The Beatles Films Podcast

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 Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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/1qf2s20740

Thanks 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/B3q4Up5ugTc
• Paul McCartney and George Martin being interviewed at the AIR Studios mixing desk by Russell Harty, 14 December 1983: https://youtu.be/xabqb5Y6Mg0
• All Together Now by The Farm: https://youtu.be/iRgtzZ-mOQo
• He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother by The Justice Collective, featuring a guitar and a vocal line by Paul: https://youtu.be/Ye4cELYLzJM
• Paul McCartney performing Freedom: https://youtu.be/zFFLlpC9f9Q

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To finish off our fourth season, thrill as our takes on why George Harrison is laughing when Ringo Starr starts playing Octopus's Garden differ slightly. Later we discuss how Let it Be's pacing is affected by showing the finalised songs in full. Would it defeat the purpose to have done this differently? Plus, is John Lennon's claim that the film was set up to make the other Beatles look like sidemen for Paul McCartney justified, given how Let it Be, The Long and Winding Road and Two Of Us are shot almost like music videos with Paul the focus? We talk about how forward-thinking Michael Lindsay-Hogg's approach was to filming the rooftop gig, and about how this was maybe underappreciated until Get Back revealed the extent of it, and about whether there's now any point releasing a remastered version: could audiences be blamed for receiving it like a shorter Get Back? (NOTE this episode was recorded and released about five months before the restored version came out.)

• This episode and part 1 are both based on our viewing of Let it Be in its original form, or close to it, ie a bootleg we found online. Since we recorded this it has of course now been restored and re-released on Disney+, and we've got a short bonus episode discussing the restored version later in this feed.

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Now is the winter of our discontent: or is it? Michael Lindsay-Hogg's Let it Be is widely thought a miserable affair, documenting arguments and the breakup of the Beatles. But watching it afresh after Peter Jackson's Get Back in 2021, it doesn't feel so much like that. We ask whether the widespread consensus that it's a negative depiction is actually more a failure of collective memory. What was it really set George Harrison off when he told Paul McCartney "Well, I'll play whatever you want me to play"? And what do we make of Lindsay-Hogg's decision not to let you hear any of the songs in full until the end?

• This episode and part 2 are both based on our viewing of Let it Be in its original form, or close to it, ie a bootleg we found online. Since we recorded this it has of course now been restored and re-released on Disney+, and we've got a short bonus episode discussing the restored version later in this feed.
• The clip we mention of George Harrison talking to George Martin in the studio is from the Hey Jude sessions, and you can see it at https://youtu.be/nb8Ue3mk0Qo

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This 2005 BBC Four documentary, narrated by Paul Morley and featuring contributions from Astrid Kirchherr, Pauline Sutcliffe, Tony Sheridan, Rod Murray and Horst Facher, looks at the life of fifth Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe before his tragic death at 21. It makes the case that he would’ve been a significant artist in his own right, but spends a lot of its time looking at his work with the Beatles, so we discuss how well it manages to fulfil its brief. 

It’s also not the only BBC documentary of this period to be a bit coy about the idea of John Lennon having had a sexual relationship with a man (see also our episode on The Brian Epstein Story), and we ask how helpful this approach is and examine the techniques the film uses to further the suggestion.

• Watch the film free on YouTube: https://youtu.be/k1Yrwyfk2NQ
• Narrator Paul Morley is a regular figure on BBC pop music documentaries. He’s on record as not being a Beatles fan, and fair enough, but perhaps if you’re writing articles for the Guardian – albeit interesting and well-argued ones – about how the world wouldn’t be any different without them, you’re not the best candidate to voiceover documentaries about them: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/sep/06/showing-off-the-beatles 
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499080/

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mad Men's Matthew Weiner paid $250,000 to use the Beatles' Tomorrow Never Knows in season 5, episode 8, "Lady Lazarus". We talk about the licensing of Beatles music in film and TV, which is also referenced in the episode, where the agency is trying to find a song for a Hard Day's Night parody advert. This episode is in August 1966 and we discuss how the characters are feeling the paranoia of the sixties closing in on them. America is tense and chaotic: the Richard Speck murders in Chicago and the Texas University sniper shootings have just happened, just as the Beatles are flying in to protests because of John Lennon's "bigger than Jesus" comments.

As for Don Draper, his young wife has left copywriting to become an actor, and she's bought him a copy of Revolver to play while she goes out to a class. Start with the last track, she says. Don sits in his chair, kicks off his shoes, and hears the sound of a generation about to leave him behind.

