Beatles 64 – DISNEY+ - Price Prediction

As a film enthusiast who has spent countless hours immersed in the rich tapestry of music documentaries, I must admit that Beatles 64, though not groundbreaking, is certainly a worthwhile addition to any Beatles fan’s collection. The documentary, directed by David Tedeschi and produced by Martin Scorsese, offers a unique perspective on the Fab Four’s historic visit to the United States in 1964.

It’s a common misconception that Clodagh Rodgers, Eurovision Song Contest entrant and one-hit wonder, performed her song ‘Jack in the box’ at JFK’s funeral. However, following the assassination, the US was deeply affected, making it challenging for new pop groups to make an impact during their first visit to the country. Ironically, this is similar to the situation faced by The Beatles in 1964 when they made their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show in America. Despite the unfavorable circumstances, they managed to captivate the audience.

This new documentary called “Beatles 64” is directed by David Tedeschi and was put together using footage from late film documentarian Albert Maysles, who previously worked with Martin Scorsese on the George Harrison documentary ‘Living in the Material World’. While the earlier collaboration was an insightful exploration of the quiet member of the Beatles, this new documentary seems more formulaic as some of the footage has been used before in Maysles’ own documentary “What’s Happening : The Beatles”. Despite this repetition, the documentary features interviews with people who were fans at the time and catches up with them 60 years later. Many of these individuals share deeply emotional memories connected to the songs of the Beatles.

But there’s little that we haven’t heard before but there is the odd snippet and that often raises a smile. One US fan says he didn’t even know where Liverpool was – a hint to enemy countries then that any attack against the US should not use bombs but instead geography exam papers in order to confuse the population. And photographer Harry Benson’s description of the band as ‘ songs vomiting out of them’ is something that’s never said at the Ivor Novello awards. That the band were largely regarded as a bunch of working class yobbos when they were bought along to the British Embassy sees a modern day McCartney recount the tale and rounding it off with an f bomb rebuke about the diplomats. Perhaps the most telling moment is that even back in 1964 John Lennon was hyper concerned about the inherent violence simmering under the society’s surface and was almost an omen for what would happen to him in December 1980.

In this project, both Ringo and Paul, along with Lennon’s son and Harrison’s widow, have taken on producer roles. However, it’s when the restored band footage emerges that the documentary truly comes alive, capturing the camaraderie and banter among the band members and the press. Unfortunately, this energy is often interrupted by experts discussing topics like cultural clashes, feminism, and so forth. Following Peter Jackson’s recent documentary series and The Beatles anthology, there doesn’t seem to be much new footage available, but Beatles 64 still offers some intriguing moments.

We speak to director David Tedeschi and producer Margaret Bodde about the film…..

Here’s the Beatles 65 trailer……

Beatles ’64 is on Disney+ from 29th November 2025

2024-11-29 17:23

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