The Beatles Films Podcast

This film is of Mark Lewisohn's 2022 stage show bringing to life what the Beatles did in 1962, enhanced by on-location filming by director Chris Purcell. We talk about how it showcases a performance style and an enthusiasm that belies a reputation for dry historical detail. And quite a bit about Ringo Starr's drumming, as it turns out.You can rent Evolver 62 on Prime Video and Apple TV at the moment: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/evolver-62And buy it on blu-ray in some territories: https://www.wowhd.co.uk/evolver-62/824355814323The Bill Hicks bit with the Ringo joke in it: https://youtu.be/-jIuP_Uk7AkThe Red Dwarf episode with the Ringo joke is series 2, episode 6, "Parallel Universe": https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00b8qy6/red-dwarf-ii-6-parallel-universe. See also series 1, episode 2, "Future Echoes" in which we find out Lister's robot goldfish are called Lennon and McCartney.The Ringo interview it turns out we were both thinking of was actually with Dave Stewart, not Elvis Costello: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl9188EPdLITrailer for Bart Layton's The Imposter, which repopularised reconstructions in documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1kHod0xa_8Actor Peter Boyle, at whose wedding John Lennon was best man: https://share.google/7TH4WLlIiuMSOvzW1Ed's point towards the end about how the surfeit of biography online affects fandom is paraphrased from Monsters: What Do We Do with Great Art by Bad People? by Claire Dederer: https://share.google/pXQbXdAMaKS5qEJdfMeet 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:Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspodBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/beatlesfilmspod.bsky.socialYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcastThreads https://www.threads.net/@beatlesfilmspodFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622

1972's Imagine was part-longform music video for John Lennon's Imagine and Yoko Ono's Fly albums, and part-bonkers conceptual art film. We try and get to the bottom of it: does it mean anything, and does a work of art's meaning have to be intentional in order to be, well, meaningful? Plus some key themes: mass isolation, intimacy in celebrity, male femininity through submission: sure, why not? You can watch the 2018 remaster on Prime Video at the moment.The trailer for the 2018 cinema release: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThIhgBloqN0The chess scene, set to Yoko's Don't Count the Waves: https://youtu.be/nVRhtWfJqXQThe video for the song Imagine: https://youtu.be/YkgkThdzX-8OK, so we weren't 100% correct about Situationism, but give us a break: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situationist_International The chess scene in Bottom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f64qJorLrYThe Marina Abramović work similar to Yoko's Cut Piece is Rhythm 0, in which she stood for six hours and invited the audience to use 72 objects to do whatever they wanted to her: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_0Meet 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:Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspodBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/beatlesfilmspod.bsky.socialYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcastThreads https://www.threads.net/@beatlesfilmspodFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622

We love an iconic Beatle interview, and here's one: the first time two Beatles had been interviewed together on TV since the band split up. It's fascinating for a few reasons. We talk about Ringo's alcoholism (he went into rehab later that year), and how George gently prevents his drunk friend from going too far. Plus some discussion of the When We Was Fab video, which George was there to promote. Was Paul McCartney in the walrus costume? And did Michael Aspel found the Traveling Wilburys?Watch the interview: https://youtu.be/-vrRfORrcYMThelma Barlow, the Coronation Street actor also interviewed in the episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelma_Barlow Terry Wogan interviewing English footballer Paul "Gazza" Gascoigne in 1990: "The dream could turn out to be a nightmare" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcGvSKRQ5KYGeorge's When We Was Fab video: https://youtu.be/AVu6nPTVbBQOliver Reed drunk on Aspel and Company: https://youtu.be/EZMXIxIQmPwMeet 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:Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspodBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/beatlesfilmspod.bsky.socialYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcastThreads https://www.threads.net/@beatlesfilmspodFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622

Based on Lars Saabye Christensen's 1984 book, a huge success in Norway, it's another coming-of-age story! Why does teenage Beatles fandom dovetail so well with this genre? We look at the use of the music in the film, which secured the rights to use a few Beatles songs, as well as how successfully it marries up the four teenage boy characters with their respective Beatles.You can rent the film cheaply on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlOJYlREuIEThe book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatles_(novel)Watch The Bonfire of the Vanities: https://share.google/2KvlWLlYJaRyxTi1DMario Puzo's The Godfather novel: https://share.google/25bfmbahtQ6IksLbAThe Norwegian Wood film: https://share.google/olHb9tcPqN3cYKKtQMeet 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:Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspodBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/beatlesfilmspod.bsky.socialYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcastThreads https://www.threads.net/@beatlesfilmspodFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622

Given a short cinema release in April 2026, this film remixes and restores John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1972 One to One concerts at Madison Square Garden, New York, John's only full-length post-Beatles concerts. We look at the context: this is shortly after the release of Sometime in New York City, an album which hadn't gone down well with fans or critics. Does this explain the seeming audience relief at hearing songs from other albums? We also look at Yoko Ono as an "anti-rock" vocalist, and discuss Imagine: as this was its only concert performance by its author, did the song escape the singalong anthem status it might otherwise have had?The film has no streaming release date set at the moment, but generally these short cinema runs are a preamble to an imminent streaming release so we'd expect one soon. https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/power-to-the-people-john-and-yoko-live-in-nycWatch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7DztEZ86IYBruce Channel's Hey Baby, part of the brief 1962 harmonica craze into which Love Me Do slotted: https://youtu.be/Ync7jflOzuAKanye West's 808s & Heartbreak, which started the popularity for autotune: https://open.spotify.com/album/5ykOQlHaE5ZRxMibfI75YW?si=csCzZXmhSqe0uUhNISzyXwThe Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense: https://a24films.com/films/stop-making-senseMeet 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:Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspodBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/beatlesfilmspod.bsky.socialYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcastThreads https://www.threads.net/@beatlesfilmspodFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622

In 1972, Paul McCartney's original 1961 Höfner bass guitar went missing. Then he got it back! Is there enough for a whole BBC documentary in it? Well, as we'll see, this film tells the story very well, but maybe the story itself is a bit unsatisfying. Still, a decent line-up of talking heads, including Paul himself, Klaus Voormann and Elvis Costello. What's not to like? Especially if you're into watching Klaus act out the middle section from A Day in the Life for no obvious reason.You can watch the film on BBC iPlayer until at least March 2027: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002v46m/mccartney-the-hunt-for-the-lost-bass"Big Johnny Bass" is of course Bill Black, Elvis Presley's bass player. Paul owns his double bass and played it on Real Love. We knew that really.The Netflix documentary Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer: https://www.netflix.com/title/81031373Meet 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:Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspodBluesky https://bsky.app/profile/beatlesfilmspod.bsky.socialYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcastThreads https://www.threads.net/@beatlesfilmspodFacebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622