• Watch Mad Men: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/mad-men
• Don Draper listens to Tomorrow Never Knows: https://youtu.be/6OquASU1y5A
• The song Don can’t tell from the Beatles is September in the Rain by The Wedgwoods: https://youtu.be/IFCqKSrrMJQ
• And in fairness he's not far off: the Beatles did it in the Decca audition: https://youtu.be/EElKJao9cmA
• The University of Texas tower shootings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_tower_shooting
• The Richard Speck murders: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Speck
• The book Pete Campbell reads, Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Crying_of_Lot_49/Py5bngEACAAJ
• The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_New_York_Trilogy/VRfe-QG_ls4C
• Read Ed's 2012 review of Mad Men season 5: https://www.theshiznit.co.uk/review/mad-men-season-five.php

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First shown in May 1997 on VH1 and ITV, Geoff Wonfor's promotional documentary for Paul McCartney's Flaming Pie album is a bit of a puff piece, but an interesting one. For context, this is all shot when Linda McCartney is receiving cancer treatment, which the public doesn't know about. We talk about how the film and the album might give insights into Paul's state of mind, and what sort of future he's contemplating.

• Watch the film: https://youtu.be/-BhnIClthqQ
• Watch the video for the Smokin' Mojo Filters' cover of Come Together, featuring Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher, Steve Cradock, Johnny Depp, Kate Moss, and Paul, Linda, Stella and Mary McCartney: https://youtu.be/IK0sMC5ntpc
• Read about the David Blaine incident in 2003: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/sep/19/marketingandpr
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168065/

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Directed by rock doc specialist Patrick Montgomery, 1982's The Compleat Beatles still represents the only real attempt at a feature length documentary covering their whole career, and was a huge success in the early days of the home VHS market. It was released at a time when there was renewed interest in the band after John Lennon's murder, and in the 20-year anniversary of Love Me Do, alongside a lot of other Beatles products.

It's a different beast to The Beatles Anthology, but how does it measure up? We talk about whether it was the original source for some of the best known Beatle stories, how its narration by Malcolm McDowell gives it gravitas, or tries to, and what the impact is of featuring ancillary characters from the Beatles' early story, like Allan Williams, Tony Sheridan and Horst Facher. And the film's content is very much led by its talking heads, in particular George Martin, so we examine what effect that has.

• Watch The Compleat Beatles: https://archive.org/details/the-compleat-beatles-1982
• Ed wrongly calls the publishers of Love Me Do and PS I Love You "Ardwood & Beechmore"; yes, they were of course Ardmore & Beechwood. Don't write in.
• Here's the screaming girl Ed mentions, from the Washington Coliseum gig, 11 February 1964: https://youtu.be/W3QG37K3h94

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Jackson's music video for Now and Then, and the 12-minute short documentary film by Oliver Murray, Now and Then: The Last Beatles Song, were both released this week.

What do we think of the techniques used, and what does the amount of restored footage point to? Plus! Is the song a Beatles song? If a song features all four Beatles, does it automatically sound Beatley? And AI: will it kill us all?

• Watch the music video: https://youtu.be/Opxhh9Oh3rg
• Watch Now and Then: The Last Beatles Song: https://youtu.be/APJAQoSCwuA
• If you're in the UK listen to the BBC radio documentary we mention, "Eras: The Beatles". This is the Now and Then episode which contains longer versions of the voiceovers in the documentary, among other things: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001rzkp
• The two songs we reference as examples of self-consciously Beatley production are George Harrison's When We Was Fab https://youtu.be/AVu6nPTVbBQ and Tears for Fears' Sowing the Seeds of Love: https://youtu.be/VAtGOESO7W8

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jon Lefkovitz's 2014 film Rubber Soul recreates – very faithfully – John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1970 Rolling Stone and 1980 Playboy interviews, juxtaposing them and showing how John's thoughts on issues like drugs, fame and The Beatles changed over the intervening decade. We talk about the artistic value of recreating something exactly, and how that might play into Beatles fans' expectations and desires when seeing the band played on film by actors.

It also raises questions about the significance of the rock star interview, and John's interviews in particular. His statements in these conversations were accorded great importance, and Jann Wenner's 1970 interview in particular had a huge influence on public perceptions of Lennon and Paul McCartney for decades to come, but given John's habit of stating differing opinions from one day to the next, maybe interviews with stars shouldn't be treated with such reverence?

