    

I am still baffled as to why this film was only shown in select theaters around the world.   I was fortunate to locate one near my home in St. Louis, Missouri, and went to the 6:30pm showing on September 15, 2016.  One of the best parts of going to see "Eight Days a Week" was seeing it along side other fans.  While I was standing in line to go into the theater, there was that feeling in the air of excitement that you only feel when you are experiencing a new Beatles event.  Being in the theater with other fans made the whole experience special.

Personally, I enjoyed the documentary very much.  I thought it was funny at many points (especially when George uses John's head as an ashtray), and it was touching and emotional at other points.  I especially enjoyed the little snippets of material taken by fans--I spotted footage that was new to me from Vancouver 1964, London 1965 (!), and Candlestick Park, among others that I am sure I will notice the specifics once I see the film again.  Those little snippets of never-before-seen footage amazed me!    There weren't a lot of photographs that were "new" to me, but the few that I spotted took my breath away, especially the color 1966 Manila photograph!  

I loved the footage of the fans—especially the girl talking about how sexy George's eyelashes were. The fans were such a huge part of the Beatles' touring years that I am glad that some of the mania and interviews with the fans were not overlooked. Some of my favorite fans weren't included; however, George's sexy eyelash girl is now in the top five favorites for sure. We need to find her!

I thought the whole film sounded great!  The Beatles just sounded so good!  Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in everything that I don't just sit and listen to what a great band they truly are.  I was especially impressed with the "Roll Over Beethoven" performance, which I understand was taken from a soundboard recording during a concert.     

The interviews with Paul and Ringo were good.  They basically just repeated the same stories we have heard, but Ringo is just so entertaining in how he tells them.  They didn't forget to include comments from George and John, although most of George's were taken directly from the Anthology film.  All of the other interviews were interesting as well, including Whoopi Goldberg.  Who would have thought she would say such interesting things about the Beatles?   I would have liked a few interviews with just some common folk fans who aren't celebrities, but I think that is going to be included in the bonus features on the DVD/Blu-ray.

So what didn't I like?  I think for me, the biggest thing I didn't like was the colorization of what was originally black and white film. The Washington D.C. concert being colorized really bothered me because it just didn't look good.  The Beatles' hair looked red (and not just John's but all of them), and their suits didn't look right.   And while I am highly against colorizing black and white Beatles footage, I tried to have an open mind (like I did with the colorized All You Need is Love on Anthology), but I just think it was poorly done. When you look at the original color footage from Help! or Shea and compare it to the colorized stuff, it just looks bad.  I also didn't understand why some of the footage seemed such bad quality--and I don't mean the things shot by fans on home movie cameras.  The official Ed Sullivan Show DVD is much clearer than what was presented in the film, and the NME concert footage was embarrassing---I have seen bootlegs that looked better.

However, those complaints are small in comparison to the big picture of this amazing film. I really think the DVD/Blu-ray with the extra footage is going to be on the Christmas list of every Beatle fan in the world. It is something that you will want to have in your collection and watch over and over again.

I also have to say that the Shea Stadium concert was a really special treat.  It is too bad that Shea isn't being released with the film in November.  The color was amazing, and the sound made you almost feel like you were right there that night in August.  The Beatles looked like they were having so much fun.   And the fans were so great to see as well.  I loved the footage of the mom handing out tissues to the girls.   And the footage of the fans running onto the field while John is talking.  My all-time favorite Beatles performance is the Shea Stadium Show's "I'm Down."   To see John on the big screen playing that keyboard with his elbows and laughing along with George was just so amazing.  I know I was smiling from ear to ear.   The Shea concert was well worth the price of admission and I truly hope that the powers that be plan on releasing the entire Shea show (with the opening acts and all) in the very near future on DVD.  

After seeing the Beatles "Eight Days a Week" I gave it a thumb up!   

