Director: Ron Howard Studio: Hulu Genre(s): Documentary Rated: Not Rated |
The dilemma with Ron Howard’s new documentary “The Beatles:
Eight Days a Week” isn’t that it is a poorly made film, only that its release
is confounding at best. The Beatles are one
of the most analyzed, most discussed musical bands of all time. Their popularity was so high that we have
hours upon hours of archive footage of their concerts, TV interviews, and
everyday interactions, and this was during a period where cameras were
expensive and a commodity for many (remember kids: cell phones didn’t always
exist). After several documentaries over
the years the world was given “The Beatles Anthology” in 1995, which was about
as thorough of an examination of a pop culture icon as you could hope to
get. The documentary series is widely
available on DVD and is still available to purchase at most stores that sell
packaged media. I’m certain Ron Howard
saw the documentaries himself, which makes me wonder what he thought he could
contribute with his movie.
‘Eight Days a Week’ is appropriately subtitled ‘The Touring
Years,’ as it decides to focus on the band when they were at the height of
their popularity. The aim of the movie –
as far as I can see – is to show that The Beatles weren’t kids coasting on
success while they were in their prime; they were working really,
really hard for their money.
They were releasing a single every three months, an album every six, and
in-between they were touring and making movies.
The movie does a good job at showing that they lived very stressful
lives. They lived a lifestyle many of us
could only dream of having. In a
refreshing twist, they seemed to actually enjoy the lifestyle for the most
part. They are constantly described as
“cheeky,” and it is that cheeky attitude that makes them endearing personalities
all these years later. The music, it
should be noted, is predictably good and the performances are still electric
and fun after all these years.
Again, though, none of this is news. If you want to listen to the music the albums
are widely available. If you want to see
their live performances there are countless DVD’s and YouTube clips you can
watch. The only reason to make another
documentary on The Beatles is if you have something new to say. Interestingly, at one point the movie comes
close by interviewing prominent African-Americans like Whoopi Goldberg, who
remember that The Beatles helped them become accepting of white people (an
ethnic group who had, in general, not been kind to them). There is even a black historian who has
memories of going to a Beatles concert that wasn’t segregated, and being amazed
that black and white people were all dancing and waving their hair in
union. This might have been the unique
story that Howard could have told that wouldn’t have been redundant, but it is
only glossed over because this isn’t a movie about the effect The Beatles had
on people, it is about their rigorous touring.
So why does the film touch on the subject at all? That…is a good question, honestly. It’s frustrating to see a largely unexplored topic
get subdued for ground that has been well tread at this point. That said, if for some reason you HAVEN’T
seen “The Beatles Anthology,” ‘Eight Days a Week’ will likely still hold some
interest. Like I mentioned, the boys are
still charismatic, the music is still great, and there is enough archive
material that is still fascinating to watch.
Honestly, the only reason the movie doesn’t work for me is because the
vast majority of information in here is stuff I already knew. Even new interviews with Paul McCartney and
Ringo Starr don’t provide any new insight I didn’t already know. The advantage “The Beatles: Eight Days a
Week” has is that it is more focused than the ‘Anthology’ series and it is
being made easily accessible on Hulu.
I’m not going to give it a passing grade because I would recommend other
sources for your Beatles information, but if you haven’t started yet than I
suppose this wouldn’t be the worst way to get started on your Beatles trivia.
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, there is some brief language and drug references, but otherwise the movie doesn't get into the dark times of The Beatles. Recommended for ages 8 and up.
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