The new documentary Beatles ’64 premiered on Disney+ on Friday, November 29. As previously reported, the film focuses on the Fab Four’s whirlwind first visit to the U.S. in February 1964, which launched the Beatlemania craze and helped establish the band as one of the most popular music acts ever.
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Beatles ’64 features restored footage of the band’s historic U.S. trip shot by famed documentarians Albert and David Maysles, as well as rare archival film from other sources. The documentary also features new interviews with surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and conversation with other celebrities sharing recollections of and reactions to the band.
In red-carpet interviews at a recent premiere screening of Beatles ’64 in New York City, director David Tedeschi and famed filmmaker Martin Scorsese, one of the project’s co-producers, shared some details about the documentary and talked about why they think it’s such a captivating viewing experience.
Director David Tedeschi’s Comments About Beatles ’64
In an interview segment posted on the CineMagna YouTube channel, Tedeschi discussed the aspects of the documentary that helped offer a fresh take on what he noted was “a very famous story.”
“People think they know the story, but we thought maybe we could bring something new,” he explained. “The film has 17 new minutes of footage that have never been seen before, and not just from the material that David and Albert Maysles filmed. It’s also from collectors and small archives and buried in large archives. So I think people should expect the unexpected.”
Tedeschi also maintained that the film’s point-of-view was “a little different” from previous documentaries about The Beatles’ introduction to America.
“There’s more of a focus on the fans, but not in some hysterical way,” he said. “It’s about a moment in 1964 where suddenly everything changed, and young people mattered. And you have these four young men from Liverpool … and the fans range from teenage, pre-teen, to early 20s, and the world was theirs.”
Beatles ’64 also features footage of the band’s historic performances on The Ed Sullivan Show and their first U.S. concert in Washington, D.C.
According to Tedeschi, viewers watching the documentary will be able to experience those performances “as they’ve never seen them before.”
As Tedeschi points out, the footage was vibrantly restored by The Beatles: Get Back director Peter Jackson’s Park Road post-production company. In addition, the audio was restored by Jackson’s WingNut Films production company and mixed by Beatles collaborator Giles Martin.
“I had seen these performances before, but it’s like a totally new experience when you see it,” Tedeschi enthused. “The sound is just beautiful. It takes you back to that moment in 1964.”
Scorsese’s Reflections on the Documentary
In Scorsese’s red-carpet interview, the lauded filmmaker noted that Beatles ’64 will help inform many younger fans about just what a historic cultural impact the band had on the U.S.
As he explained, “For me … it’s really interesting for the audience, younger people to see this and understand that there was no British music scene before that. There was [British] music, but … it didn’t translate as well to different other countries, and certainly not like this.”
Scorsese continued, “[So] this phenomenon happened, and you see it happen in this picture, but primarily, what was really the big change was that it had an innocence to it and a drive for creativity that knew no bounds. … Nothing was holding [The Beatles] in in any way.”
Olivia Harrison on What She Loved About Beatles ’64
George Harrison’s widow, Olivia, who was another co-producer of the documentary, also attended the New York City premiere. Chatting with the media on the red carpet, she revealed what she found fascinating about the movie.
Olivia noted that she was amazed at how the band members reacted to the attention and adoration they received in the States despite already having experienced major success in the U.K. and Europe.
“They came to New York and it was like the giddiest four guys you’ve ever seen,” she mused. “[I]t throws me, because I think they’re so innocent, they seem so innocent, and yet, they’ve been in Hamburg, they’ve been all over England, they’re already famous. They come here and they completely fall apart with joy.”
Olivia added, “[T]hat’s the thing that touches me most about this film. It’s like they’re not blasé about anything, and they’re completely taken by surprise at the reaction.”
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