The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon, where you can purchase this on DVD.  I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

https://amzn.to/3V9BKi1

U.S. vs. John Lennon (documentary) - Review

10 years ago, I went to a movie theater and saw the documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon for the first time.    At that time, I had the infant version of this blog on Myspace (remember Myspace?), where I posted photos and did reviews.  I think I had about 50 followers.   I reviewed the film, and I remember stating how I spent more time memorizing the new footage in the film and that it was hard to actually pay attention to the film.     

Photo I took outside of the movie theater in 2006

Since I have just read the Leon Wildes book (review coming soon), I wanted to watch the DVD of The U.S. vs. John Lennon.  Overall, it is a good film.  Yoko looks amazing in the movie, and she comes across as very intelligent and thoughtful.   She usually impresses me when she is interviewed for documentaries, but I especially enjoyed Yoko in this one.  I thought they did a nice job of keeping John's input alive in the film through a variety of clips from over the years.  Also, a good selection of people from the early 1970s in John Lennon's life was interviewed, so you were able to hear all sides of the story.   The clips that were used were great and the highlight of the film.  I loved seeing John coming and going into the INS office, and the footage of him getting his green card is amazing!

I thought too much time was spent on John's activities prior to coming to the United States in 1971.  I understand that background information was necessary, but way too much time was spent on the Bed-in and Bagism and things along those lines because there are other films that just focus on the Bed-in, and while it is important to the story, it was just too long. I wanted to watch and hear more about the immigration hearings and see more footage and photos from that time instead.  There was one man who was interviewed who made a very bold statement about how John Lennon equates to life and how Nixon and Bush led to death. I remember when I heard that in 2006, and I thought, "Wow--that is pretty bold," but today, in 2016, it just seems like an outdated statement.  I wish he had left Bush out of the statement because it just takes us out of John and Yoko in the 1970s and suddenly puts us in a decade where John isn't alive.

 I personally didn't like the film ending with the gunshots and John's death. I would have loved to have ended it with John smiling with his green card, however that isn't' very realistic. I know that the filmmakers had to go further and include his murder, and maybe what I really don't like is that John was murdered. That he worked so hard to get his green card and stay in the United States just to be killed in the country that he struggled to be in.  I didn't like the feeling of the harsh reality of it all, which isn't to blame the film in any way because they can't change how John's story ended.

I have heard that The U.S. vs. John Lennon is being shown on television here in the U.S. on cable channels.  It is worth watching, especially if you are a John Lennon fan and want to see some rare interviews and news clips.  But just be expected to shake your head at what happens in this country and for a very tragic and sad ending.

The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon, where you can purchase this on DVD.  I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

https://amzn.to/49JgOmH

Memories of the Beatles "a Hard Day's Night" by Sara

During the month of July, when I am around, I am going to be focusing on the Beatles classic film, "a Hard Day's night."     I have some great photos to share as well as fans memories that have been sent in to me over the past few months.    If you have any memories of the film that you would like to share, it isn't too late!   Just drop me an email.      I am going to begin with my own memories of the film because hey, this is my blog.

We are all familiar with it.   The opening chord and then the image of the boys running down the side-walk.   It makes my heart race and for reasons I will never understand, I just want to let out a loud scream.     After 25 years of being a Beatlemaniac,  the movie A Hard Day’s Night still excites me.   I must have seen it over 100 times by now and I have most of the dialogue memorized.    I have bought it twice on VHS, once on DVD and plan on getting the new Blu-Ray DVD combo.

The first time I ever saw the classic Beatles movie was in 1989.   I was in the 7^th grade and it was the end of the school year.    Like many teachers, my music teacher ended the school year by showing movies.   He showed A Hard Day’s Night and Help! to finish off the year.   While I wasn’t able to watch the film in one sitting and I had a difficult time hearing it over the chatter of middle school kids as well as being unfamiliar with the Liverpudlian accent, there was just something about it that I really enjoyed.    I thought it was funny and the music was great.   I knew I had to watch it again.

