How to make a Beatles biopic 1. Have John hating on Ob La Di Ob La Da 2. Have John and Paul fighting 3. Bad wigs 4. Bad accents 5. George and Ringo as background props
@@thatguythatdrawzz749 Yeah, story goes John went into the studio in a great mood, sat at the piano and wanted to immediately start on Ob La Di Ob La Da and then created the start for the song.
If they do another Beatle biopic, I’d like to see one about when Ringo got fed up with all the fighting and left for Sardinia for two weeks to hang out with Peter Sellers, where he got the idea for Octopus’s Garden and when he returned, his drum set was covered in flowers, where the end could focus on Ringo, with the help of George writing Octopus’s Garden, providing an actual uplifting ending and allowing us to focus on the two Beatles often shoved off out of the spotlight.
I wish there was a biopic about George Harrison instead of the same story about Paul and John. I think it would be really interesting exploring his spirituality and his point of view being labeled as the “quiet one” when in reality he wasn’t necessarily “quiet”
I would love this as Ringo had an incredibly difficult childhood - nearly Dickensian - as he suffered a series of terrible illnesses and practically lived in the hospital. Also, George is mesmerizing as the Dark Horse, and as the Beatle who wrote the perfect “Here comes the Sun.”
It’s exactly as John said, “everybody loves you when you’re 6 feet in the ground”. The tragic way he died was the reason there are so many documentaries about him, obviously his legacy too, but the other Beatles lives were as interesting as John’s too. Especially Ringo. Why isn’t there a Ringo medical drama yet??
It’s funny that despite Lennon and Macca having so much coverage, there’s still a lack of accurate portrayal imo. There’s no nuance. As said by McCartney, John had a cool, sometimes aloof and goofy exterior but he was a softie, whereas Paul seemed like the put together guy but had some simmering and strong emotions underlying. I wish we got a portrayal where we got both sides of them, plus the extremely complex George and the layers of Ringo we have yet to see. Best of all if we got to see the complex relationships between all four of them, cause really that’s what was fascinating about them. They were some sort of a family. They were four geniuses who somehow had the luck to find each other, but they were also funny, witty, complete idiots, had egos, and were proper weirdos. A tv series would obviously be best to really be able to explore both their individual journeys and their collective experiences and relationships.
@byrdmaniac3949 You read my mind. I'd love to see the BBC or another cable channel do a multi-season cable drama on the lives and careers of the Beatles. If you figure on eight-ten episodes per season, you could have: -a season on their childhoods and young adulthoods, ending with John and Paul meeting at the church fair, -a season on the Cavern/Hamburg years, meeting Brian, and ending with their signing up with EMI and George Martin, -a season on the Beatlemania/touring years, -a season on their transitional years as they begin to grow and experiment as musicians, -a season on the Sgt. Pepper/Maharishi period and the fallout from Brian's death, -a season on their disintegration and breakup, and, -a season on their solo careers in the 70s, ending with John's death. Their story is so rich with interesting incidents (like their dust-up with Imelda Marcos) and characters (like Magic Alex, and boy, was HE a character) that a single biopic, or even a miniseries, couldn't do it justice. (I'd have liked this to be made while Hugh Laurie was still young enough to play George Martin, but that ship seems to have sailed.)
@@jenniferschillig3768 Obviously the Manila incident sticks in your brain more than does the John and Jesus controversy in America, which followed on the heels of Manila (though the Maureen Cleave profile that lit the fuse came several months before the Germany/Japan/Phillpines tour).
Fun fact about "John and Yoko: A Love Story," a man named Mark Chapman was originally going to play John, but Yoko wouldn't let him because his name was the same as John's murderer. Though he did later play John in "Chapter 27"
Fun fact, my dad nearly played John Lennon in ‘in his life’. It was literally down to the actor in the film and my dad. Because the director chose this actor over him, the producer left the production 😂
@@ElliotRobertsVideos Birth Of The Beatles 2:31 the film does exaggerate 'some' stuff regarding Pete, but he was a very important factor in how they built up their early local popularity. No local musician from back then had a bad word to say about Pete's drumming and they still don't. Some Liverpool bands had drummers purely because they could play like Pete. Paul even admitted in an interview in 2006 that he wasn't kicked out for his drumming. One likely reason (of a few) is Pete was probably drawing too much attention away from the other three at the front of the stage, so they wanted a drummer who wouldn't attract as much attention away from them. 3:12 George Martin simply said "When we do the next session... I'm going to provide the drummer", he wasn't saying get Pete out of the band. 3:30 It's true that Pete was and is quieter and more introverted than the others, but there's plenty of evidence proving he was involved in fooling around and socialising with the others on occasions such as: Drinking with them in a pub down the street from the Cavern i2-prod.liverpoolecho.co.uk/incoming/article14762409.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/BMR_LEC_090217Grapes_01.jpg Fooling around in Hamburg with silver canisters of speed pills allthatsinteresting.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/big-smiles.jpg This other Hamburg photo www.secondcuppa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/tumblr_mj56m6EbWV1qalx0to1_1280.jpg This early "Paul is dead" Cavern photo i.pinimg.com/originals/32/b4/bf/32b4bf2ccdbe420f2a65873b7de9b6f3.jpg This pic with Gene Vincent: i.pinimg.com/originals/e8/4d/3e/e84d3e46d7929b93ecd1286ba69a901b.jpg This pic from their infamous Aldershot gig i.pinimg.com/236x/a2/4f/40/a24f40f8d8bd05a05a64e5905dd39910--photo-pic-rare-photos.jpg And whatever this picture is pbs.twimg.com/media/EZlIAHkXgAEgrIC.jpg There's also a video somewhere of Pete recounting the story of the band's "hedgehog" in Hamburg, which he was an instigator. So while he may have been more reserved than the others, it's apparent he was involved in the drinking and joking with others at least to a certain degree. 3:40 As far as I'm aware none of The Beatles asked each other to get The Beatle haircut. Stuart had it first, then George adopted it, then Paul, then John. Pete did have a Beatle cut (or something close it) later during the 60s i.redd.it/xyre34hh7cty.jpg i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s375/nowhere-man-in-e/pete%20best_zpsqry8ie9y.jpg BACKBEAT 4:16 In recent years, information has come forth that Stu being unable to play is actually a fallacy. I recommend taking a look at these: daytrippin.com/2011/06/22/stuart-sutcliffes-bass-playing-id-like-to-set-that-one-straight/ ruclips.net/video/k1Yrwyfk2NQ/видео.html NOWHERE BOY You already pointed out alot of the fictional moments and errors in the film, what you might not have known is their Phillips recording session actually happened on 12th July 1958 and Julia died three days later on the 15th
Ringo`s life after Beatles (which wasn`t very good time for him actually) has been very interesting, very intriguing, there is fun, sadness, absurd, depression, tragedy, everything. And now he is the MOST VITAL 80 year old ever! This is material for whole series.
wouldn’t it be cool to see a series of 4 seasons, each season focusing and seen through the eyes of a different beatle. Or just a four episode show of like 1h each
Interesting, kinda like Rashomon. I also believe that only a series could do the Beatles justice and that each season could cover a stage of their career in a similar way to the Anthology
In the special features on Backbeat, Cynthia Lennon said that felt that Ian Hart had done such a brilliant job portraying John, that she told Julian to see the movie and meet his father. If that isn't a seal of approval, I don't know what is.
The reason why Lennon Naked has so many Beatles songs in it is because it's a BBC production who have a big audio library that can be used on most of their productions. So it would seem expensive, though for the BBC, it wouldn't be.
It's not having the material physically to use which is the problem - anyone can buy a CD - it's the cost of the rights to use the music in a film which can be enormously expensive and/or permission can be refused. The BBC have an arrangement with the rights-holders as they play a huge amount of Beatles material across their channels, radio and TV. Proportionately it is much cheaper for them to use Beatles material in a TV film. It's also the case that the BBC routinely use Beatles music in documentaries about the band whereas most other companies productions don't, with often awkward results.
It bothers me how Cynthia Lennon always gets the short shrift in these biopics. If she's not entirely sidelined then she's portrayed as a mousey little drip who was an albatross around John's neck. In truth, she was also a creative person, she had a degree of ambivalence about being a stay-at-home mom, and did her own share of partying. She was a more comparatively ordinary person compared to Yoko, but she wasn't the dimwitted bore she's made out to be these depictions, nor was she incidental to John's life.
Cynthia did seem like a nice person, and I do feel sorry for the crap John put her through. But reading her autobiography John, there were times I thought, "Cynthia, you can't be a doormat unless you lay down, you know..."
you've put into words so accurately why Nowhere Boy was in no way a perfect movie, but it hits so hard because it does the subtle, emotional, human bits so well. damn, now I want to watch it again
Because John is the most famous artistically and he is a legend Paul is second but nowhere as close as Lennon . What can they talk about George? Or Ringo when you had Lennon being a legend who was the creator of the group and a super controversial figure that was rattling the FBI and the republican administration of Richard Nixon.
@@rosestrohm7986 so? His ex wife claimed it happened only one time and he apologised at her for several weeks. It happened during a fight they 2 had(which she provocated btw). John was no saint. He was ALWAYS honest and very open about his flaws. He was a horrible husband to Cynthia and not a good father to Julian. But he learned from his mistakes. And no.. thats not an excuse. A man should never raise his hand against ANY woman. But people fail to see the whole picture. He wasn't a series wife beater and abuser. In fact he never hit Yoko. He learned from his mistakes
Ironically by not trying to imitate them 100% I think the cast of Nowhere Boy actually convey their real life counterparts the best out of any of the biopics. When an actor playing John Lennon wears a goofy wig and puts on the Lennon impression it feels like the actor is wearing a goofy caricatured costume. But by playing them as real people they're conveyed as real people even if the actors don't look too much like the boys.
Yeah there is a fine line though, where having a resemblance of the actors and making an effort in hair and make up improves the story and production. Three biopics that would've been improved with coloured contact lenses were: Nowhere Boy, John had dark brown eyes, not blue. Control; Ian Curtis had bright blue eyes, not brown. And Bohemian Rhapsody; Freddy Mercury had dark brown eyes, not blue. Those details can make all the difference in a characterisation and portrayal more accurate and convincing.
Sadly, my favorite Lennon bio isn’t out on video. I saw it once on PBS & it was staged like a 4-act play. Four different actors played John Lennon at different ages (child, adolescent, young Beatle, and Lennon just before the assassination). The elder Lennon narrated. It was based on his own writing, so it was quite candid. I think it was called “John Lennon: A Journey Through a Life.”