• Watch the film for free: https://youtu.be/kB8Z1LRBmTA
• The Rolling Stone interview: https://youtu.be/5ZhBQRzBAa8
• Jann Wenner's Lennon Remembers: https://g.co/kgs/rkV5V5
• The Playboy interviews: https://youtu.be/PRDfBGagFkU
• David Sheff's All We Are Saying: https://g.co/kgs/Qs8fR7
• Important cow facts Ed can't quite recall: John and Yoko bought a herd of Holstein dairy cows with their upstate New York farm in 1978 (where Yoko now lives full time), and raked in money from them. One cow sold for $250,000.
• William Mann's "Aeolian cadence" 1963 Beatles review for The Times: https://www.beatlesbible.com/1963/12/27/the-times-what-songs-the-beatles-sang-by-william-mann/ (which refers to Not a Second Time, not I'll Be Back)
• We mention a few other films. Gus Van Sant's 1998 shot-for-shot remake of Psycho; Locke, a Tom Hardy film that takes place entirely in one car; Buried, the Ryan Reynolds film that takes place in a coffin; Disney+ series The Bear; and the one-take horror film Matt mentions is 2011's Silent House.
• Watch Beautiful Boy, about David Sheff and his son: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/beautiful-boy

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That's right, we couldn't put it off any longer: it's the Bee Gees' towering hubris of 1978. We spend some time unpicking Robin Gibb's contemporary quote in which he confidently predicted that the Bee Gees' version would effectively make the original Sgt Pepper obsolete, and we talk about rock operas and how this one is structured. We delve into its interesting backstory involving Brian Epstein contemporary and potential NEMS heir (whom the Beatles rejected), Robert Stigwood, plus: what did George Martin get out of it, and why didn't he take the chance to finally do his own string arrangement for She's Leaving Home?

• Watch the film for free on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7v3PchZzNoI
• Read Robin Gibb's quote in full on page 256 of Peter Doggett's You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/_/luOMJFxe-bYC?hl=en (in the UK it's subtitled The Battle for the Soul of The Beatles instead) or see it abridged at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgt._Pepper%27s_Lonely_Hearts_Club_Band_(film)#Overview
• The documentary we mention is 2020's The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, which is well worth watching: https://g.co/kgs/SqGJEx
• The compilation album we mention is The Soul of Lennon and McCartney: https://www.discogs.com/release/2014089-Various-The-Soul-Of-Lennon-McCartney
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078239/

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have a look at May Pang's documentary about her relationship with John Lennon, just released digitally and on blu-ray on 13 October 2023. We talk about perspectives and whether or not there's such a thing as "the truth" in a documentary, and whether that matters. Also we discuss how Yoko Ono comes across in this film and how a critical depiction fits into contemporary Beatles fandom.

• We interviewed May Pang about the film back in April 2023, and you can find that episode in this podcast feed.
• This episode includes a clip of May Pang's appearance on the Geraldo Rivera show on 5 October 1988. Here's the whole thing, in which he attempts to equate her book with Albert Goldman's notorious character assassination The Lives of John Lennon and is generally a bit of a dick to her, and she stands her ground with grace: https://youtu.be/1OZnsKtLKiQ
• Watch the trailer for the film: https://youtu.be/xrQHqTB3qjo
• The Kenneth Womack book we mention, which is excellent, is John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life: https://g.co/kgs/jwHeQT
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19812518/

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our attention turns to 1981's Caveman, starring Ringo Starr, Barbara Bach, Shelley Long and Dennis Quaid. We discuss where Ringo is in his life and career at this point, the shadow cast over the production and release by John Lennon's murder, and how Ringo's physical and expression-based performance measures up in a film without dialogue. Also, while it's fair to say neither of us thought it was Citizen Kane, we do disagree a bit about the merits of the film in general, so if you like a scrap you've come to the right place. (Assuming you like your scraps conducted as very mild and polite verbal disagreements.) Fight!

• Watch the whole film in good quality on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GhOXaxhR2kk?si=qlkKQxhBV-ICTEzg
• Roger Ebert's 1981 review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/caveman-1981
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082146/

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're opening season four with one of the big hitters: Martin Scorsese's 2011 George Harrison documentary. George's life gets a proper going-over for three hours, and we talk about how the film approaches his spirituality and how it relates to familiar religious themes in Scorsese films. This is an interesting film for the calibre of talking heads it attracts, Scorsese's milkshake very much bringing all the boys to the yard: Astrid Kirchherr, Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Phil Spector (!), Tom Petty, Dhani Harrison and Olivia too. We talk about Dhani and Olivia's contributions in particular, and how the film uses talking heads like theirs in a different way than you'd usually expect: framing them in "lived-in" surroundings and encouraging them to discuss ideas and philosophies rather than just reel off anecdotes.