It must have been shown on the Disney channel or PBS or somewhere, because I recorded it off the TV and the tracking was terrible, but it was that bad VHS copy that I watched over and over again.   I learned the lines, laughed and sang along.    Then for the 30^th anniversary of the Beatles coming to America,  a home video collection box set was released.   I was able to get “A Hard Day’s Night,”  “Help!” and “Magical Mystery Tour” all on VHS in a box set.     It was sort of confusing to me because it started with “I’ll Cry Instead” and I was not sure if it was supposed to begin with that song, as I hadn’t recorded it off the television that way.    It was also around this time that I bought the book version of the script from a used book store and I would follow along while watching the film.        In the summer after I graduated from high school I went to my first Beatle convention and they were showing all of the Beatles movies during the weekend.   It was so much fun to watch “A Hard Day’s Night” on the big screen with other fans and to my amazement, they were screaming and cheering and participating with the movie.      When I was 18, I had to get my wisdom teeth taken out and I was in a lot of pain.  My mom put in my good old VHS copy of A Hard Day’s Night and remember wanting to laugh, but it hurt too much.  

I brought the movie with me to college and my friends and I enjoyed watching it and my other Beatle films over and over again.   We began quoting the movies and “grotty” quickly became part of our daily vocabulary as well as other “Beatleisms.”    It really was amazing that “A Hard Day’s Night” was something that I could watch and not get tired of.   I knew exactly what was going to happen and yet I still found it fresh and funny.     When the “Making of A Hard Day’s Night” VHS came out, I loved hearing about some of the inside stories and jokes around the movie.  

And so basically “AHDN” became part of my Beatle-fan life.   I would watch it at Beatle conventions and a couple of times at home.   And whenever it was re-released, I would watch it and buy it.      The scenes are ingrained into my brain.

In early 2001, I went to a movie theater in St. Louis and for the first time ever I actually paid to see A Hard Day’s Night on the big screen.   It was really amazing!   The excitement was still there and everyone applauded when the film was over.       This re-release came out on DVD a few years later and I had to get it in this new format.       

Photo from the 2001 re-release

Poster from the 2001 re-release

 

Looks like I wasn't the only one getting the movie on DVD

In 2010 and again in 2013, I traveled to London and some of my favorite spots were locations where A Hard Day’s Night was made in 1964.  Places such as Marylebone Station and the Turk’s Head pub look almost identical to how they looked in the movie.

This past Saturday I went again to see the film at the movie theater.   There was only one theater in St. Louis that was showing the movie and thank goodness for GPS, because I couldn’t have found it otherwise.     I went with my boyfriend, Shawn, who isn’t a Beatles fan and had never seen the movie before.    

 

Marquee for the 2014 re-release

Sara with her Diet Coke and the poster for the movie

The first thing I noticed about this remastered version was how crystal clear the movie looked.    I noticed things that I had never noticed before.   Nothing huge or earth shattering to report, but just little things.  One thing I had always been told was that my favorite Beatle person, Mal Evans was seen in the movie carrying a bass during the scene where John is talking to a woman about looking like “him.”    In watching this version,  I came to think it might not be Mal after all.   This fellow has different glasses and different hair than Mal did in 1964 and his jaw line doesn’t look the same.   Now, I could be wrong, but it sure didn’t look like the gentle giant that I have came to adore.   

 

Mal is that really you?

 It also was extremely clear  that when asked about his hobbies, John wrote  a word that ended in “its.”    I remember debates going wild on line about that topic in the late 1990’s.   The sound was also very clear and crisp.    I would love to always hear the Beatles sing that way!

I do want to add that this was my first time watching “A Hard Day’s Night” with popcorn and I had to hand my popcorn over because  was getting too excited and thought I would spill it.  

My boyfriend overall enjoyed the film.   He thought the acting was a little bad, but he said that he could appreciate it for what it was.  He said that for a black and white older movie, it was one of the best that he had seen.   He also said that if he had seen the movie alone, he would have given it a 5/10 but sitting next to me, who was so excited throughout the whole movie, moved it up to an 8/10.   But then he has to say nice things about it, doesn’t he?    

I would say that you do not need to go see the movie at the movie theater on the big screen unless you just want to see it for the fun of it.   However, if the new DVD / Blu-ray is as clear as what I saw, then it is a necessity for all Beatle fans to include in their collections.