DVD:
2007
Rated: Unrated
Genre: Documentary
Running Time: 48 Minutes
Review by: Felix Vasquez Jr.
Review Date: 11/06/07
Special Features:
Extended interviews
Photo gallery
Rare footage of the Beatles in Jersey
THE UNSEEN BEATLES (DVD)

 

The thing to remember about “The Unseen Beatles” is that it’s strictly a documentary for the hardcore fans of the fab four. Anyone else looking from the outside in will hardly find that much value to this, but for the hardcore Beatles fans that pride themselves in being completists, “The Unseen Beatles” is an interesting approach to their fame. When the Beatles took the stage it’s like the gods were shaking the Earth. Their names brought about screams and howls, their pictures brought frantic reactions of tears and cheers, and whenever they were on stage performing, chaos ensued, and soon the chaos became too much to bear. Whenever the Beatles performed the cheers and screams were so wild they couldn’t even hear themselves sing. In one instance during a performance at Shea Stadium, they could barely hear the songs they were singing so they basically performed by their cues and relied on their skills to get through the music before retiring.

After a short stint in front of live audiences which cued frantic reactions of fans attempting to grab at them and rush the stages, the Beatles quit touring altogether and vowed never to give a live performance again. In effect, the touring of the musician became a much different system and the Beatles’ air of mystique and sheer edge only improved.  

The interviews with concert goer Barry Hood and roadie Ed Freeman really give us a spectator’s view of the band that shaped music, as they gain a unique perspective on the foursome and their slow deterioration from band of brothers, to a band apart. The material here is a wonderful way to spend an hour with great interviews, interesting recollections and sightings of the fab four. The aura that the Beatles bring to film still gives me goose bumps. They’re funny, they’re charming, they have great charisma, and the cameras love them, and the pressures of fame were sadly a leading cause of their split. The bedlam and fanaticism really weighed on the Beatles who were so flooded by crowds they quit touring altogether. There is also shocking foreshadowing to John’s murder, especially with the attack by a fan with a cherry bomb that happened to launch at John, which many in the group and entourage thought was a bullet meant for him. “The Unseen Beatles” is strictly for us hardcore fans.

The problem with “The Unseen Beatles” is that you simply will not find anything here that you don’t already know. The Beatles stopped touring because of the frantic audiences. John Lennon made a passing comment about religion and religious idiots took offense. Uh… we know all of this already! Any Beatles fan worth their weight knows that the Beatles stopped touring because of the crazed fans that didn’t let them perform; it’s just common knowledge. And with “The Unseen Beatles,” it becomes the central topic and it’s basically just an hour of telling us more of what we already know and then some! While it’s all well and good to see idiotic Americans attack a subversive mind like Lennon who summed up religion and the religious in their nutty shell, I’ve seen this all before. Beyond the home videos, there’s nothing very new to discover here.

There's simply not much here hardcore Beatles fans will find new and refreshing, but for those who simply want to know everything about The Beatles, and celebrate their sheer legendary impact on the music world, "The Unseen Beatles" is a fun hour long refresher course.

  • My favorite Beatles song is “Ticket to Ride,” followed by “Helter Skelter,” and “In My Life.”

 

 

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