• You can watch the film on NOW TV in the UK, or rent/buy it on Prime and YouTube: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/george-harrison-living-in-the-material-world
• Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/AGMMXK-661M?si=e9xecTinAJSVaWB7
• The Johnny Marr article we refer to is actually sort of two: in a 2016 interview he called George one of his favourite guitarists https://medium.com/@JonnieWilks/the-johnny-marr-interview-c9f9ae53eaed and he complimented him again in Uncut's 2021 Revolver issue https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/interviews/the-beatles-best-revolver-songs-132652/
• You can rent Scorsese's No Direction Home: Bob Dylan on Apple TV, and buy/rent it on Prime and YouTube. https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/no-direction-home-bob-dylan
• Watch a short video where Scorsese explains the process of making the film, and what inspired him about George: https://youtu.be/L_YRmLgpT7I?si=61Mbjhx2xqO7DW1T
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1113829/

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To celebrate 50 years since the film's release we've got together with our friend and James Bond authority Neil Alcock for an episode on Live and Let Die. As we'll hear, the theme song by Wings represented a gear shift and a new direction for Bond themes, away from big band singers and towards rock. Was Paul McCartney instructed to write elements into the song to fit the film's theme?

We also talk about Bond and the Beatles as British cultural exports of the 1960s, and the connections between them, and we discuss George Martin's score, how that came about, and the elements of it that made a break with the Bond scores of the past.

Buy Neil's excellent book, HITCHOLOGY: A Film-by-Film Guide to the Style and Themes of Alfred Hitchcock: https://neilalcock.com/hitchology

• Neil's Blogalongabond entry on Live and Let Die from 2011: http://theincrediblesuit.blogspot.com/2011/08/blogalongabond-live-and-let-die.html
• BJ Arnau's version of the song, performed in the Harlem club in the film: https://youtu.be/LWKGfbs8dzo
• Guns n Roses cover version: https://youtu.be/RywqQ_AKB9M
• Byron Lee and the Dragonaires version: https://youtu.be/JSRRU_aLB_I
• Chrissie Hynde version (in which she removes the hanging preposition): https://youtu.be/534YARaE6h4
• Article on the debunking of the "they didn't want Paul to sing it" story: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/dec/18/live-and-let-die-james-bond-theme-paul-mccartney
• Wings performance from the 1973 James Paul McCartney TV special, with Paul's exploding piano: https://youtu.be/ZwnX0iqKDdQ
• Picture of George Harrison wearing a 007 T-shirt: https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=APwXEdf

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part two we close out our third season with some good old-fashioned British magic realism. Is Yellow Submarine a magic realist piece, and if so are the submarine or the Beatles themselves the conduit for the magic?

Plus! We discuss its eastern European influences, and talk about the failed Robert Zemeckis remake, how far it got, and the technological and industrial reasons why it didn't go any further.

Thanks very much for listening to us again this season. If you could give us a five-star rating in your podcast app, tweet about us, tell a friend or graffiti our name on a bus stop we'd greatly appreciate it. See you for season four!

• Here's the pinball animation from Sesame Street: https://youtu.be/JZshZp-cxKg
• Some footage from the abandoned Zemeckis remake: https://archive.org/details/the-beatles-yellow-submarine-3d-unseen-found-footage

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first part of our season finale we're discussing 1968's Yellow Submarine, the Beatles' animated film and, as we outline, their only musical. We talk about how the project came about and how much the Beatles were involved (spoiler alert: not much), as well as the choices made in their characterisations, and what that says about their public personas at the time. We also talk a lot about the new songs included in the film: Hey Bulldog, It's All Too Much, Only a Northern Song and All Together Now.

• You can rent or buy Yellow Submarine on Apple TV: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/yellow-submarine
• Watch the original trailer from 1968: https://youtu.be/vefJAtG-ZKI
• A longer clip of Liverpool fans singing She Loves You in 1964: https://youtu.be/3Y5RY9vhph0
• John's early version of Hey Bulldog: https://youtu.be/eltBGtWm6Fc
• Looks like Ed was wrong about Teenage Fanclub having covered Hey Bulldog. He was probably thinking of their cover of The Ballad of John and Yoko, which you might as well have a link to, seeing as you're here: https://youtu.be/2lTNAPmwM_o
• Here's the intro to the Ulysses 31 cartoon from the eighties that Matt mentions: https://youtu.be/Ev1aBt-_Zs4
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063823/

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who doesn't love Love? We're talking about the documentary about the Cirque du Soleil show The Beatles: Love. The film is an official Apple product and has talking head input from Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, Olivia Harrison, Neil Aspinall, George Martin and Giles Martin. So why isn't it more widely known? We discuss how Apple moved on from here and became the legacy-preserving machine it is today. We also talk about the Love album and the impact it had, Yoko and Olivia and their understandable efforts to fight the corner for their late husbands' legacies, and what the film reveals about Paul and George's relationship towards the end of George's life.