I googled it; It’s actually John Lennon: A Journey In The Life (1985). I haven’t seen it myself, but sounds interesting! The only biopic I haven’t seen
George Martin was actually incredibly supportive of the Beatles' experimental work, so it's weird that the John & Yoko movie had him being so critical of it in that one scene
A lot of people have asked me why I didn't include the 2000 film 'Two Of Us.' Despite being a better film than many on this list, I didn't include it as it's less of a biopic and more of a dramatisation of a meeting between John and Paul one day in 1976, six years after they had well and truly broken up. To make this list, each film must have portrayed (at some point) a period between The Beatle’s beginnings right up to their final days as a band. And they had to attempt to tell a true story. I do examine review it in my ‘Beatle’s Tribute Films’ Video. Below is an excerpt of the statement that opens the film 'Two Of Us': "Legend has it that in 1976 - six years after the bitter breakup of The Beatles - Paul McCartney paid a surprise visit to John Lennon at his apartment in New York City. This film makes no attempt to document what may have occurred at such a meeting. Rather, it is a work of fiction in appreciation of two blokes from Liverpool, and the gifts they gave us."
Totally understand the reasoning. Maybe an addendum video that focuses a bit on it? The portrayals are right up there with ‘Nowhere Boy’ where it’s emulation over imitation.
It’s an interesting film once you get past (IMO) the miscasting of Aidan Quinn as Paul...I’ve always admired his acting but he’s just not right for the role. It’s a shame because I thought the actor playing John did exceptionally well.
Thank you so much for this vid. Now I am interested in watching Nowhere Boy. I liked Backbeat so can you tell me if they cover John's friendship with Stu? They would all know each other at that point, right? -Thanks.
Going back to this now after having watched Get Back is like suddenly having the lights turned on for a Beatles fan. That series really changed so much about how I view the band and just makes everything make a bit more sense, even when it comes to things like these biopics. It is seriously a must-watch series.
Back beat and Nowhere Boy were the best upto now for me..a new biopic should be a Netflix miniseries in which all eras of beatles history is cover and not just a 1:30 hr movie.
Tbh, sometimes I don't know if I want another biopic of them, because I feel like nobody's ever gonna do them justice. But if someone chooses to do that, then maybe a mini series would be a wiser choice.
Read Mark Lewisohn’s All These Years. There is currently only one of three volumes out, and it covers only up until the end of 1962, but it is the best, most thorough, most brilliantly written account of who the Beatles were and why they meant so much.
“Nowhere Boy” made Aaron Taylor Johnson a star and I’m very, very happy about that. And I’m sure his mother is very happy she cast him too...OOPS! his wife I mean his wife
John talked openly about his attraction to his Mother. The film wasn’t taking “artistic license,” they were basing it off of instances he discussed in his diaries.
What an interesting idea... Begin in Nowehere Boy/In His Life, and then Back Beat / Birth of the beatles, A Hard days night, Help, Magical Mystery Tour, Let it be, John and Yoko a Love Story/Linda Mccartney, Two of us... something like that? jej we`ll be awaiting for that, Cheers.
I think that if I would made a Beatles biopic, I would go for Ringo's POV. It seems like an obvious dessidion: 1) Ringo would be the best norator, cause he's more neutral than Paul and John, and more extravertic than George. 2) We will be sure, that we're not making another movei set in 1957-1962 (Like half of these). 3) Ringo seemse less egocentric than John (It's not John critisism), so by making a movie from his point of view we are making sure to get pretty much eaquel screen time for all 4 Beatles. 4) Ringo was, kind of, main character in 4 Beatles movies, so I think he will do:) Ps: This is probably terribly illiterate
I think a movie with him as the voice or his perspective could be quite good - whether its an actor or the actual Ringo narrating. Either his perspective on the Beatlemania years or on the stopped-touring, experimental music, white album era where the other's egos blew up.
So you noticed that too...that in pretty much all the movies the Beatles made or were responsible for--A Hard Day's Night, Help, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine--the focus is on Ringo. In A Hard Day's Night he's the one with the most detailed storyline, in Help he's the one who gets the sacrificial ring that kicks off the plot, in Magical Mystery Tour he's the one we follow onto the bus with his (fictional) aunt, and in Yellow Submarine he's the first one we see and the one there's the most emphasis on. My guess is it's because Ringo's the everyman of the group--more relatable as an audience surrogate than the musical geniuses that John, Paul, and George were. Even he said once, "What's a scruff like me doing with all this lot?"
Yeahh.. I can see that... I think Ringo is the “motherly” figure in the group.. While the rest are like brothers having some conflicts, Ringo mostly just being there for them and making sure they are one harmonious family... He just enjoys playing drums with his friends.. I heard somewhere that after the Beatles broke up, Ringo is the one who made the effort to stay in touch with the others
@@jenniferschillig3768 Ringo was also the best actor out of the Beatles. He actually gave respectable performances in the films he did outside of the Beatles. Paul for all his musical talent was a pretty poor actor.
@@thesuncollective1475 He was very sad and angry until about his 30s. Most of the people he cared about died, like Uncle George, his mother, Stuart Sutcliffe, Brian Epstein, etc.
Nowhere Boy is not a movie that's based on a true story and contains a few innocent hollywood additions, it's a hollywood-tailored movie with sprinkles of truth in it.
Mate thanks so much for this... I had no idea about "nowhere boy" and it looks amazing for the characterisation between Paul and John in particular which after seeing the Peter Jackson "Get Back" movies, I am I love with the way Paul and John looked at eachother sometimes when working out songs. Also when George is with John working out "Something"... I hope one day we get proper biopics based on the creative process as well for all four. Totally agree with you that I prefer when actors to do it in the style of nowhere boy instead of focusing on the vocal impression and give us the spirit of the relationship and the character instead. As a guitarist I love how they showed John learning the guitar and the dedication and callouses that last for weeks and the reverence for that first guitar never goes away. Thank you for this!
this video was like tailor-made for me. i've seen so many of these movies and have never seen anyone do commentary for them so i'm just absolutely loving this 💚 💖
@@FMOLETTE no, it’s a mockumentary about the Beatles, it’s on RUclips, very funny, they make fun of the way documentary’s are made and it’s also kind of a parody on the Beatles. The songs that were written for the movie are also pretty funny. So like I said, it’s free on RUclips, so check it out.
@@jonnestreefkerk4833 I've seen it. I'm 100% sure those were the real beatles. Absolutely no parody or fabrication. In conclusion, you're wrong. And it's sad.
@@FMOLETTE What? You haven't seen anything, because you don't know what you're talking about. EVERYBODY knows The Rutles is a parody of The Beatles made by Eric Idle of Monty Python and the late great Neil Innes. How can you possibly say those are the real Beatles? Noticed how the skin of the guy interpreting George, or better said Stig, is dark? Or that Barry/Ringo is quite fat? Or that those songs in the movie aren't OBVIOUSLY The Beatles' songs but humorous pastiches? The only thing sad is that you're condemning another person stating the truth, when you pretty obviously don't know nothing about what's been talked about
ive always wondered this. i wonder why the biggest bands like the beatles, floyd, nirvana and zepellin havent had a big studio released movie like queen has.
This is one of the best first videos on RUclips, they're usually very low quality as if it was recorded on a camera used in the 19th century, but this one has good quality footage and editing, props bro
You know something i've noticed between in his life: The John Lennon story and Nowhere boy?is that when they show the quarrymen perform and Paul Mccartney watching them for the first time they always get the song that Paul heard John sing wrong. In Nowhere boy he sings Maggie may and in the John Lennon story he sings Be-bop-alula when in real life it was come go with me by The Del-vikings. I find that pretty weird since both these manage to show the exact songs paul and George played him when they met. hmm
especially since Paul always mentions that part of what caught his attention was John making up his own words to the song because he didn't know them! and that's such a character conveying detail
In "John & Yoko: A love Story" Mark McGann who plays John alongside Peter Capaldi, auditioned for the role of the 8th doctor. The actor who actually got the role: His brother: Paul McGann. Also and this is a bit more tenuous of a connection, the actor playing Paul in "Lennon Naked" alongside Eccleston also played Moriarty in "Sherlock" which was a sort of sister show to Dr. who at the time (same production team).
Wow this is absolutely fantastic. You really go through these movies so brilliantly- and I absolutely agree that it often feels like these actors are playing caricatures rather than real people. I think that the Beatles' image has been so heavily condensed and boiled down into character stereotypes that anytime they break the mold it is particularly noteworthy. Seriously awesome video!
I really need a proper Ringo Starr biopic. We've had so many of Lennon that I could dream his life, McCartney already gets all the attention and Harrison at least had the great Martin Scorsese documentary. When is it Ringo's time?
It's as if filmmakers have bought into the narrative that Ringo was "adequate." Anyone who thinks that is clueless. The first one who realizes your vision will make a fortune.
@@alrivers2297 Right? When your next to stars that bright you're just not gonna "look" as bright. Even if you're very bright they will be brighter. It's tough. Glad he's well.
Loved this video (seen all but two of these Beatles biopics), but was surprised you made no mention of "Two Of Us", a look at what (possibly) transpired when McCartney paid Lennon a surprise visit at the Dakota in 1976 and how they both bonded again and rehashed old issues and opened old wounds. It even touches upon their near drop-in on "Saturday Night Live" when Lorne Michaels jokingly offered them $2K if they would reunite on his show. Loved the chemistry and interaction of this actual real-life reunion.
Okay, an hour after that comment I watched your video on Beatles tribute/musical movies and you DO (partially due to comments of many here) review "Two Of Us", although I still say it belongs more in this video than that one since it features absolutely no Beatles (or Lennon/Wings/McCartney) music.
My favorite was The Linda McCartney Story. I cried my eyes out at her death scene! I remember I was a senior in high school when I heard that Linda died from breast cancer. I had worried that Paul would lose his will to live because he lost the love of his life. Thankfully he did find love again.
yeah... kinda. Heather Mills lmao. but I guess people do make poor decisions in such times. thankfully he found love yet again, and this time seems to be everlasting.
Most of the films completely ignore John's relationship with his first wife, wonderful Cynthia Lennon, which must have been a major influence on his life.
@@savarin0 "because then they would have to fully admit that john was a...not good person" Or as I would say, John did some pretty fucked up stuff. Which might make a pretty interesting movie. :-)
There's been a lot of (well deserved) films that focus on themes built around John Lennon's mental health, but not enough of themes built around the friendship between John and Paul. A biopic centered around that friendship would also be a good vehicle to show their creative process.
