Beatles ’64 ★★★★

Released: 29 November 2024 (Disney+)

Director: David Tedeschi

By this point. What else is there to say about The Beatles that hasn’t been said already? Some 54 years later after they split up. The band are still a cultural behemoth, inspiring a wave of artists the world over.  There have been plenty of projects chronicling their impact, from Peter Jackson’s mammoth Get Back in 2021 and Ron Howard’s Eight Days A Week which charted their touring years. Martin Scorsese now produces Beatles ’64 which is one of the more specific Beatles films, chronicling their first visit to America in 1964 which included their iconic appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. This was the peak of Beatlemania.

It helps that this is not a career spanning film as we know how the story ends and starts. Focusing so specifically on the shift from the UK of the 60s to the US, shows how out of their depth the band were and how they captured the attention of US audiences. Most intriguingly it shows both the love and apprehension around the band. For all the screaming fans there were also those who saw them as knock offs, leaving a bad influence.

Perhaps the main draw is some unseen footage, seeing the group laid back and so young, close to the start of their rise to the top. Given they didn’t tour for much of their career, the raw footage of their live appearances will be like catnip for fans. In terms of actual knowledge there is little new info here that won’t have been collated in countless other films, books and shows. Yet it is clear how much the group meant to the fans at the time and it is a thrill to hear fans both well known and not so well known, mulling over the events some 60 years later.

Among the most interesting stories are those involving another 60s icon Ronnie Spector, guiding the Fab Four to relative anonymity in Harlem and an American duo who made a reverse journey, travelling to Liverpool, getting held up at the port and eventually deported.

Scorsese’s influence will inevitably draw fans, and it acts as a chronicle of the US and UK at that point in time. At 1 hr 46, this scratches the surface but does a fine job of telling the story of the US visit and its lasting influence on both John, Paul, George and Ringo and society more widely.

Of course we don’t need more films about The Beatles but Beatles ’64 highlights one of the most important episodes in the band’s career and one that is worth documenting. There is some fascinating unseen footage and it does a commendable job showcasing the band’s artistic growth and how deeply admired they were by young Americans at the time, helping to shape the musical memories of that generation and so many more besides. Scorsese’s involvement also ensures this is not just another Beatles documentary and while not breaking wholly new ground, it has plenty to enjoy in its own right.