• You can rent or buy All Together Now on Apple TV in the US or UK: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/all-together-now. You can also pick up the DVD very cheaply.
• Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/KVqBEbY86Sw
• See a very short clip showing Paul McCartney and George Harrison, as discussed, backstage at the Cirque du Soleil "O" show in 2001: https://youtu.be/sYVyT937Yf0
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1305839/

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's a companion piece to last week's episode. In David Trueba's 2013 film, set in Spain in 1966, English teacher Antonio and two young hitchhikers take a road trip to Almeria where he hopes to meet John Lennon on the set of How I Won The War.

Starring Javier Cámara, Natalia de Molina and Francesc Colomer, Living is Easy with Eyes Closed won several Goya awards and was Spain's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 2015 Academy Awards.

We talk about how Strawberry Fields Forever and Help! are used as themes, how the film uses John's star status to make him a mythical, unattainable figure, what that means about the relationship of fans to stars, and how the film subverts the tropes of the road movie.

Thanks a lot to Juan Gil Manjón for his contribution to this episode.

• You can rent it in the UK on Prime, Apple TV or Chili: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/living-is-easy-with-eyes-closed
• Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/uO1jXG38XbM
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2896036/

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Onto John Lennon's solo acting debut in Richard Lester's How I Won The War, best known for John having written Strawberry Fields Forever in Spain while shooting it. We talk about how John is a significant figure to cast in a film commenting on the British class system, and how he and the film upend your expectations. Green, green, green!

• Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/d8cK7Z78o8k
• Watch a handy YouTube video with all of John's scenes: https://youtu.be/KEZFe94xpkk

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss the 2000 CBS TV movie in which Elizabeth Mitchell played Linda McCartney and Gary Bakewell reprised his Backbeat role as Paul McCartney. It's pretty corny of course, and there's a lot wrong with it, but there are positives, and we discuss how much you should expect from a TV movie, and talk about how its budget seems to have been applied.

Did John Lennon throw a brick through Paul's window? Did he shout "McCartney! Who the hell do you think you are?" (Yes, this film is the source of that Shaun Keaveny clip.) Did Linda narrate her entire life story to a woman in a gallery in the mid-nineties, or was it just a framing device she used very inconsistently?

• Watch The Linda McCartney Story in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Xr-947xZLmM

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Produced by George Martin was originally a 2011 episode in the BBC's Arena documentary series, before being released more widely in 2012. We look at whether its informal conversational interviews work as a documentary technique, how watching it in the light of Get Back is quite revealing given George's recollection of his contribution to those sessions, and what his conversations with Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney say about the relationships they had with him. Plus! Hear Matt talk about George's martini-making technique for longer than you were probably expecting.

NOTE: ironically given the subject matter, we had some audio recording issues on this one. Matt might sound a bit bassy for the first half or so. Giles Martin is in talks to remix it.

• In the UK you can buy or rent the film on Apple TV or Prime: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/produced-by-george-martin
• In the US you can do the same, or get it free with ads on a bunch of other streaming platforms no one's ever heard of: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/produced-by-george-martin
• Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/ocjw2m_R8g8
• Hear the George Martin-produced revue that Ed mentions, Flanders and Swann's At the Drop of a Hat: https://open.spotify.com/album/2xN1OtJUxzzOdWL6JPmel5?si=Q3ua3s3dRxGDPjg9UJ51ug

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As ever, here's this season's "Ringo Starr appears in seventies film which is problematic by modern sensibilities" episode. Blindman, a spaghetti western produced by Allen Klein, features Ringo as an unhinged Mexican bandit. We discuss, inevitably, its sexual and racial politics, talk about whether Ringo is playing against type (and, more broadly, whether he has established a "type" against which to play), and assess his performance and position within the early 1970s film industry.

• You can rent Blindman in the UK on Prime Video: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/blindman
• Or in the US you can rent it on Apple TV: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/blindman
• Or if you speak Italian you can get it in good quality, dubbed into Italian without subtitles, on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dtzSeLLVrpQ
• Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/mYXaPyiud7g

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On to Christopher Münch's short fictionalised account of John Lennon and Brian Epstein's 1963 Spanish holiday, which explores their relationship and themes like miscommunication, and the power dynamic between the admirer and the admired. This was Ian Hart's first go at playing John, and we discuss how he and his co-star David Angus perform, the significance of the pair watching Ingmar Bergman's The Silence in the film, and the merits of taking narrative licence with a real event to explore something wider. Oh, and there's some innuendo, obviously.

