Label: Apple 07243
5 DVD's
DVD 1 (Episodes 1 & 2)
151 mins (2 hours 31 mins)
Episode 1 begins with a video collage of their history, features their youthful beginnings, days in Hamburg, how Ringo joined the band,
and their rise to the top in England.
Episode 2 shows their growth as a band, talks on their BBC sessions, performing for the Queen, stories about touring, and some hilarious
TV segments!
DVD 2 (Episodes 3 & 4)
144 mins (2 hours 24 mins)
Episode 3 begins with their introduction into America, talks about their performance on the Ed Sullivan Show, Ringo's tonsilitis, and their
1st movie A Hard Day's Night.
Episode 4 talks about the pressures of touring, drugs, Dylan, the making of Help!, the inspiration for Yesterday, and winning the MBE award.
DVD 3 (Episodes 5 & 6)
143 mins (2 hours 23 mins)
Episode 5 talks about their Shea Stadium performance, meeting Elvis, Rubber Soul and Revolver.
Episode 6 talks on the events that led to the Beatles' final tour in 1966 (the Philippines and John's remarks about Jesus), Strawberry Fields
Forever, Penny Lane,Sgt. Pepper, and their holiday in Greece.
DVD 4 (Episodes 7 & 8)
155 mins (2 hours 25 mins)
Episode 7 starts with the One World performance of "All You Need Is Love", and talks about the Maharishi, the death of Brian Epstein, Magical
Mystery Tour, the opening of Apple, Yellow Submarine, and John's new companion, Yoko Ono.
Episode 8 begins with the White Album, discusses the closing and dissolution of Apple, Hey Jude, Let It Be, Paul's marriage to Linda, John's
marriage to Yoko, George and John's drug busts, Abbey Road, and the Free As a Bird video (what? Real Love isn't included! ).
DVD 5 (Special Features)
81 mins 1 hour 21 mins)
In addition to the "Real Love" video (which wasn't included on the original VHS edition), there's a segment in which Paul, George and Ringo
all gather together in 1994 to discuss the old days and jam out on old songs. The 3 are also featured here in 1995 discussing with George
Martin, their producer, the choosing of different outtakes on the 3 Anthology CD's and studio techniques they used during the original
recording sessions. Paul, George and Ringo also discuss with Jeff Lynne how a Beatles mini-"reunion" took place with 2 John Lennon demos
("Free As a Bird" and "Real Love"). Also, there's a section on how many hours of interviews and classic footage came together for this
documentary and a feature on how the "Free as a Bird" video was made.
Comments
Initially broadcast as a TV miniseries to go with the series of three Anthology double-CD albums, this set has the heft and scope of one of
Ken Burns's expansive projects. Still, unless you are either a historian or a truly committed fan, you'll find yourself with way more
material--particularly about The Beatles' early lives as lads in Liverpool--than you'll want to watch. The documentary material is copious,
including early performance films and tapes, at the point before they found their true voices. The actual Beatlemania years--beginning in
1963 and concluding in 1970--feature extensive performance films, as well as home movies and archival material. The best parts, of course,
are the interviews with The Beatles themselves, who produced the entire thing. Along with reworking two previously unreleased John Lennon
tracks as "new Beatles songs," the Anthology includes some unseen Lennon interview tapes so that his acerbic voice can be heard as well.
This stands as a comprehensive document of that heady period, the second coming of rock & roll, as the Beatles took what Elvis had started
and expanded upon it exponentially. The tapes give a solid sense of the historical context and the way these four musicians changed the
world around them in the 1960s.
© 2007 David Laurie