Like many people, I went through a Beatles phase when I was younger. It mostly happened during my senior year in high school and my first two years of college. I bought all of their CDs and listened to them over and over, and I also had my first exposure to A HARD DAY'S NIGHT!, HELP and YELLOW SUBMARINE, all three of which I still love, especially the first. I wouldn't say I've moved on since then- I still love their music, of course- but I don't really listen to them like I used to. Occasionally I'll break out one of their CDs- usually REVOLVER or ABBEY ROAD- and groove on the awesomeness, half rocking out, half nostalgia trip.
Anyway, watching the trailer for the upcoming ACROSS THE UNIVERSE today (meh... not a Taymor fan, and the idea of Beatles covers by the hottest indie-rock and emo-wussy artists doesn't exactly thrill me) on AICN I discovered in the comments that the out-of-print Beatles doc LET IT BE can be found on YouTube. But of course! So I poked around a little and sure enough... It was interesting seeing it for the first time now, focusing not so much on the music as the filmic qualities of it. This was no doubt enhanced by some sound issues in the first hour of the film, in which the syncronization between soundtrack and image is off about a second or so. Because the music being played was so familiar to me, I was able to direct my attention to what was on the screen- the dynamic between the band members, the ragged looks on their faces, and so on. And when they take to the rooftop for their last hurrah, it's a hell of a moment. Oh to have been walking through the streets of London on that grey January day to experience this firsthand!
Anyway, the film was pretty awesome overall. Hard to imagine what it would have been like in its original 210-minute form (more expansive and Wiseman-esque, I'm sure), but in its present form, even watching it on YouTube, it's a fascinating cultural document.
But why take my word for it? Carve out a few hours and check it out!
Section 1 (20 minutes)
Section 2 (20 minutes)
Section 3 (20 minutes)
Section 4 (7 minutes)
Section 5 (7 minutes)
Section 6 (7 minutes)
Don't say I never did anything for you.
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