• If you're in the UK you can pick up The Hours and Times on DVD, which we recommend, because the commentary track with Hart and Angus is very interesting.
• In the US you can rent it on Apple TV, Amazon and YouTube: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-hours-and-times
• Watch the trailer for The Hours and Times: https://youtu.be/5_dgKHVIHeo
• Watch The Silence, the 1963 Ingmar Bergman film which John and Brian watch in the movie (though they couldn't have in real life, because it wasn't released yet): https://youtu.be/-RSXUuCIlXA

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back in our documentary ashram with Ajoy Bose's 2021 film about the Beatles' relationship with his home country. The film does more than just tell the story of when they visited (though it does of course do that, AND tell the Ringo/baked beans story again, God love it): it takes its time exploring how India influenced the band and vice versa. We talk about how it represents George Harrison, who is of course prominently featured in it, and the seriousness of his spiritual journey and commitment to studying the sitar. We note the talking head contribution made by Mark Lewisohn, whose participation is generally a mark of a good quality documentary. And we ask: did Paul and George travel to Sweden to kick the Maharishi's head in?

• The Beatles and India comes and goes on All4, so if you're in the UK check if it's on there at the moment: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-beatles-and-india
• If not, you can rent it for a couple of quid on YouTube, Apple TV and a few other places: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-beatles-and-india
• Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/so-AEgMk9OI

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're thrilled to bring you this special bonus episode where we got the chance to talk to May Pang about her documentary, The Lost Weekend: A Love Story. We spoke about her part in the filmmaking process, her relationship with John Lennon and how she continues to be close to Julian, and why she wanted to tell this story, 50 years on. May was great fun and fascinating to speak to, and we want to thank her for being so generous with her time!

The Lost Weekend: A Love Story is on limited release in the US from today, 13 April 2023. You can search for tickets at https://thelostweekendtickets.com/. It's slated for a UK release in June. We've seen it and we'll release a full episode about it to coincide with the UK release.

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We knew this day would come. The 1984 film written by and starring Paul McCartney, derided by many, tolerated by some. We explain a bit about how a project like this actually gets as far as a cinema release, point out as gently as possible which bits don't stand up to narrative scrutiny as much as they might, and talk about the bits that - whisper it - actually have some merit. And we ask: is this just an ego project or is there more going on? Why did Paul choose these songs to rerecord? And should Ringo Starr be given more to do?

WARNING: Give My Regards to Broad Street is in this episode both described as "an auteur piece" and compared favourably to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

• Watch Give My Regards to Broad Street on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mc1UnNmYP4M
• Watch the 1984 South Bank Show episode about the making of Broad Street, which we refer to a lot https://youtu.be/87i6WQ8k6yA

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We got an advance look at Mary McCartney's Abbey Road studios documentary If These Walls Could Sing, released in the UK and Ireland on Disney+ today, 6 January 2023.

What did we think of its approach, and its array of heavyweight talking heads, from Paul McCartney (natch) to Elton John, John Williams, Jimmy Page, Pink Floyd and Nile Rodgers? Plus! Hear what revelations made Matt gasp, and how the film somehow sets up a scrap between Noel and Liam Gallagher when they're not even in the same room.

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To close out season two, welcome to part 2 of our conversation about The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour film. Thrill as we dissect the choreography of the Your Mother Should Know sequence in frankly punishing detail. Gasp as we unpack the quasi-religious subtext of The Beatles playing a group of omnipotent wizards. And nod knowingly as we wonder whether George Harrison was all that into it in general or if he'd have really just preferred to be dropped off at the services.

Thanks a lot to everyone who listened to episodes in 2022 and talked to us through our social channels. We'd appreciate if you could subscribe and leave us a positive review on whatever platform you use: it really helps new people find us. See you for season three in 2023!

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Magical Mystery Tour first aired on BBC1 on Boxing Day 1967 in black and white. It didn't go down all that well. Then it went out in colour on 5 January 1968 on BBC2 and wasn't much better received. This was the Beatles' first major critical failure, but in part one we discuss whether it succeeded on its own terms: were they actually trying to entertain their audience, or were they more interested in challenging them? Was the film just a showcase for the songs or was there more going on?