I think an 6 episode HBO miniseries of the Fab Four would be great. Enough time to flesh out the stories and give all four time to shine. They could have both the good and bad of their relationships and musical collaborations.
I'd watch 7 seasons, easily. There's enough detailed documentation, really great moments (ones that haven't been put in other biopics) and interesting peripheral characters--it could be a really interesting ensemble piece. We never get enough time with Brian Epstein, whose life was soooo interesting in itself, or how hard he worked to make their career happen--or the crazy series of weird lucky breaks and coincidences that led them to George Martin, who was (in the words of one biographer), probably the only producer who could "handle the Beatles without breaking them" (or vice versa). Nowhere Boy felt so fresh and so rich because it dug deeper into the people around them and really tried to make Liverpool come alive. That's what I'd like to see in anything that tackles them biographically--I want to see the world they lived in, not just watch things happen that I already know about (I know not everyone who potentially watches such a thing would be familiar with the events, but they're so much more meaningful and impactful with context).
Awesome video! Well made and good commentary 🙂 About 'Nowhere Boy': there has actually been some reports/interview bits etc. that suggests that John might had had some strange feelings about his biological mom. I'm not sure theese sources were ever confirmed, but the movies take on this wasn't just taken out of the blue
To quote John Lennon and Paul McCartney from the Revolver press conference; Asking about artists who cover their songs Reporter: Who plays your music best? John: “Us.” Reporter about their image. Paul: “We’re nothing like our image.” I love Nowhere Boy so much I watched it at least 30 times when it was on Netflix and at least twice a week when I found it on You Tube. For a successful biopic we would need a supernatural collaboration of writers and directors along with almost impossible casting to recreate profoundly interesting and poignant lives of each of these four men and their inner circle. There may have to be a time to tell stories we don’t know about them. Are we ready?
5:00 fun fact, my mom actually met some of the guys in Rain. After their gigs in the city we live in (Reno) they would head for a night on the casinos and my mom was a cocktail waitress at one of them. So she got to serve them whenever they showed up. Eventually they for some reason didn’t have time for that anymore, but whenever they come here me and mom still go see them.
Yes, #justiceforgeorgeandringo. It would be nice a four part mini series, maybe a little bit more, but each part will be focused on a Beatle in particular, including George and Ringo, course. And instead of aaaaaall the Biography (that everybody knows), it could be focused on a particular important story of each and ond one of them. For example, George frustrated with being all the time in the back burner and sad and empty within his fame, fortune and marriage goes to India. Ringo, still loving them considering leaving them amidst a movie carrier work, and remembering he was considering migrating even when he was the most successful musician when they started. Paul and John in their Paris trip, when John’s uncle won the Lottery and gave ask these pounds to John to spend, that is the real moments where they drunk cry for their lost mothers (The “what about the night we cried...” Paul sings in If You Were Here Today”). IAll with back and forth, but concentrated in the time of the story. I don’t know, something like that.
@@katymagnets Rush was an awesome three piece rock band with an incredibly full sound. Geddy Lee was the bass player and lead singer who would also play a keyboard thing on the floor with his feet at the same time. He is super intelligent. (Still alive) The band had to quit because their drummer Neil Peart recently passed away. He was considered one of the best drummers of all time. There's a Rush documentary I believe on Netflix. But give Geddy Lee a quick Google just to see the resemblance to these "John" guys.
When you watch the roof top concert, you can see that that connection is still alive at the end. They didn't plan to be the legends when they were teenagers and there just comes a time when it's time to move apart and move on. It may not have been an easy breakup but it's a shame they always seem to be portrayed as just annoyed with each other.
Despite the occasional strident timbre of the voice, I think Ian Hart does the best at capturing young (and angry) John Lennon. Hart is able to capture John’s deep insecurities, desperate need for acceptance, even to touch upon his love of Stuart that has some homoerotic tinges to it. Also, Hart looks pretty uncannily like a young John Lennon (although with brown eye contacts, since Ian has blue eyes). Ian’s Liverpudlian, so that helps not making his accent sound like a Scouse robot! P. S. - The Oedipal interpretation of John Lennon’s relationship with his mother Julia is not unique to “Nowhere Boy”. Lennon did admit his “regret” of not having sex with Julia and admitted to multiple people (Maureen Cleeve, Arthur Janov, Yoko Ono) how he wished that happened. Also, Julia was know to be an incessant flirt with men, and could have been that way with John as not a mum, but a besotted friend. Considering Lennon’s loss of so many crucial people in his life prematurely (his father’s absence, his mother’s abandonment as a toddler, the death of his Uncle George, the tragic death of his mother at a time where he was re-establishing a bond) certainly leaves so much dramatic potential for movies. It’s probably the reason why so many films focus on him, notwithstanding Lennon as a cultural phenomenon along with the Beatles.
I completely agree with you on Nowhere Boy. Yes, it helps to be a disciple of the Beatles to appreciate it, but in spite of the events which may or may not have ever taken place, the vulnerability that's explored in John and his relationship to Paul is very moving. Also, there was so much (supposed) antipathy between them after the Beatles broke up, it's really refreshing to see a film that reminds us that these two men really loved each other and grew up together. It brought me back to being the fan I was as a kid.
popcorntalknetwork.com/love-mercy-finding-the-root-of-our-identity/ I wrote on it for the company I used to intern at. I love the movie and The Beach Boys :)
If they ever make a true Beatles biopic, I would love it to be an adaptation of the book "Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life recording the music of the Beatles". It was written by Geoff Emerick, who had been an assistant engineer at EMI from the very beginning (He was there when they recorded Love Me Do when he was just 15) but who was promoted to head engineer in 1966 when the band recorded "Revolver". The book contains many hilarious and heartbreaking stories I had never heard before about the band (Particularly during the White Album sessions which Emerick walked out of halfway) but lots of great insight to music engineering. The chapter about him having to mix Lennon's two vocal takes of "Strawberry Fields Forever" sticks out in my mind. I think it would be very interesting, but probably not what the mainstream audience want to see (They're portrayed pretty negative during the White Album and some of the Abbey Road chapters)
I agree, justice for George and Ringo, as they're a tie as my favourite Beatle. Having said that, George always liked to keep his cards close to his chest, though he led a very interesting life indeed - we have him to thank for Monty Python's Life of Brian coming to fruition. And Ringo has always preferred to keep his public persona as Ringo Starr separate from his private life as Richie Starkey, plus he's always been typically happy-go-lucky and enjoying his blessings way too much to ask for more, so I think he would still die happy if he never saw a biopic where he features prominently.
Great run down and commentary throughout here mate. You really are doing the Lord's work sitting through some of these really drab tv movies. I gotta say I really resonated with the idea of doing a trilogy of movies on their story as with all these movies there's a missing chunk of their career that just never gets adapted here. Unlike say a Queen or Elton John, I feel the fab four being trailblazers and at the forefront of 60s culture there's such a massive and complex story that can't be contained in 2 hours. While in hindsight a streaming mini series may be more practical in fleshing out ideas I got a nostalgia for sitting in a theater and just escaping. And well of course a love for Star Wars and Lord of the Rings Anyways As someone who's been back and forth with the Beatles, my recent reading of the iconic 1968 Hunter Davis bio recaptured my passion for these guys. Even if you feel like they were overrated, Lennon was a blank, it would just be another boring biopic... even if you don't like the band I feel their story as a cultural phenomenon is so fascinating objectively. That there's a intimate story there with these four guys, seriously its not just John and Paul for fs, but there is also a slew of supporting characters that made their story all the more special. I understand you can't cover everything in a movie but besides the glaring issue of all of these basically tossing George and Ringo to the curb, there's no look at George Martin, Derek Taylor, the road crew of Neil Aspen or Mal Evans, the story of Cynthia and Julian, Patti Boyd, and so on. All of which are a mix of tragic, loss, love, betrayal, exploitation and all of that complex stuff that make stories compelling. While Davis I think really put the focus on the band unit, his writing also really painted a great impression of these people in their lives and the massive influence they had on them. One of my genuinely favorite chapters of the book was the one where it was focused on the parents/guardians of them all and how the fame affected their lives. That could be a real heartwarming sequence seeing John visit his Aunt Mimi, the one sequence where she feels guilty for still wanting him to be a little boy is especially a tearjerker, or George's mom answering the fan letters. There's something there to explore, and that's why I feel these movies can feel very empty, they focus on the bullet point milestones and gloss over the subtlety and nuance. John and Paul argue, but like "Two of Us" shows it was a friendship where there were those moments of genuine love and anger like any strong friendship. Bust still there's so much more as others point out. the worst of all of most of these has to be how they literally reduce George to a dude with a mustache and Liverpool accent which is such a disservice as he was arguably the most compelling arc of all them all. From going to being "the kid" of the group in the shadows of John and Paul to becoming an independent spiritual guide for the others, who introduced the rest of them to India and wrote some of the most iconic songs of the later years. The fact that "Here Comes the Sun" is the most played song on Spotify I think says a lot about him and their legacy. And, even as someone who for the longest time never gave Ringo the light of day, he was so important. He was in the bloody band!! There's a story there, from how he spent his time in hospitals growing up, to his marriage to Maureen and their tight relationship, his spending of his fortune on cameras as his own creativity outside of the music, and just overall strong work ethic in the studio. Even then there's that story of him quitting the band being fed up during the White Album, there's a real story there! It's not black and white, there was in fact ugliness with the story like Allen Klein, and just tragedy when it came to family lives of them all as many hardcore fans would know. Still, as the new Get Back project will highlight, these were still guys who shared a love for their craft and themselves I don't think we can ever understand as outsiders. There was the magic in the studio and levity that came from their music. And that's something I would really love to see get a proper biopic series treatment.
I really wish they'd made a sequel to Nowhere Boy - showing their days in Hamburg. Nowhere Boy had the right slightly dark tone which would've really suited the next phase of the band. Such a strong cast too - Aaron Taylor Johnson, Thomas Sangster, David Morrissey, Kristin Scott Thomas...
Now I have to Google him.😭 Edit: okay. Done. I'm so out of touch I don't care anymore about the Beatles, just like after the age of 15, I couldn't care if my parents never got back together. I had my own life. It's like shatner's snl skit when he asks Dana carvey if he's ever kissed a girl after carvey asked him something about a particular scene.
A high-budget mini-series sounds like the right idea. It might also be better to use a Beatles tribute band (Like the Fab Four) as the Beatles considering the fact that 1. They play the songs, know them and usually learn a lot of their quirks and traits (people like Gavin Pring and Adam Hastings for example) 2. They already have the chemistry the roles need, they play the Beatles on a daily basis 3. Tribute artists (If they're dedicated enough) do a whole lot of research into the people they impersonate in order to get it right and sometimes even talk to the actual people (See Navi as Michael Jackson in "Searching for Neverland", the guy nails little aspects most actors would fail to notice)
The best thing I've seen exploring The Beatles is Martin Scorcese's Living In The Material Wolrd. 3 hours and a half of pure joy about my favorite Beatle, George Harrison.
Over all of my years on youtube, I have never found a channel that 100% interested me and now I have. I am so happy I found your channel and I cant wait to watch every single one of your videos haha, keep up the good work man. Also ngl your John impression sounds ALOT like George and thats awesome haha
Let's not forget that Mike Myers has a small part in 'John & Yoko: A Love Story' , he plays a kid in Lennon glasses delivering a telegram to John, i think it was his first adult acting gig.
Although I genuinely like "Backbeat," "Nowhere Boy" is the one that stands out for me. It is true to form in it's depiction of actual events, such as George Harrison playing "Raunchy" on the double decker bus for his audition. It was the detail like that that made a difference for me. The performances are quite good from the entire cast, particularly Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Thomas Sangster, and the musical contributions made by the McCartney and Lennon/Ono camps in their allowing use of their songs in the movie, gave the film credibility. A very good film overall.
Yeah,but all the other things in the film like John's gf at that time was fictional and Julia and Mimi's feud,there's no evidence whether it happened, also Paul was taller than John but during those days,they were both merely the same height,but in the film they make it reverse,and Paul McCartney himself confirmed that John Lennon didn't punch him
The problem with the movie is that it’s a dramatization, and the actor don’t look like the people their people. the Paul from in his life look more like tone real Paul. Also good lord are trying not to get George right
Great job! Birth ofthe Beatles hit when i was about 13 and i. The new throws of fandom. Still holds a soft spot. Had just read the Hunter Davies book and it was a kick watching it come to life.
I like how you brought up how the style of that era of filmmaking was to have the song just tell you what’s happening on screen and then you had the scene of John falling down happen while you said “the film falls down”
This is a well done video! I’m glad you’re talking about these films, I watched them as a teenager and it’s nice to see them being discussed. Can’t wait to see what videos you make next.
Great review! Really enjoyed it! There was another American made for TV movie called Two of Us. It starred Jared Harris as Lennon and Aidan Quinn as McCartney.
I know the Rutles film doesn’t count but it’s definitely the best parody of them. Paul didn’t like it but it does feature George as well as Mick Jagger, Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Monty Python troupe, etc.
Your video came up in my Y/T feed by chance & as a (very!) long time Beatle fan, I decided to watch it. The first film - THE BIRTH OF THE BEATLES - has very sweet memories for me as I was a kid when it came out and saw it and it was sheer Heaven at the time. I still watch it occasionally and enjoy it, partly from nostalgia . I also think the Carl Davis score is excellent, I liked the drama od it personally. NOWHERE BOY is brilliantly reviewed by you- I want to watch it again now! I am very privileged because I work as Custodian of The Beatles' childhood homes here in Liverpool. I get to spend my days in the two places where everything began! We do public tours (National Trust) and we recreate the late 50s'/early 1960s'. I was very impressed that you included the US 1990s' era film JOHN LENNON IN MY LIFE because it is indeed the only film ever actually filmed at 'Mendips'! It is true about the wall- I saw the glass doors back in 2002, the wall was re-built and you wouldn't know it ever happened.I wondered how you have such authentic knowledge when you are Aussie or Kiwi. Very impressive- you're clearly a huge Fabs' fan. Hope to catch some more Fabs' content some time!
Love your take on these films, Elliot. I was offered the "Paul" roll by Dick Clark but after a lot of logistical maneuvering, I just couldn't get out of my commitment to a Beatlemania tour of Japan at the time.
what i'm learning is that we've had enough movies with john and paul arguing and we need more movies with george and ringo having a laugh
just a couple of mates being lads
We need a film that starts as a beatles film and ends with Thomas the Tank Engine
Mgooy
Me when that becomes a reality: 1:06
@@jaredcress4328 just a couple of lads being mates
@@jaredcress4328 That’s the most English thing I’ve ever heard
How to make a Beatles biopic
1. Have John hating on Ob La Di Ob La Da
2. Have John and Paul fighting
3. Bad wigs
4. Bad accents
5. George and Ringo as background props
paul stated john liked ob la di ob la da
@@kenzosuzukiithat is fucking great
@@thatguythatdrawzz749 Yeah, story goes John went into the studio in a great mood, sat at the piano and wanted to immediately start on Ob La Di Ob La Da and then created the start for the song.
@@kenzosuzukii Sure, but you can't have that in these biopics
50 yrs old actors with fake beatle hairs playing the young Beatles, don't forget that!
If they do another Beatle biopic, I’d like to see one about when Ringo got fed up with all the fighting and left for Sardinia for two weeks to hang out with Peter Sellers, where he got the idea for Octopus’s Garden and when he returned, his drum set was covered in flowers, where the end could focus on Ringo, with the help of George writing Octopus’s Garden, providing an actual uplifting ending and allowing us to focus on the two Beatles often shoved off out of the spotlight.
So basically octopus's garden story but as a movie
Too original mate. Sorry.
That's the film. Right there.
That's a superb idea. Would make a great little indie film. Any casting ideas?
@@simonpenum Steve Coogan as Peter Sellers. He was actually in the running to play him before Geoffrey Rush
I wish there was a biopic about George Harrison instead of the same story about Paul and John. I think it would be really interesting exploring his spirituality and his point of view being labeled as the “quiet one” when in reality he wasn’t necessarily “quiet”
There is actually. Directed by Martin Scorsese, George Harisson: Living in a Material World.
@@hugovanvliet6825 yea but I meant biopic with actors not a documentary I do love living in the material world though
I would love that, because there’s so much under the surface there!
@Fab4 Also when he tells Eric Clapton to keep his wife Pattie "busy" so he could focus on having sex with her sister Jennie. That worked out well.
Even as the quiet one, he'd not uttered a word, since 1966.
We need a Ringo and George biopic. They always get the short end of the stick.
Ringo’s ‘two Ringos’ tv special was really good
George getting into folk with Bob Dylan is an underrated movie in music history, I feel like that would be fun to have in a biopic
there would be a lot of comedy.
I would love this as Ringo had an incredibly difficult childhood - nearly Dickensian - as he suffered a series of terrible illnesses and practically lived in the hospital. Also, George is mesmerizing as the Dark Horse, and as the Beatle who wrote the perfect “Here comes the Sun.”
This comment aged well
Stu's dead.
**dramatic violin**
I saw that movie and I face palmed when I saw that part
Help me I laughed at that- 😂
When this came out our group of friends would call up and say it. Stu’s Dead.
@@TheReubenKincaid HAHAHAHA
I just about spit out my coffee when that happened
It’s exactly as John said, “everybody loves you when you’re 6 feet in the ground”. The tragic way he died was the reason there are so many documentaries about him, obviously his legacy too, but the other Beatles lives were as interesting as John’s too. Especially Ringo. Why isn’t there a Ringo medical drama yet??
Now I want a Ringo movie ;-;
Shining Time Hospital
@@lindahoffmann7176 sameee
@@jessicacosiguitar who can we contact 🧐
@@lindahoffmann7176 I don’t know ahah😂
I don't think the Beatles need a movie, what i do think they need is a tv series that depicts there whole lives.
Or web series
@@hammerjohn9290 How many episodes would that be?
@@juniorayala185 *"Many"* HaHa
1 episode per year
@@Palendrome What is this Netflix?
It’s funny that despite Lennon and Macca having so much coverage, there’s still a lack of accurate portrayal imo. There’s no nuance. As said by McCartney, John had a cool, sometimes aloof and goofy exterior but he was a softie, whereas Paul seemed like the put together guy but had some simmering and strong emotions underlying. I wish we got a portrayal where we got both sides of them, plus the extremely complex George and the layers of Ringo we have yet to see. Best of all if we got to see the complex relationships between all four of them, cause really that’s what was fascinating about them. They were some sort of a family.
They were four geniuses who somehow had the luck to find each other, but they were also funny, witty, complete idiots, had egos, and were proper weirdos. A tv series would obviously be best to really be able to explore both their individual journeys and their collective experiences and relationships.
You hit the nail on the head. Beyond that, most Beatles biopics are John-centric, which follows the now discredited Philip Norman biography Shout.
I think 'they' should probably just let it go.
YES I completely agree. The biopics we have are s mostly surface-level
@byrdmaniac3949 You read my mind. I'd love to see the BBC or another cable channel do a multi-season cable drama on the lives and careers of the Beatles. If you figure on eight-ten episodes per season, you could have:
-a season on their childhoods and young adulthoods, ending with John and Paul meeting at the church fair,
-a season on the Cavern/Hamburg years, meeting Brian, and ending with their signing up with EMI and George Martin,
-a season on the Beatlemania/touring years,
-a season on their transitional years as they begin to grow and experiment as musicians,
-a season on the Sgt. Pepper/Maharishi period and the fallout from Brian's death,
-a season on their disintegration and breakup, and,
-a season on their solo careers in the 70s, ending with John's death.
Their story is so rich with interesting incidents (like their dust-up with Imelda Marcos) and characters (like Magic Alex, and boy, was HE a character) that a single biopic, or even a miniseries, couldn't do it justice. (I'd have liked this to be made while Hugh Laurie was still young enough to play George Martin, but that ship seems to have sailed.)
@@jenniferschillig3768 Obviously the Manila incident sticks in your brain more than does the John and Jesus controversy in America, which followed on the heels of Manila (though the Maureen Cleave profile that lit the fuse came several months before the Germany/Japan/Phillpines tour).
Fun fact about "John and Yoko: A Love Story," a man named Mark Chapman was originally going to play John, but Yoko wouldn't let him because his name was the same as John's murderer. Though he did later play John in "Chapter 27"
What the hell? Now there's Two of em'? Lol
He wasn't murdered, he was executed for being a filthy commie.
This is making me laugh really really hard even though I know it’s not a joke
@@silyknow The same Mark Chapman that was supposed to play John also played one of the Officers in Titanic
@@jamesdean9183 what officer
And is this the james Cameron titanic my favorite film of all time fun fact.
Fun fact, my dad nearly played John Lennon in ‘in his life’. It was literally down to the actor in the film and my dad. Because the director chose this actor over him, the producer left the production 😂
I can see why he left!
He could have saved this god-awful film!
@@ElliotRobertsVideos Birth Of The Beatles
2:31 the film does exaggerate 'some' stuff regarding Pete, but he was a very important factor in how they built up their early local popularity.
No local musician from back then had a bad word to say about Pete's drumming and they still don't. Some Liverpool bands had drummers purely because they could play like Pete. Paul even admitted in an interview in 2006 that he wasn't kicked out for his drumming.
One likely reason (of a few) is Pete was probably drawing too much attention away from the other three at the front of the stage, so they wanted a drummer who wouldn't attract as much attention away from them.
3:12 George Martin simply said "When we do the next session... I'm going to provide the drummer", he wasn't saying get Pete out of the band.
3:30 It's true that Pete was and is quieter and more introverted than the others, but there's plenty of evidence proving he was involved in fooling around and socialising with the others on occasions such as:
Drinking with them in a pub down the street from the Cavern
i2-prod.liverpoolecho.co.uk/incoming/article14762409.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/BMR_LEC_090217Grapes_01.jpg
Fooling around in Hamburg with silver canisters of speed pills
allthatsinteresting.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/big-smiles.jpg
This other Hamburg photo
www.secondcuppa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/tumblr_mj56m6EbWV1qalx0to1_1280.jpg
This early "Paul is dead" Cavern photo
i.pinimg.com/originals/32/b4/bf/32b4bf2ccdbe420f2a65873b7de9b6f3.jpg
This pic with Gene Vincent:
i.pinimg.com/originals/e8/4d/3e/e84d3e46d7929b93ecd1286ba69a901b.jpg
This pic from their infamous Aldershot gig
i.pinimg.com/236x/a2/4f/40/a24f40f8d8bd05a05a64e5905dd39910--photo-pic-rare-photos.jpg
And whatever this picture is
pbs.twimg.com/media/EZlIAHkXgAEgrIC.jpg
There's also a video somewhere of Pete recounting the story of the band's "hedgehog" in Hamburg, which he was an instigator.
So while he may have been more reserved than the others, it's apparent he was involved in the drinking and joking with others at least to a certain degree.
3:40 As far as I'm aware none of The Beatles asked each other to get The Beatle haircut. Stuart had it first, then George adopted it, then Paul, then John. Pete did have a Beatle cut (or something close it) later during the 60s
i.redd.it/xyre34hh7cty.jpg
i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s375/nowhere-man-in-e/pete%20best_zpsqry8ie9y.jpg
BACKBEAT
4:16 In recent years, information has come forth that Stu being unable to play is actually a fallacy.
I recommend taking a look at these:
daytrippin.com/2011/06/22/stuart-sutcliffes-bass-playing-id-like-to-set-that-one-straight/
ruclips.net/video/k1Yrwyfk2NQ/видео.html
NOWHERE BOY
You already pointed out alot of the fictional moments and errors in the film, what you might not have known is their Phillips recording session actually happened on 12th July 1958 and Julia died three days later on the 15th
@@TheMerseySound1 Are you Pete Best?
What´s your dad´s name? Now we want to know :D
Ringo`s life after Beatles (which wasn`t very good time for him actually) has been very interesting, very intriguing, there is fun, sadness, absurd, depression, tragedy, everything. And now he is the MOST VITAL 80 year old ever! This is material for whole series.
don't write him any more letters though
@@heyhonpuds ?
@@marguskiis7711 Ringo's infamous "no more fanmail" video
not to mention THE BEST ARTIST TO HAVE EVER LIVED
@@seffor it's hard for most people to imagine being famous in the first place... He just wants to be a person.
I think Netflix or Amazon should do a t.v biopic thing like the Crown.
That would be so interesting!
They are doing a rolling stones biopic
It would have to be. To be able to cover everything. Films are time limiting
@@craigjackson5470 really? What is it going to be called?
@@tomlastname85 i dk what it gonna be called but its from the same people that make the crown
wouldn’t it be cool to see a series of 4 seasons, each season focusing and seen through the eyes of a different beatle. Or just a four episode show of like 1h each
Interesting, kinda like Rashomon. I also believe that only a series could do the Beatles justice and that each season could cover a stage of their career in a similar way to the Anthology
"The Gospel according to John, Paul, George & Ringo"
this aged well!
please tell me you're not dead
@@ierdna9242 im very alive and shocked by this turn of events
In the special features on Backbeat, Cynthia Lennon said that felt that Ian Hart had done such a brilliant job portraying John, that she told Julian to see the movie and meet his father. If that isn't a seal of approval, I don't know what is.
"I watched every Beatles biopic so you don't have to"
Too bad im still going to
Have you seen Let It Be?
@@bluepeng8895 nope
Have you seem Scrambled Eggs?
@@brmusic5801 I've eaten them at least
@@FKMDC seriously, you can watch it on youtube
The reason why Lennon Naked has so many Beatles songs in it is because it's a BBC production who have a big audio library that can be used on most of their productions. So it would seem expensive, though for the BBC, it wouldn't be.
Was coming here to give the same answer but you beat me to it!
@@GeekBoyMusic I was also doing the same thing!
It's not having the material physically to use which is the problem - anyone can buy a CD - it's the cost of the rights to use the music in a film which can be enormously expensive and/or permission can be refused.
The BBC have an arrangement with the rights-holders as they play a huge amount of Beatles material across their channels, radio and TV.
Proportionately it is much cheaper for them to use Beatles material in a TV film. It's also the case that the BBC routinely use Beatles music in documentaries about the band whereas most other companies productions don't, with often awkward results.
The Beatles need a Netflix series to fully do it justice. A movie isn't long enough.
Buy the Beatles anthology it’s an 8 part documentary including The Beatles. They also have the book
@@Lubbock_Kid1959 I've seen it. It's great. I'd also like to see a Netflix series w/ actors.
So do I. I’d also like to see the anthology all I have is the book
Beatles need a cartoon :P
@@Annadog40 there was a Beatles cartoon from like the 60s to 70s
It bothers me how Cynthia Lennon always gets the short shrift in these biopics. If she's not entirely sidelined then she's portrayed as a mousey little drip who was an albatross around John's neck. In truth, she was also a creative person, she had a degree of ambivalence about being a stay-at-home mom, and did her own share of partying. She was a more comparatively ordinary person compared to Yoko, but she wasn't the dimwitted bore she's made out to be these depictions, nor was she incidental to John's life.
Cynthia did seem like a nice person, and I do feel sorry for the crap John put her through. But reading her autobiography John, there were times I thought, "Cynthia, you can't be a doormat unless you lay down, you know..."
the movies about the guys not her. i hope she gets short shrifts. tf.
If you heard her speak it seems fairly clear she wasn’t the brightest…
@@bigman25plus25 I have and I don't know why you would say that.
@@jenniferschillig3768 This is victim blaming 101
you've put into words so accurately why Nowhere Boy was in no way a perfect movie, but it hits so hard because it does the subtle, emotional, human bits so well. damn, now I want to watch it again
The way he says sessions has “brackets” energy.
“Brackets! BRACKETS!”
Lennon is cool, but the older i got the more I curious about the other beatles that aren't explored as much. Lets have a Harrison movie now please.
That would be awesome. George is my favourite Beatle.
Because John is the most famous artistically and he is a legend Paul is second but nowhere as close as Lennon . What can they talk about George? Or Ringo when you had Lennon being a legend who was the creator of the group and a super controversial figure that was rattling the FBI and the republican administration of Richard Nixon.
Lennon beat his wife
@@rosestrohm7986 so?
His ex wife claimed it happened only one time and he apologised at her for several weeks. It happened during a fight they 2 had(which she provocated btw). John was no saint. He was ALWAYS honest and very open about his flaws.
He was a horrible husband to Cynthia and not a good father to Julian. But he learned from his mistakes.
And no.. thats not an excuse. A man should never raise his hand against ANY woman.
But people fail to see the whole picture.
He wasn't a series wife beater and abuser.
In fact he never hit Yoko. He learned from his mistakes
@@reneaguilar3471 George was easily as good as John and Paul. Just different.🌝
I love that in nowhere boy the actors don't look like or imitate the real life people and they still add a great essence of them
Thomas Brodie-Sangster(The guy who plays Paul) Learned to play left-hand guitar especially for the role, it shows that he is a dedicated actor.
Ironically by not trying to imitate them 100% I think the cast of Nowhere Boy actually convey their real life counterparts the best out of any of the biopics. When an actor playing John Lennon wears a goofy wig and puts on the Lennon impression it feels like the actor is wearing a goofy caricatured costume. But by playing them as real people they're conveyed as real people even if the actors don't look too much like the boys.
Yeah there is a fine line though, where having a resemblance of the actors and making an effort in hair and make up improves the story and production. Three biopics that would've been improved with coloured contact lenses were: Nowhere Boy, John had dark brown eyes, not blue. Control; Ian Curtis had bright blue eyes, not brown. And Bohemian Rhapsody; Freddy Mercury had dark brown eyes, not blue. Those details can make all the difference in a characterisation and portrayal more accurate and convincing.
Sadly, my favorite Lennon bio isn’t out on video. I saw it once on PBS & it was staged like a 4-act play. Four different actors played John Lennon at different ages (child, adolescent, young Beatle, and Lennon just before the assassination). The elder Lennon narrated. It was based on his own writing, so it was quite candid. I think it was called “John Lennon: A Journey Through a Life.”
that sounds cool! Bernard Hill (Theoden from LOTR) plays the adult John.
I googled it; It’s actually John Lennon: A Journey In The Life (1985). I haven’t seen it myself, but sounds interesting! The only biopic I haven’t seen
George Martin was actually incredibly supportive of the Beatles' experimental work, so it's weird that the John & Yoko movie had him being so critical of it in that one scene
The BEST Beatles biopic is OBVIOUSLY Eric Idle/Neil Innes' "All You Need Is Cash" (The Rutles Mockumentary)!
Just realised I just made the same comment as you lol
I think it was the trousers
@@piggyroo100 Well they were very, em, Tight.
@@piggyroo100 I got the notification for that reply without knowing what you had replied too and was very confused lol
Totally agree!
A lot of people have asked me why I didn't include the 2000 film 'Two Of Us.'
Despite being a better film than many on this list, I didn't include it as it's less of a biopic and more of a dramatisation of a meeting between John and Paul one day in 1976, six years after they had well and truly broken up. To make this list, each film must have portrayed (at some point) a period between The Beatle’s beginnings right up to their final days as a band. And they had to attempt to tell a true story.
I do examine review it in my ‘Beatle’s Tribute Films’ Video.
Below is an excerpt of the statement that opens the film 'Two Of Us':
"Legend has it that in 1976 - six years after the bitter breakup of The Beatles - Paul McCartney paid a surprise visit to John Lennon at his apartment in New York City. This film makes no attempt to document what may have occurred at such a meeting. Rather, it is a work of fiction in appreciation of two blokes from Liverpool, and the gifts they gave us."
Totally understand the reasoning.
Maybe an addendum video that focuses a bit on it? The portrayals are right up there with ‘Nowhere Boy’ where it’s emulation over imitation.
It’s an interesting film once you get past (IMO) the miscasting of Aidan Quinn as Paul...I’ve always admired his acting but he’s just not right for the role. It’s a shame because I thought the actor playing John did exceptionally well.
Love that movie, all the same. Thank you for the very entertaining video.
Thank you so much for this vid. Now I am interested in watching Nowhere Boy. I liked Backbeat so can you tell me if they cover John's friendship with Stu? They would all know each other at that point, right?
-Thanks.
ruclips.net/video/-MWxsgA-DJI/видео.html
“Paul’s wig looks so cursed” got me
Going back to this now after having watched Get Back is like suddenly having the lights turned on for a Beatles fan. That series really changed so much about how I view the band and just makes everything make a bit more sense, even when it comes to things like these biopics. It is seriously a must-watch series.
For someone with 5 videos and 11k ish subs, the editing, audio and camera quality were all top notch
Thank you! I aim to please.
"oh what's your favourite genre of music?"
"Paul music"
I n e v e r g i v e y o u m y n u m b e r
he´s like a british billy joel
“the beatles were a pretty famous band”
huh never heard of them
Bruh
They did that one song about the sun or something idk
I don't know about them but i've been a big Klaatu fan for a while
@@FKMDC lol
They wrote beetles wrong
Back beat and Nowhere Boy were the best upto now for me..a new biopic should be a Netflix miniseries in which all eras of beatles history is cover and not just a 1:30 hr movie.
I'd love to see an animated series, so we won't have "issues" with the actors looking nothing like the real ones 😂😂😂
@@GiorgioGrano I'd prefer real actors.
But that's me...
@@GiorgioGrano
Like when Star Trek went animated in '73.
That would be great! 6-8, possibly 10 hour-long episodes
Fantastic video, brother. Reignited my love for the Beatles’ story. Looking forward to your future projects, I will be watching your other videos.
Hey thanks man! I got a sequel to this video in the works as well :)
John and yoko: distracted
Paul: trying to play Paul music
George: pissed off at everyone
Ringo:
I guess there's another reason to love The Yellow Submarine. It puts Ringo in the spotlight and makes him a hero.
"I've got a hole in my pocket."
Ringo was always the main star of EVERY Beatles movie.
Tbh, sometimes I don't know if I want another biopic of them, because I feel like nobody's ever gonna do them justice. But if someone chooses to do that, then maybe a mini series would be a wiser choice.
Read Mark Lewisohn’s All These Years. There is currently only one of three volumes out, and it covers only up until the end of 1962, but it is the best, most thorough, most brilliantly written account of who the Beatles were and why they meant so much.
“Nowhere Boy” made Aaron Taylor Johnson a star and I’m very, very happy about that. And I’m sure his mother is very happy she cast him too...OOPS! his wife I mean his wife
Ha!
To be fair, they are still married, have two daughters, and keep a low profile.
@@cremetangerine82 Yeah, most groomers know better than to make what they did obvious.
@@mfitzburger5137
I wouldn’t call their relationship “grooming”, Aaron was of age.
Haha...hey...she ain't no dummy.
@@cremetangerine82 Nope. Sorry. It was definitely grooming. 18 is barely legal, yo.
John talked openly about his attraction to his Mother. The film wasn’t taking “artistic license,” they were basing it off of instances he discussed in his diaries.
"McCartney! Who the hell do you think you are" *throws rock at window*
I had an idea to make one big movie editing all the Beatles movies available.
Too much work, not worth it.
U should upload homie!
Waitt whatt?? 😶😶
It wouldn't be that hard. Hardest thing would be tracking down all the movies, but after that cut them together
@@nominis4523 not hard, just too much work 😉
What an interesting idea... Begin in Nowehere Boy/In His Life, and then Back Beat / Birth of the beatles, A Hard days night, Help, Magical Mystery Tour, Let it be, John and Yoko a Love Story/Linda Mccartney, Two of us... something like that? jej we`ll be awaiting for that, Cheers.
I think that if I would made a Beatles biopic, I would go for Ringo's POV. It seems like an obvious dessidion:
1) Ringo would be the best norator, cause he's more neutral than Paul and John, and more extravertic than George.
2) We will be sure, that we're not making another movei set in 1957-1962 (Like half of these).
3) Ringo seemse less egocentric than John (It's not John critisism), so by making a movie from his point of view we are making sure to get pretty much eaquel screen time for all 4 Beatles.
4) Ringo was, kind of, main character in 4 Beatles movies, so I think he will do:)
Ps: This is probably terribly illiterate
I think a movie with him as the voice or his perspective could be quite good - whether its an actor or the actual Ringo narrating. Either his perspective on the Beatlemania years or on the stopped-touring, experimental music, white album era where the other's egos blew up.
5) Also, since Ringo joined the band later than the others, we would have a reason to "introduce" each of the characters to the viewer.
So you noticed that too...that in pretty much all the movies the Beatles made or were responsible for--A Hard Day's Night, Help, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine--the focus is on Ringo. In A Hard Day's Night he's the one with the most detailed storyline, in Help he's the one who gets the sacrificial ring that kicks off the plot, in Magical Mystery Tour he's the one we follow onto the bus with his (fictional) aunt, and in Yellow Submarine he's the first one we see and the one there's the most emphasis on. My guess is it's because Ringo's the everyman of the group--more relatable as an audience surrogate than the musical geniuses that John, Paul, and George were. Even he said once, "What's a scruff like me doing with all this lot?"
Yeahh.. I can see that... I think Ringo is the “motherly” figure in the group.. While the rest are like brothers having some conflicts, Ringo mostly just being there for them and making sure they are one harmonious family... He just enjoys playing drums with his friends..
I heard somewhere that after the Beatles broke up, Ringo is the one who made the effort to stay in touch with the others
@@jenniferschillig3768 Ringo was also the best actor out of the Beatles. He actually gave respectable performances in the films he did outside of the Beatles. Paul for all his musical talent was a pretty poor actor.
"Nowhere Boy" is a great film and I've seen it many times, but it has some bizarre inaccuracies, such as the circumstances of Uncle George's death.
I found it went a bit too dark on Lennon....
@@thesuncollective1475 He was very sad and angry until about his 30s. Most of the people he cared about died, like Uncle George, his mother, Stuart Sutcliffe, Brian Epstein, etc.
Nowhere Boy is not a movie that's based on a true story and contains a few innocent hollywood additions, it's a hollywood-tailored movie with sprinkles of truth in it.
@@7BD273 Is it really? My understanding is that it's made by English people.
yes it's not perfect but it's a good movie!
Mate thanks so much for this... I had no idea about "nowhere boy" and it looks amazing for the characterisation between Paul and John in particular which after seeing the Peter Jackson "Get Back" movies, I am I love with the way Paul and John looked at eachother sometimes when working out songs. Also when George is with John working out "Something"... I hope one day we get proper biopics based on the creative process as well for all four.
Totally agree with you that I prefer when actors to do it in the style of nowhere boy instead of focusing on the vocal impression and give us the spirit of the relationship and the character instead. As a guitarist I love how they showed John learning the guitar and the dedication and callouses that last for weeks and the reverence for that first guitar never goes away. Thank you for this!
Such a lovely comment! Cheers Caroline ☺️
I'm convinced only the Beatles can play the Beatles in a biopic. Thank God we have Get Back!
Can I just say, Cate Blanchett did a freaking amazing job portraying Bob Dylan?!
LMFAO
@@justinhamilton8647 and I know that sounded random but it was at the beginning when he was mentioning all the biopics.
100.
No
Regardless of what anyone thinks of her casting and performance in that film, Cate blanchett is a simply incredible actor
this video was like tailor-made for me. i've seen so many of these movies and have never seen anyone do commentary for them so i'm just absolutely loving this 💚 💖
I’d like to mention ‘The Rutles’ because it’s a movie about the Beatles and it’s friggin hilarious
Isn't that movie just paparazzi footage of the beatles compiled into a movie?
@@FMOLETTE no, it’s a mockumentary about the Beatles, it’s on RUclips, very funny, they make fun of the way documentary’s are made and it’s also kind of a parody on the Beatles. The songs that were written for the movie are also pretty funny. So like I said, it’s free on RUclips, so check it out.
@@jonnestreefkerk4833 I've seen it. I'm 100% sure those were the real beatles. Absolutely no parody or fabrication. In conclusion, you're wrong. And it's sad.
@@FMOLETTE What? You haven't seen anything, because you don't know what you're talking about. EVERYBODY knows The Rutles is a parody of The Beatles made by Eric Idle of Monty Python and the late great Neil Innes. How can you possibly say those are the real Beatles? Noticed how the skin of the guy interpreting George, or better said Stig, is dark? Or that Barry/Ringo is quite fat? Or that those songs in the movie aren't OBVIOUSLY The Beatles' songs but humorous pastiches? The only thing sad is that you're condemning another person stating the truth, when you pretty obviously don't know nothing about what's been talked about
P.S. By the way the actual title of the movie is All You Need Is Cash
ive always wondered this. i wonder why the biggest bands like the beatles, floyd, nirvana and zepellin havent had a big studio released movie like queen has.
Good question
90% of a Nirvana movie would ride on the casting of Kurt
i would KILL for a floyd biopic
@@icebergcxc cool! Start with trump please.
@@icebergcxc Adam Driver needs to play Roger Waters!
This is one of the best first videos on RUclips, they're usually very low quality as if it was recorded on a camera used in the 19th century, but this one has good quality footage and editing, props bro
You know something i've noticed between in his life: The John Lennon story and Nowhere boy?is that when they show the quarrymen perform and Paul Mccartney watching them for the first time they always get the song that Paul heard John sing wrong. In Nowhere boy he sings Maggie may and in the John Lennon story he sings Be-bop-alula when in real life it was come go with me by The Del-vikings. I find that pretty weird since both these manage to show the exact songs paul and George played him when they met. hmm
True!
'come, baby come come and go with me and down,.down to the penitentiary...'
especially since Paul always mentions that part of what caught his attention was John making up his own words to the song because he didn't know them! and that's such a character conveying detail
6:41 Wait, Peter Capaldi? THE Peter Capaldi? Damn, there are two Doctors who play Beetles
In "John & Yoko: A love Story" Mark McGann who plays John alongside Peter Capaldi, auditioned for the role of the 8th doctor. The actor who actually got the role: His brother: Paul McGann.
Also and this is a bit more tenuous of a connection, the actor playing Paul in "Lennon Naked" alongside Eccleston also played Moriarty in "Sherlock" which was a sort of sister show to Dr. who at the time (same production team).
Beatles*
who is the other one
@@breadzeppelin2165 Christopher Eccelston
@@Materminds187 ok thanks
Wow this is absolutely fantastic. You really go through these movies so brilliantly- and I absolutely agree that it often feels like these actors are playing caricatures rather than real people. I think that the Beatles' image has been so heavily condensed and boiled down into character stereotypes that anytime they break the mold it is particularly noteworthy. Seriously awesome video!
I really need a proper Ringo Starr biopic. We've had so many of Lennon that I could dream his life, McCartney already gets all the attention and Harrison at least had the great Martin Scorsese documentary. When is it Ringo's time?
It's as if filmmakers have bought into the narrative that Ringo was "adequate." Anyone who thinks that is clueless. The first one who realizes your vision will make a fortune.
@@rudolphguarnacci197 is this our cue to become filmmakers?
@@littlemissmello
It just might be. It just might be.
When will it be Ringo's time? Probably after he's dead, unfortunately.
@@alrivers2297
Right? When your next to stars that bright you're just not gonna "look" as bright. Even if you're very bright they will be brighter. It's tough. Glad he's well.
Loved this video (seen all but two of these Beatles biopics), but was surprised you made no mention of "Two Of Us", a look at what (possibly) transpired when McCartney paid Lennon a surprise visit at the Dakota in 1976 and how they both bonded again and rehashed old issues and opened old wounds. It even touches upon their near drop-in on "Saturday Night Live" when Lorne Michaels jokingly offered them $2K if they would reunite on his show. Loved the chemistry and interaction of this actual real-life reunion.
Okay, an hour after that comment I watched your video on Beatles tribute/musical movies and you DO (partially due to comments of many here) review "Two Of Us", although I still say it belongs more in this video than that one since it features absolutely no Beatles (or Lennon/Wings/McCartney) music.
It is superb, absolutely superb.
My favorite was The Linda McCartney Story. I cried my eyes out at her death scene! I remember I was a senior in high school when I heard that Linda died from breast cancer. I had worried that Paul would lose his will to live because he lost the love of his life. Thankfully he did find love again.
yeah... kinda. Heather Mills lmao. but I guess people do make poor decisions in such times. thankfully he found love yet again, and this time seems to be everlasting.
Most of the films completely ignore John's relationship with his first wife, wonderful Cynthia Lennon, which must have been a major influence on his life.
because then they would have to fully admit that john was a...not good person
@@savarin0 "because then they would have to fully admit that john was a...not good person"
Or as I would say, John did some pretty fucked up stuff.
Which might make a pretty interesting movie. :-)
There are upcoming movie about cyn and john. And julian is the producer
@@savarin0 there will be upcoming movie about cyn and john and julian is the producer
@@ralphreinert there will be upcoming movie movie about john and cyn and julian is the producer. Just google it
There's been a lot of (well deserved) films that focus on themes built around John Lennon's mental health, but not enough of themes built around the friendship between John and Paul. A biopic centered around that friendship would also be a good vehicle to show their creative process.
7:50 That sudden dramatic pan on John's face with music playing would make a great meme template.
word
I think an 6 episode HBO miniseries of the Fab Four would be great. Enough time to flesh out the stories and give all four time to shine. They could have both the good and bad of their relationships and musical collaborations.
I'd watch 7 seasons, easily. There's enough detailed documentation, really great moments (ones that haven't been put in other biopics) and interesting peripheral characters--it could be a really interesting ensemble piece. We never get enough time with Brian Epstein, whose life was soooo interesting in itself, or how hard he worked to make their career happen--or the crazy series of weird lucky breaks and coincidences that led them to George Martin, who was (in the words of one biographer), probably the only producer who could "handle the Beatles without breaking them" (or vice versa). Nowhere Boy felt so fresh and so rich because it dug deeper into the people around them and really tried to make Liverpool come alive. That's what I'd like to see in anything that tackles them biographically--I want to see the world they lived in, not just watch things happen that I already know about (I know not everyone who potentially watches such a thing would be familiar with the events, but they're so much more meaningful and impactful with context).
Awesome video! Well made and good commentary 🙂
About 'Nowhere Boy': there has actually been some reports/interview bits etc. that suggests that John might had had some strange feelings about his biological mom. I'm not sure theese sources were ever confirmed, but the movies take on this wasn't just taken out of the blue
To quote John Lennon and Paul McCartney from the Revolver press conference; Asking about artists who cover their songs Reporter: Who plays your music best? John: “Us.” Reporter about their image. Paul: “We’re nothing like our image.”
I love Nowhere Boy so much I watched it at least 30 times when it was on Netflix and at least twice a week when I found it on You Tube.
For a successful biopic we would need a supernatural collaboration of writers and directors along with almost impossible casting to recreate profoundly interesting and poignant lives of each of these four men and their inner circle. There may have to be a time to tell stories we don’t know about them. Are we ready?
5:00 fun fact, my mom actually met some of the guys in Rain. After their gigs in the city we live in (Reno) they would head for a night on the casinos and my mom was a cocktail waitress at one of them. So she got to serve them whenever they showed up. Eventually they for some reason didn’t have time for that anymore, but whenever they come here me and mom still go see them.
I thought I was a Beatles fan, but I wasn’t aware that most of these existed! You’re doing the Lord’s work, mate!
here after you hit 100k, proud to be here since october 2020.
great job, elliot.
Yes, #justiceforgeorgeandringo. It would be nice a four part mini series, maybe a little bit more, but each part will be focused on a Beatle in particular, including George and Ringo, course. And instead of aaaaaall the Biography (that everybody knows), it could be focused on a particular important story of each and ond one of them. For example, George frustrated with being all the time in the back burner and sad and empty within his fame, fortune and marriage goes to India. Ringo, still loving them considering leaving them amidst a movie carrier work, and remembering he was considering migrating even when he was the most successful musician when they started. Paul and John in their Paris trip, when John’s uncle won the Lottery and gave ask these pounds to John to spend, that is the real moments where they drunk cry for their lost mothers (The “what about the night we cried...” Paul sings in If You Were Here Today”). IAll with back and forth, but concentrated in the time of the story. I don’t know, something like that.
Why does this have so little views?!
just appeared in my recommended now, assume that a big spike in views will come fairly soon.
Because he only has 700 subscribers.
@Magnus Crawshaw You're tecnically correct but we know what he means so why worry about it?
Because the Beatles suck
@Magnus Crawshaw You did the right thing, Magnus!
I think all of the actors that portray the older John in these films would have made a better Geddy Lee from Rush. 😂
Hmm. I don't know a lot about Rush, is/was Geddy Lee an interesting person?
@@katymagnets Rush was an awesome three piece rock band with an incredibly full sound.
Geddy Lee was the bass player and lead singer who would also play a keyboard thing on the floor with his feet at the same time.
He is super intelligent. (Still alive)
The band had to quit because their drummer Neil Peart recently passed away. He was considered one of the best drummers of all time.
There's a Rush documentary I believe on Netflix.
But give Geddy Lee a quick Google just to see the resemblance to these "John" guys.
Ozzy Osborne?
@@dcool2u2 I'd love a Rush biopic, especially since Ged and Alex can put their input in.
@@dylanmcintyre0502 Yeah I was thinking the same thing!
When you watch the roof top concert, you can see that that connection is still alive at the end. They didn't plan to be the legends when they were teenagers and there just comes a time when it's time to move apart and move on. It may not have been an easy breakup but it's a shame they always seem to be portrayed as just annoyed with each other.
Despite the occasional strident timbre of the voice, I think Ian Hart does the best at capturing young (and angry) John Lennon.
Hart is able to capture John’s deep insecurities, desperate need for acceptance, even to touch upon his love of Stuart that has some homoerotic tinges to it.
Also, Hart looks pretty uncannily like a young John Lennon (although with brown eye contacts, since Ian has blue eyes). Ian’s Liverpudlian, so that helps not making his accent sound like a Scouse robot!
P. S. - The Oedipal interpretation of John Lennon’s relationship with his mother Julia is not unique to “Nowhere Boy”. Lennon did admit his “regret” of not having sex with Julia and admitted to multiple people (Maureen Cleeve, Arthur Janov, Yoko Ono) how he wished that happened. Also, Julia was know to be an incessant flirt with men, and could have been that way with John as not a mum, but a besotted friend.
Considering Lennon’s loss of so many crucial people in his life prematurely (his father’s absence, his mother’s abandonment as a toddler, the death of his Uncle George, the tragic death of his mother at a time where he was re-establishing a bond) certainly leaves so much dramatic potential for movies. It’s probably the reason why so many films focus on him, notwithstanding Lennon as a cultural phenomenon along with the Beatles.
I completely agree with you on Nowhere Boy. Yes, it helps to be a disciple of the Beatles to appreciate it, but in spite of the events which may or may not have ever taken place, the vulnerability that's explored in John and his relationship to Paul is very moving. Also, there was so much (supposed) antipathy between them after the Beatles broke up, it's really refreshing to see a film that reminds us that these two men really loved each other and grew up together. It brought me back to being the fan I was as a kid.
