Movie Review: Beatles ’64 (Disney+)

By John Corrado

Beatles ‘64, the new Disney Plus documentary from director David Tedeschi and producer Martin Scorsese about the Fab Four’s first visit to America, opens with footage of President John F. Kennedy.

These scenes set the film up as a sort of broader time capsule of this specific era, but it also ties into a deeper thesis in the film; that the arrival of the Beatles in America, and the subsequent Beatlemania that ensued, provided a chance for healing in the country in the wake of JFK’s assassination.

When John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr came to New York in February of 1964 to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, they came to a country still in mourning from JFK being shot a few months earlier. Their performance on Ed Sullivan would send shockwaves, being watched on TV by an estimated 73 million people.

Documentary filmmakers David and Albert Maysles followed the band with cameras over their fourteen days in America, including interviewing the screaming fans trying to catch a glimpse of their idols. This footage, which has been restored in 4K by Tedeschi and Scorsese, provides the backdrop of the film. The Beatles were already massive stars in their native England, and were met in America by an emerging teen fanbase hungry for new pop stars, who were simply mad about these Liverpool boys and their moppish haircuts.

The American tour included appearances with the brash New York radio host Murray the K, a concert at Carnegie Hall, and finally a trip down to Florida. The crisp, black-and-white Maysles footage, including delightful scenes of John, Paul, George and Ringo goofing off for the camera, gives way to widescreen, colour interviews with some of the people who were there, including their American counterparts.

Ronnie Spector reminisces about hanging out with the bandmates in their hotel room and sneaking them away to Harlem, where they were less easily recognized (locals just thought they were “Spanish dorks,” Spector remarks). Smokey Robinson talks about how the British band inadvertently helped break down colour barriers by covering his song “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me.”

This plays into the film’s themes of America at the time and the deeper cultural shift that Beatlemania represented. The Beatles were coming to what they knew as a place of absolute freedom, but the country was still facing segregation in certain places; their visit to America pre-dated the formal signing of the Civil Rights Act by several months. Joining, too, are the remaining Beatles; Ringo shows Scorsese his old suits and drum set, while Paul reflects on images and memorabilia from the time.

It’s a treat to watch the cleaned up footage of young fans gushing over their favourite members of the group, their passion not unlike that of modern Swifties. This period in time has been well documented, of course, including being dramatized by Robert Zemeckis in his 1978 breakout film I Wanna Hold Your Hand, which meticulously recreated scenes of screaming fans lining the streets and trying to infiltrate the hotel. The frantic energy behind it can’t be denied, and Beatles ‘64 lets us see it through fresh eyes.

It’s not like we are lacking for documentaries about the Beatles (let alone ones on Disney Plus, to boot), so the fact that Beatles ‘64 is as engaging as it is speaks to the strength of the filmmaking and how well it has been assembled. It’s a wholly engaging snapshot of this period in time, blending the rush of seeing revitalized in-the-moment footage with modern reflections on Beatlemania.

Among these subjects is none other than filmmaker David Lynch, who amusingly recalls being at their first concert in America not realizing how big a deal it would be when walking in, before waxing poetic about the impact their music continues to have on all of us. The film ultimately provides a wonderful trip down memory lane, including for those of us who weren’t even born yet.

Film Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)