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're talking about David Leaf and John Scheinfeld's 2006 documentary on John Lennon's activism, with its dizzying array of intellectual heavyweight talking heads. There's a lot to unpack here, from how it doesn't shy away from showing John's naivety, to the value of pop stars using slogans to promote political causes, and whether you should expect them to contribute more than a catchy chorus.

• You can rent/buy the film on Amazon, iTunes and Apple TV at the moment: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-u-s-vs-john-lennon. But as we mention in the episode, get the DVD for the extras: Yoko Ono reading out her letter to Mark Chapman's 2000 parole hearing is really remarkable. More than worth £3 on eBay.
• Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/CmdiVvlPEtI

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The film whose soundtrack yielded the first Beatle solo album, and the first release on Apple Records, 1968's Wonderwall is on the face of it just a mad, psychedelic wig-out about a nutty professor. But is it saying something deeper about British repression and how the flower power generation chipped away at it? What did it mean to George Harrison to go off and do this on his own, given how he was developing as a songwriter? And how many feeble Oasis puns can we shoehorn in?

There's a good quality version of Wonderwall on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4qOyVdwgzZI

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Originally released in two parts in the BBC's Arena strand (as The Sun Will Shine Tomorrow and Tomorrow Never Knows on Christmas and Boxing Day 1998), The Brian Epstein Story was later re-edited and has aired twice on BBC4 with this title. The version we're discussing is this single edited version, which you can see on YouTube with some sound missing for copyright reasons at https://youtu.be/apKqMVej1cw.

Do its techniques do Brian justice? We also discuss how the nineties was a sort of golden age for Beatle insiders contributing to documentaries, and how this brought with it a tendency for people to place themselves at the centre of the story. Plus: why is Paul McCartney so coy about the Brian Epstein/John Lennon affair rumours, given that in later years he dismissed them?

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's 1973: The Beatles are no more, but don't worry, David Essex has 100% filled the void. Here he stars as Jim MacLaine, a wayward youngster trying to make it after leaving home. His best work friend is played by none other than Ringo Starr, and neither of them is all that nice. How shocking is it to see Ringo playing a womaniser? Do we see his bum, or is it a stunt bum? (This gets more discussion than it arguably merits.)

NOTE: Matt might sound a bit tinny in this episode, because of his laptop wiping his recording, so what you hear is all recorded through Ed's mic. We hope it doesn't spoil anything for you. Where's Peter Jackson's AI audio capture software when you need it?

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time to kill a sacred cow like the tiresome contrarian clickbaiters we are: is The Rutles actually terrible? Well, no, it's good, but we're not wholly convinced. Does it work as a parody, or does it too often just imitate rather than parody? (We say "parody" a lot in this episode.) Join us as we deconstruct it until you're no longer able to enjoy a thing you once loved. It's why the internet exists.

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

McCartney 3, 2, 1 arrived on Disney Plus and Hulu as a sort of Get Back appetiser in 2021. Rick Rubin asks Paul about his craft and runs through isolated tracks from some of his most famous songs. What does it tell us about Paul, his creative process and his role within The Beatles? How does he come across, given the reverential tone? How impressive was the portable camping stove he had in his teens? Find out!

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're looking at Jessie Nelson's 2001 film, which features an Oscar-nominated performance by Sean Penn as a man with learning disabilities and a Beatles obsession, fighting for custody of his daughter, soundtracked by Beatles songs played by contemporary artists. Is Sam's Beatles fixation used effectively as a motif? What's it like to watch portrayals of disability from this period compared to contemporary treatments?

You can watch I Am Sam on YouTube and other places for £3.50 or so, and it's currently on Apple TV.

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Arguably the only actual proper Beatles biopic, 1979's Birth of The Beatles has big leather cowboy boots to fill. Can Nick Cotton from Eastenders pull off the role of George Harrison? Why is the guy who plays John Lennon about sixty? We also discuss how this is the only real template we have for the inevitable Beatles narrative film, and Matt gives his pitch for making one.

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back for season two, with the potentially warmish potato of Sam Taylor-Wood's Nowhere Boy, a 2009 telling of teenage John Lennon's relationship with his Aunt Mimi and his mother Julia just before her death. How good are the performances and casting, and where does Aaron Taylor-Johnson rank on the Lennometer? Did John really want to be, uh, in an Oedipus's Garden in the shade? Do we buy the kid from Love Actually as Paul?

• Stream Nowhere Boy, https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/nowhere-boy
• Read Matt's review from 2009: http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/review/nowhere-boy.php

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part 2 of our season one finale (so, the last one, the actual FINALE finale, the episode_final-FINAL(1).mp3), we're looking at Richard Lester's Help! and in particular the story and the film at large. For a discussion of the music and how it's treated in the film, see part 1. Or just listen to them both in a row.

Is it, inevitably, a bit problematic seen through today's lens? Does the story make sense? Does any of this matter because the whole thing's just so ruddy joyous?

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Beatles Films Podcast covering an actual Beatles film! It'll never catch on. For our season one finale (yes, we're calling it that) it's a two-parter on Richard Lester's 1965 film, derided in some quarters and compared unfavourably to A Hard Day's Night.

But ah, the songs. In part 1: how are the songs treated, how are they staged and how do they fit into the film? What's interesting about the score? Was this the beginning of the music video?

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison: pretty solid line-up. Is a 25-minute documentary enough to do it justice? Is George happier in the Wilburys than he was in the Beatles? And what sort of AirBNB host would Dave Stewart be?

• You can watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SUQ_gj-biIc

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We don't approach films about John Lennon's murder by Mark Chapman with much enthusiasm, but there's a place for them if they're done well, respectful and insightful. How does JP Schaefer's 2007 telling do on this score? Well ...

• You can watch Chapter 27 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Ss66lBY3E

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So to Alan G Parker's 2017 documentary, long on title, short on the rights to use any of the songs. Is this a problem? How tight a focus on the album does the film have? How does its collection of talking heads stack up?

• Watch it on streaming services: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/it-was-fifty-years-ago-today-the-beatles-sgt-pepper-and-beyond
• Read Ed's review from 2017: http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/review/it-was-fifty-years-ago-today-the-beatles-sgt-pepper--beyond.php

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don't know about you, but for us Backbeat was just about as formative as anything in our views and mental image of Stuart Sutcliffe and The Beatles' early years. We discuss how he and John Lennon are depicted, how the casting choice of Stephen Dorff impacts Beatles fans' view of Stuart to this day, and why there's so much nudity in it. Won't anyone think of the children?

There's a New Yorker article about Stuart we refer to in the episode. It's by Ted Widmer and you can read it at https://www.newyorker.com/culture/essay/the-beatle-who-got-away.

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're on about Julie Taymor's 2007 Beatles jukebox musical, starring Jim Sturgess, WITH Evan Rachel Wood, AND Joe Anderson, BUT Bono. Is it problematic to repurpose songs with a specific meaning to suit a story? Is there any way around this in a jukebox musical anyway? Find out literally none of the answers to these questions, but hopefully enjoy some discussion around them. But hey, it's not the destination, man: it's the journey...

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're discussing the 2001 TV documentary released alongside the Paul McCartney/Wings retrospective compilation. Does it do a good job of changing public opinion post-THAT Alan Partridge joke? What's the effect of having Mary McCartney interview Paul? And what does the word "wingspan" actually mean? (If this last one interests you and you'd like to hear it argued about at length by pedants you're in luck.)

You can watch Wingspan on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2w36Tptn48

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Magic Christian, starring Ringo Starr and Peter Sellers, was the reason The Beatles were up against a deadline to record Let it Be. But it was also an actual film that you can watch and everything. How did Ringo get on in his first starring role without the others? Is its anti-capitalist theme expressed with any purpose? And why is Yul Brynner in it singing a Noel Coward song to Roman Polanski? (Spoiler: we can't answer this one.)

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss Richard Curtis and Danny Boyle's 2019 film Yesterday, in which Jack (Himesh Patel) wakes up to find he's the only person who remembers the Beatles. Does its premise stand up to scrutiny? Has Jack robbed the world of Wings? And did we really need to spend so long discussing the price of a Martin acoustic guitar?

• Watch Yesterday: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/yesterday-2019 (or just get it for a quid at your local CEX)
• Read Ed's review from 2019: http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/review/review-yesterday-i-saw-a-film-today-oh-boy.php

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney's last meeting was on 24 April 1976. Michael Lindsay-Hogg's 2000 VH1 TV movie presents a fictionalised account of it, but is it a fair depiction of their relationship at the time? Does it reflect how they were seen or how they were? Does Yoko Ono come off badly?

Watch Two of Us on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/577090018

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Beatles Films Podcast! Matt and Ed explain what the whole thing's about (I mean, the title sort of gives it away, but still). We're professional film writers and Fab Four fans and each week we discuss a different film or TV show about, starring or inspired by the Beatles, or the solo careers and lives of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Subscribe to the podcast: personally endorsed by Vera, Chuck and Dave.

Meet the Beatles Films Podcast

The 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/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.