The Beatles Films Podcast

Leslie Woodhead's 2009 film for BBC Four wasn't his first entry into Beatledom: he also shot the Cavern Club footage in 1962 that we're all so familiar with. He's also spent time making films in Russia, so he's ideally placed for this look at Russian youth's relationship with The Beatles, during the Soviet era and into the early, less scary, Putin era. We look at Russian then-Deputy PM Sergei Ivanov's contribution to this film. He seems fun! Maybe less so these days. We also discuss the practice of smuggling contraband Beatle recordings about by etching them into X-ray acetates, and Paul McCartney's meeting with Vladimir Putin in 2003.You can watch the film at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUO1atyECD8 Chuck Norris vs Communism doesn't look like it's on any streamers at the moment, but its details are here: https://g.co/kgs/uoaNUFT Nick Broomfield's film Kurt & Courtney: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hfrtn Pete Paphides' excellent book, Broken Greek: https://g.co/kgs/3XqWL4KElton John's autobiography, Me: https://g.co/kgs/3XqWL4KMeet the Beatles Films PodcastThe Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpodFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspodYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Paul McCartney's first solo project, other than judging beauty contests, was the score for The Family Way, a 1966 comedy-drama in which a northern English community have an invasive interest in the non-consummation of Hywel Bennett and Hayley Mills' marriage. Is Paul really the chief composer of the score for which he won the Ivor Novello award, or did George Martin do more than "supervise and arrange" it?There's a lot going on in The Family Way in terms of changing attitudes in the sixties, and of course the Beatles were at the forefront of this. Intellectualism, sexual freedom and men being allowed to be sensitive and artistic. We look at how the film handles these things. Plus! A bonus (if you like that sort of thing) Kula Shaker connection!You can watch The Family Way in good quality on Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8csmfpAnd listen to the soundtrack album on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4opUUCL6CG5SLSEysBytapSome more information about the Carry On film franchise, if you don't mind a wiki in your face: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carry_On_(franchise)There are full episodes of Hywel Bennett's long-running sitcom Shelley on YouTube. You might recognise the title theme if you like the Top Flight Time Machine podcast: https://youtu.be/BMduOLx6vToThe book Ed mentions is Steve Turner's excellent Beatles '66: The Revolutionary Year: https://g.co/kgs/n29WPBaMeet the Beatles Films PodcastThe Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpodFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspodYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

We both loved Robert Zemeckis's 1978 debut feature, the story of a group of New Jersey teens trying to get into the Beatles' first Ed Sullivan Show performance in February 1964. We talk about the techniques Zemeckis and his writing partner Bob Gale use here and how a lot of it prefigures their later work, in particular the Back to the Future trilogy. We also discuss how using the Beatles as characters who are always just off camera or somehow out of reach plays into how America saw them at the time: almost as mythical figures or religious icons. And we get into how the female characters find self-expression through the freedom their fandom gives them, and how that mirrors the Beatles' sociological impact where teenage girls were concerned.I Wanna Hold Your Hand isn't on a streaming service, but pick up the Blu-ray, which is cheap and a great restoration with an interesting commentary track from Zemeckis and Gale.Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/QEPDFYuhkDIWe also mention some other films in this episode, like Detroit Rock City, a similar story revolving around a Kiss Concert: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/detroit-rock-cityAnd American Graffiti, George Lucas's 1973 coming-of-age film: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/american-graffitiAnd Dazed and Confused, again about the last day of high school: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/dazed-and-confusedMeet the Beatles Films PodcastThe Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpodFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspodYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

The 1988 documentary commissioned by Yoko Ono might have been the jumping-off point for the Lennon legacy project we know today. It shows John at his best, for the most part, and there's not much dissent from the talking heads, including May Pang, Julian Lennon and Cynthia Lennon. We ask why John chose George Harrison to play on How Do You Sleep?, his Paul McCartney diss track, when he could've got a session player. We discuss how John and Yoko's bed-in confrontation with the cartoonist Al Capp prefigures a lot of contemporary online discourse. And why wasn't Paul familiar with Real Love when Yoko gave him the demo cassettes, given he'd seen it used in this?You can rent the film to stream very cheaply on a few platforms: https://g.co/kgs/RvcGK68Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/kqg3plZzxZYHere's the audience member who asked John and Yoko a question on Dick Cavett, wrongly thought by some to be Curt Claudio: https://youtu.be/-Ej3h02KPLU?si=nRgu_iUn3-DSYg6n&t=71A documentary, What Happened to Claudio? has been on the verge of release for a while and we're looking forward to seeing it. Here's its YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaR2o3qwr2RBu7s95IxSMXw John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky contains a longer version of the encounter with Claudio than you get in this film: https://youtu.be/99fXJ8nSR1M An in-depth article by Ryan H Walsh about Curt Claudio which is well worth reading: https://medium.com/@JahHills/on-claudio-the-man-who-sought-out-john-lennon-to-ask-if-his-songs-were-about-him-c0b34c5d57ac The interview Julian Lennon gave to the Daily Telegraph in 1998: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4713954/Dad-was-a-hypocrite.-He-could-talk-about-peace-and-love-to-the-world-but-he-could-never-show-it-to-his-wife-and-son.html Julian's 1984 song Too Late for Goodbyes: https://youtu.be/aQs1Ynq0rlkMeet the Beatles Films PodcastThe Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpodFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

With the announcement that Sam Mendes is to direct four Beatles biopic films for release in 2027, one from each of the perspectives of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, it'd be remiss of us not to speculate wildly about what this might involve. Will it tell the same story four times? Will bits of it only be told from one Beatle's perspective? Will it actually just be a bit more metaphysical than that, bypassing the need for narrative realism? Will it be like Beatles Peep Show? God, we hope so. Join us as we discuss all this, plus thoughts on who should play who, and the mechanics of shooting and releasing four films simultaneously then releasing them all within 12 months of each other. And a reminder to Sam Mendes that we are very much available as creative consultants for a modest fee. Meet the Beatles Films PodcastThe Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpodFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspodYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Merry Christmas! Here's a festive gift marking 40 years since Paul McCartney's Pipes of Peace video, which recreates the 1914 Christmas Day truce on the Western Front of World War 1. How was this video turned around fast enough to be aired on the BBC six days after shooting? Has Paul got the acting bug after spending half of 1983 shooting Give My Regards to Broad Street? Does his decision to play both the English and the German soldier lend a sense of shared humanity and emphasise the futility of war? (Seriously, stay with us here.) And why hasn't the song endured as a peace anthem in the last 40 years, in the way that Give Peace a Chance has?We used a clip of the charity record He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother by The Justice Collective in this episode, and so we've made a donation to The Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance. You can donate here if you'd like to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/1qf2s20740Thanks so much for listening in 2023. We've loved making these podcasts and we're very grateful for all the positive feedback we get. If you've enjoyed any of them, we'd really appreciate it if you gave us a five-star rating in your podcast app. It helps people find us. See you again in 2024.Watch the Pipes of Peace video: https://youtu.be/B3q4Up5ugTcPaul McCartney and George Martin being interviewed at the AIR Studios mixing desk by Russell Harty, 14 December 1983: https://youtu.be/xabqb5Y6Mg0All Together Now by The Farm: https://youtu.be/iRgtzZ-mOQoHe Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother by The Justice Collective, featuring a guitar and a vocal line by Paul: https://youtu.be/Ye4cELYLzJMPaul McCartney performing Freedom: https://youtu.be/zFFLlpC9f9QMeet the Beatles Films PodcastThe Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpodFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspodYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast