Review of The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years (2016) by Grant S — 30 Jan 2017

Directed by Ron Howard, a documentary on the Beatles, focusing almost exclusively on their "touring years' - 1963 to 1966. Includes interviews and press conferences with the Beatles, rare footage and recordings and interviews with people who were influenced by the Beatles.

Excellent documentary. The fact that it is directed by Ron Howard lets you know that this going to be more than your average blow-by-blow documentary. It's quite an emotional experience, as you see the young, not-yet-famous band start out on the road to stardom, how they deal with the increasing fame and, in some instances, how it overwhelms them. The footage and stills often capture many of their moments of joy and triumph, adding to the engagement factor, plus the concert and studio footage gives you a great feeling of artistic geniuses at work.

There's also an energy and pioneering spirit about it all, created largely through Ron Howard's choice of footage and editing. The interviewees, which include such luminaries as Elvis Costello, Sigourney Weaver and Whoopi Goldberg, also show how young people's lives were affected by the Beatles.

In addition, the sense of friendship and camaraderie between the four is palpable. Another benefit about having a big-name director/producer make the movie - you get to hear actual Beatles tracks, all wonderfully produced. Not some amorphous background non-Beatles track because the producer couldn't get the rights to play their music.

While not covering the entire Beatles history, well, not in any depth - pre-63 and post-67 are covered but really just as prescript and postscript respectively - this is still the most definitive documentary on the Beatles. No documentary I've seen so accurately captures the impact of the Beatles and their influence on music, culture and, especially, everyday people.