Would love it if you talked more about love and mercy its so underappreciated
popcorntalknetwork.com/love-mercy-finding-the-root-of-our-identity/ I wrote on it for the company I used to intern at. I love the movie and The Beach Boys :)
If they ever make a true Beatles biopic, I would love it to be an adaptation of the book "Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life recording the music of the Beatles". It was written by Geoff Emerick, who had been an assistant engineer at EMI from the very beginning (He was there when they recorded Love Me Do when he was just 15) but who was promoted to head engineer in 1966 when the band recorded "Revolver". The book contains many hilarious and heartbreaking stories I had never heard before about the band (Particularly during the White Album sessions which Emerick walked out of halfway) but lots of great insight to music engineering. The chapter about him having to mix Lennon's two vocal takes of "Strawberry Fields Forever" sticks out in my mind. I think it would be very interesting, but probably not what the mainstream audience want to see (They're portrayed pretty negative during the White Album and some of the Abbey Road chapters)
I agree, justice for George and Ringo, as they're a tie as my favourite Beatle. Having said that, George always liked to keep his cards close to his chest, though he led a very interesting life indeed - we have him to thank for Monty Python's Life of Brian coming to fruition. And Ringo has always preferred to keep his public persona as Ringo Starr separate from his private life as Richie Starkey, plus he's always been typically happy-go-lucky and enjoying his blessings way too much to ask for more, so I think he would still die happy if he never saw a biopic where he features prominently.
Great run down and commentary throughout here mate. You really are doing the Lord's work sitting through some of these really drab tv movies.
I gotta say I really resonated with the idea of doing a trilogy of movies on their story as with all these movies there's a missing chunk of their career that just never gets adapted here. Unlike say a Queen or Elton John, I feel the fab four being trailblazers and at the forefront of 60s culture there's such a massive and complex story that can't be contained in 2 hours. While in hindsight a streaming mini series may be more practical in fleshing out ideas I got a nostalgia for sitting in a theater and just escaping. And well of course a love for Star Wars and Lord of the Rings
Anyways
As someone who's been back and forth with the Beatles, my recent reading of the iconic 1968 Hunter Davis bio recaptured my passion for these guys. Even if you feel like they were overrated, Lennon was a blank, it would just be another boring biopic... even if you don't like the band I feel their story as a cultural phenomenon is so fascinating objectively. That there's a intimate story there with these four guys, seriously its not just John and Paul for fs, but there is also a slew of supporting characters that made their story all the more special. I understand you can't cover everything in a movie but besides the glaring issue of all of these basically tossing George and Ringo to the curb, there's no look at George Martin, Derek Taylor, the road crew of Neil Aspen or Mal Evans, the story of Cynthia and Julian, Patti Boyd, and so on. All of which are a mix of tragic, loss, love, betrayal, exploitation and all of that complex stuff that make stories compelling. While Davis I think really put the focus on the band unit, his writing also really painted a great impression of these people in their lives and the massive influence they had on them.
One of my genuinely favorite chapters of the book was the one where it was focused on the parents/guardians of them all and how the fame affected their lives. That could be a real heartwarming sequence seeing John visit his Aunt Mimi, the one sequence where she feels guilty for still wanting him to be a little boy is especially a tearjerker, or George's mom answering the fan letters. There's something there to explore, and that's why I feel these movies can feel very empty, they focus on the bullet point milestones and gloss over the subtlety and nuance.
John and Paul argue, but like "Two of Us" shows it was a friendship where there were those moments of genuine love and anger like any strong friendship. Bust still there's so much more as others point out. the worst of all of most of these has to be how they literally reduce George to a dude with a mustache and Liverpool accent which is such a disservice as he was arguably the most compelling arc of all them all. From going to being "the kid" of the group in the shadows of John and Paul to becoming an independent spiritual guide for the others, who introduced the rest of them to India and wrote some of the most iconic songs of the later years. The fact that "Here Comes the Sun" is the most played song on Spotify I think says a lot about him and their legacy. And, even as someone who for the longest time never gave Ringo the light of day, he was so important. He was in the bloody band!! There's a story there, from how he spent his time in hospitals growing up, to his marriage to Maureen and their tight relationship, his spending of his fortune on cameras as his own creativity outside of the music, and just overall strong work ethic in the studio. Even then there's that story of him quitting the band being fed up during the White Album, there's a real story there!
It's not black and white, there was in fact ugliness with the story like Allen Klein, and just tragedy when it came to family lives of them all as many hardcore fans would know. Still, as the new Get Back project will highlight, these were still guys who shared a love for their craft and themselves I don't think we can ever understand as outsiders. There was the magic in the studio and levity that came from their music. And that's something I would really love to see get a proper biopic series treatment.
Every now and then I’ll rewatch this video to give me some positivity and good laughs when needing it. I’m freaking addicted to your content, Elliot!!
Haha thanks ☺️
"I want a divorce"- John Lennon
Divorce HAHAHA
I really wish they'd made a sequel to Nowhere Boy - showing their days in Hamburg. Nowhere Boy had the right slightly dark tone which would've really suited the next phase of the band. Such a strong cast too - Aaron Taylor Johnson, Thomas Sangster, David Morrissey, Kristin Scott Thomas...
I agree, if a new movie is ever made I’d suggest Tom Holland as Paul McCartney
Watch " backbeat " it might be what you looking for
@@vinimadruga1 What he's saying is that he wants Backbeat but made by the people who made and starred in Nowhere Boy
"Nowhere Man"
@@quietdemon8138 that might work. I mean he doesn't look that much like him but maybe
backbeat john lennon looks more like john deacon and i don't even know why all paul look alikes look like Billie Joe Armstrong
.
LITERALLY
Now I have to Google him.😭
Edit: okay. Done. I'm so out of touch I don't care anymore about the Beatles, just like after the age of 15, I couldn't care if my parents never got back together. I had my own life. It's like shatner's snl skit when he asks Dana carvey if he's ever kissed a girl after carvey asked him something about a particular scene.
Omg he does, they got their John's confused 😂😂
It's funny how backbeat John doesn't look like John but he kinda looks like his son, Julian.
Haha Billie Joe! That's so on point.
A high-budget mini-series sounds like the right idea.
It might also be better to use a Beatles tribute band (Like the Fab Four) as the Beatles considering the fact that
1. They play the songs, know them and usually learn a lot of their quirks and traits (people like Gavin Pring and Adam Hastings for example)
2. They already have the chemistry the roles need, they play the Beatles on a daily basis
3. Tribute artists (If they're dedicated enough) do a whole lot of research into the people they impersonate in order to get it right and sometimes even talk to the actual people (See Navi as Michael Jackson in "Searching for Neverland", the guy nails little aspects most actors would fail to notice)
Well well well, seems like we will have 4 new films to discuss in a few years
They need to do their own take on Ringo’s hungover walk and bring George’s hinduism to light, that would be beautiful
The best thing I've seen exploring The Beatles is Martin Scorcese's Living In The Material Wolrd. 3 hours and a half of pure joy about my favorite Beatle, George Harrison.
Really cool of Syd Barrett to watch all those movies for us
I WHEEZED
Lmao
Man I'm grateful for finding your channel. Very introspective
Over all of my years on youtube, I have never found a channel that 100% interested me and now I have. I am so happy I found your channel and I cant wait to watch every single one of your videos haha, keep up the good work man. Also ngl your John impression sounds ALOT like George and thats awesome haha
Haha welcome! Glad to have you.
Let's not forget that Mike Myers has a small part in 'John & Yoko: A Love Story' , he plays a kid in Lennon glasses delivering a telegram to John, i think it was his first adult acting gig.
Amazing video bro!
Thanks!
subscribed
Although I genuinely like "Backbeat," "Nowhere Boy" is the one that stands out for me.
It is true to form in it's depiction of actual events, such as George Harrison playing "Raunchy" on the double decker bus for his audition. It was the detail like that that made a difference for me.
The performances are quite good from the entire cast, particularly Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Thomas Sangster, and the musical contributions made by the McCartney and Lennon/Ono camps in their allowing use of their songs in the movie, gave the film credibility.
A very good film overall.
Yeah,but all the other things in the film like John's gf at that time was fictional and Julia and Mimi's feud,there's no evidence whether it happened, also Paul was taller than John but during those days,they were both merely the same height,but in the film they make it reverse,and Paul McCartney himself confirmed that John Lennon didn't punch him
i didnt like how they depicted lennon to be this absolute asshole when he met paul. other than that it was good
The problem with the movie is that it’s a dramatization, and the actor don’t look like the people their people. the Paul from in his life look more like tone real Paul. Also good lord are trying not to get George right
Thanks for watching these for me.
Found this after Get Back which was excellent
Great job! Birth ofthe Beatles hit when i was about 13 and i. The new throws of fandom. Still holds a soft spot. Had just read the Hunter Davies book and it was a kick watching it come to life.
I like how you brought up how the style of that era of filmmaking was to have the song just tell you what’s happening on screen and then you had the scene of John falling down happen while you said “the film falls down”
This is a well done video! I’m glad you’re talking about these films, I watched them as a teenager and it’s nice to see them being discussed. Can’t wait to see what videos you make next.
Mike Myers makes an appearance as a deliveryman in John and Yoko : A Love Story.
this is EXACTLY the video that i was looking for
Great review! Really enjoyed it!
There was another American made for TV movie called Two of Us. It starred Jared Harris as Lennon and Aidan Quinn as McCartney.
After reading the graphic novel, Baby's in Black, I'd love to see a modern film about the Beatles in Hamburg
I know the Rutles film doesn’t count but it’s definitely the best parody of them. Paul didn’t like it but it does feature George as well as Mick Jagger, Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Monty Python troupe, etc.
This was a very interesting video. I didn’t know half these movies even existed, so I’ll check them out. Great job :)👍
Thanks a lot!
Your video came up in my Y/T feed by chance & as a (very!) long time Beatle fan, I decided to watch it. The first film - THE BIRTH OF THE BEATLES - has very sweet memories for me as I was a kid when it came out and saw it and it was sheer Heaven at the time. I still watch it occasionally and enjoy it, partly from nostalgia . I also think the Carl Davis score is excellent, I liked the drama od it personally. NOWHERE BOY is brilliantly reviewed by you- I want to watch it again now! I am very privileged because I work as Custodian of The Beatles' childhood homes here in Liverpool. I get to spend my days in the two places where everything began! We do public tours (National Trust) and we recreate the late 50s'/early 1960s'. I was very impressed that you included the US 1990s' era film JOHN LENNON IN MY LIFE because it is indeed the only film ever actually filmed at 'Mendips'! It is true about the wall- I saw the glass doors back in 2002, the wall was re-built and you wouldn't know it ever happened.I wondered how you have such authentic knowledge when you are Aussie or Kiwi. Very impressive- you're clearly a huge Fabs' fan. Hope to catch some more Fabs' content some time!
Love your take on these films, Elliot. I was offered the "Paul" roll by Dick Clark but after a lot of logistical maneuvering, I just couldn't get out of my commitment to a Beatlemania tour of Japan at the time.
Oh wow!