On November 29, 2024, the premiere of the long-awaited documentary "Beatles '64" took place on the Disney+ platform, which tells about the first visit of the legendary British band The Beatles to the USA in 1964. The film was directed by David Tedeschi, and produced by Martin Scorsese himself, a famous film director who made many iconic music documentaries.
Disney+'s “Beatles '64” tells the story of The Beatles' visit to the United States in 1964 and reveals unique details of their historic visit.
The new documentary about the famous "Liverpool Four" follows a similar path as Peter Jackson's previous three-part documentary "The Beatles: Get Back". Jackson then used some never-before-seen footage and thus created an unprecedented intimacy with the band that is still revered to this day.
"Beatles 64" returns viewers to the year when John, Paul, George and Ringo already conquered Europe and began to "storm" the USA. Their performance on the "Ed Sullivan Show" was watched by 73 million Americans at their televisions. According to newspapers at the time, based on Nielsen measurements, the broadcast had the highest ratings ever on New York City television.
The shaky black-and-white footage shows four pale, high-spirited young men making their way through the ecstatic crowd. Producer Martin Scorsese and director David Tedeschi restored it in the company of Peter Jackson.
According to Spiegel, the effect is completely different from psychedelic, colorful interior shots.
"Beatles 64" is a great film because it takes you to the very heart of this emotional hurricane, in which a vague sense of liberation mixed with a pure desire for something unheard of.
Some interesting facts
When The Beatles arrived in Washington, DC, the quartet was invited to the British Embassy to greet them with a party. The ambassador gave them a warm welcome, but they are said to have been treated differently by staff working at the British embassy.
They called them insulting words and did not treat the musicians with respect.
In fact, the documentary says that George Harrison was shocked by what happened and almost cried.
"We are more or less used to it. "We are working class people," said Paul McCartney. “You imagine they're going to look down on you, but you know what? We didn't care. They worked at the embassy, we were on tour, rocking out."
On February 11, 1964, The Beatles performed for the first time in the United States. The concert took place in the Washington Coliseum and was sold out.
Director David Lynch, then a teenager, admitted in the documentary that although he loved rock and roll, he didn't know he was witnessing a historic event for the band and the music. "It was so loud you couldn't believe it. It was phenomenal, the director admitted.
Paul, John, George and Ringo were confined to a square stage resembling a boxing ring, completely surrounded by an expectant crowd.
During the performance, the layout of the space forced them to turn sharply, with Starr performing a particularly impressive move: he had to forcefully reposition his circular drum set to face the audience on the opposite side of the makeshift stage.
The documentary “Beatles '64” is now available in the Disney+ catalog
