The Beatles: Eight Days A Week documents the years The Beatles spent on the road touring. It starts in 1962 and runs all the way to 1966, following the band as they reach their highest levels of fame. The movie assembles footage and photographs from the time, as well as interviews with the members of the band (both new and archival). Occasionally, the film will interview somebody like the director Richard Curtis or musician Elvis Costello to provide some insight into the phenomenon.
It isn’t the most rigorous documentary. This movie doesn’t really seem intent on digging very deep into the stuff that happened back then. There is no mention, for example, of Ringo Starr falling ill for a stretch during the 1964 tour and being briefly replaced by drummer Jimmie Niccol. That’s a fascinating story with a lot of potential pathos, but the movie doesn’t really bother getting into it. One would assume that a documentary with such a narrow focus would get into something like that, but the film doesn’t seem to want to get mired in much that could be considered controversial.
Similarly, it mentions the drug use but mostly glosses over it. The episode with the Marcoses is brought up, but the movie just jumps right across it. The film is a pop documentary through and through, having more in common with recent concert/documentary hybrids covering the likes of Katy Perry and Justin Bieber than any other examples of the medium. There are a lot of possibilities that could have been explored with this film. It could have sought out more people that were there, for example, to flesh out some of the images being scene. It would have been interesting to talk to someone who burned his Beatles album after the “bigger than Jesus comment.” Or one of the police officers that had to hold back rabid fans.
Instead, the film mostly talks to famous people, who mostly explain what the Beatles meant to them. The quality of these interviews varies, but they’re mostly fine in the end. The best bits are with Larry Kane, the journalist embedded with the band during their American tour. He brings real insight to these years, having actually spent a lot of time with the band. At times, the celebrities feel like a distraction. It feels like we could have just spent more time with people who were there.
Having said all that, the documentary is still pretty compelling, mainly because it is about The Beatles. Here is the thing: The Beatles always live up to the hype. Fifty years after the end of their touring years as a band, even after all the decades of hyperbolic praise, it’s difficult not to be wowed by some of the things that you’ll see in this film. When they’re playing, they’re magnificent. Outtakes of studio recordings offer glimpses into a magical process of creation. And when they’re playing, they’re the most charming people you’ll ever see. The film pulls all this material together in a fairly coherent fashion. It’s a great introduction to the magic of this band, and solid affirmation for anyone who’s already in love with them.
And if nothing else, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week might be worth seeing for what follows the film: thirty minutes of restored, remastered footage from their Shea Stadium concert. If you’re a fan, you might have seen some of it before. But the restored footage is wonderful, and whatever sorcery was used on the audio turns it into a completely different experience. It might as close as anyone will get to seeing this band live, and that’s a tremendous thing. The documentary’s fun, if not very deep. This Shea Stadium performance is simply incredible.
My Rating:
