{"id":26381,"date":"2017-09-22T06:13:38","date_gmt":"2017-09-22T10:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=26381"},"modified":"2017-09-22T06:33:31","modified_gmt":"2017-09-22T10:33:31","slug":"the-bootleg-files-the-compleat-beatles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/22\/the-bootleg-files-the-compleat-beatles\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bootleg Files: The Compleat Beatles"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOOTLEG FILES 606:<\/strong> \u201cThe Complete Beatles\u201d (1982 documentary).<\/p>\n

LAST SEEN:<\/strong> It can be found via online video sites.<\/p>\n

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO:<\/strong> On VHS and LaserDisc.<\/p>\n

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS:<\/strong> The cute Beatle kiboshed it.<\/p>\n

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE:<\/strong> Yeah, yeah, yeah\u2026not!<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of the December 1980 murder of John Lennon, there was a huge outpouring of nostalgia for all things Beatles. Record sales of the classic albums spiked, and a wave of news coverage recalled the legendary band\u2019s impact on music and popular culture.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In 1982, a documentary charting the rise and dissolution of the Beatles appeared on PBS. \u201cThe Compleat Beatles\u201d was produced and directed by Patrick Montgomery, a one-time silent film restoration specialist who had produced the 1980 documentary \u201cJohn Schelsinger Directs the Tales of Hoffmann\u201d for the start-up Bravo Channel and worked as the line producer for an independent feature film starring artist Jean Michel Basquiat that remained unreleased until it appeared in 2000 under the title \u201cDowntown 81.\u201d<\/p>\n

The surviving Beatles were not interviewed for \u201cThe Compleat Beatles,\u201d although their producer George Martin agreed to speak on camera. Montgomery was able to clear the rights some historically significant early footage of the Beatles, but a great deal of their later work was only alluded to in the film. Working with these limitations \u2013 not to mention a tight two-hour running time \u2013 \u201cThe Compleat Beatles\u201d turned out to be an erratic but often invigorating overview of the unlikeliest revolutionaries in popular music.<\/p>\n

The best part of \u201cThe Compleat Beatles\u201d covers the band\u2019s formation in working class Liverpool. The group underwent different names and personnel, with core members John Lennon and Paul McCartney struggling with various problems tied to the newer addtions: John felt George Harrison was too young to be a band member, John\u2019s classmate Stuart Sutcliffe had no previous music experience before purchasing a bass guitar with the profits from a painting he sold, and drummer Pete Best was the least bad of the various drummers that briefly played with the group.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the Beatles worked in Liverpool\u2019s clubs and became regulars in the German port city of Hamburg\u2019s music scene. Singer Tony Sheridan, who is interviewed in the film, had them as a back-up band on his rocking spin on the folk favorite \u201cMy Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.\u201d Also featured here is Allan Williams, the Beatles\u2019 first manager, who brought a surplus amount of energy and enthusiasm despite a deficit of music industry clout and connections.<\/p>\n

In some ways, the pre-superstardom Beatles were far more interesting than the Fab Four that was merchandised into popular consumption. These unknowns were unpretentious rough trade punks in leather jackets and tight jeans, and their musical talent was raw yet visceral. In fact, they seemed like real blokes \u2013 perhaps not the types that you\u2019d want your daughter to date, but certainly a fun bunch to hang with on a Friday or Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Of course, everyone knows what happens next: Sutcliffe left the group and died too young, Brian Epstein swooped in and cleaned up the Beatles\u2019 bad boy image. In \u201cThe Compleat Beatles,\u201d George Martin acknowledges being the one that suggested Pete Best be replaced in the initial recording sessions due to his allegedly quotidian drumming skills \u2013 and Martin expresses very mild shock that Epstein took his suggestion one step further by sacking Best and replacing him with goofy little Ringo Starr.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Compleat Beatles\u201d happily observes how the Liverpool band disrupted the snobbery that London\u2019s cultural elite had against Northern English acts, and their uncommonly rapid rise to national fame is noted within the span of two minutes. While the film shows news footage of the Beatles\u2019 arrival in America to appear on \u201cThe Ed Sullivan Show\u201d plus a brief glimpse of Sullivan\u2019s droll introduction of the band, it fails to show the actual groundbreaking performance.<\/p>\n

And from this point, the film goes in odd directions. \u201cThe Compleat Beatles\u201d does not present the bulk of their post-Ed Sullivan music, nor do we see very much from their films besides publicity stills and a few seconds from the trailers of their Richard Lester-directed flicks. The Beatles\u2019 personal lives are mostly skimmed over, particularly John\u2019s marriage and divorce with first wife Cynthia and his controversial union with Yoko Ono. And while friends and collaborators like Marianne Faithfull and Billy Preston are featured, their insight is mostly unsatisfactory. The more emotional aspects of the Beatles\u2019 odyssey, most obviously the sad fate of Pete Best and Brian Epstein\u2019s suicide, are treated with an antiseptic indifference. Malcolm McDowell\u2019s flat narration doesn\u2019t help much in these shaky sections.<\/p>\n

Still, even a half-baked serving of Beatles\u2019 lore is better than none, and \u201cThe Compleat Beatles\u201d mostly hits its mark when George Martin offers insight on the production of the beloved songs, particularly \u201cStrawberry Fields Forever\u201d and \u201cA Day in the Life.\u201d And true Beatles fans can never tire watching the promotional films of \u201cHello Goodbye\u201d and \u201cHey Jude,\u201d which are included in this mix.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Compleat Beatles\u201d was broadcast on PBS in May 1982 and later released on VHS and LaserDisc. Billboard dubbed the production \u201ca masterpiece of nostalgic artistry\u201d while Newsday critic Wayne Robins praised it as \u201cthorough, intelligent and entertaining.\u201d In 1984, the film was put in a limited theatrical release \u2013 and while it had been easily accessible via television and home video, it still found an audience in cinemas.<\/p>\n

Alas, the surviving Beatles opted to regain control and profits over their own story by nixing the presence of this work. Paul McCartney acquired the rights to \u201cThe Compleat Beatles\u201d and removed it from circulation, keeping it out of sight while \u201cThe Beatles Anthology\u201d was prepared for release. To date, \u201cThe Compleat Beatles\u201d can only be seen if you have an out-of-print VHS video or LaserDisc copy, or if you view unauthorized postings on Internet video sites. Of course, McCartney and his legal team are aware of the bootlegging \u2013 a YouTube presentation of the film is missing about one-third of the footage due to complaints of music rights violations.<\/p>\n

If \u201cThe Compleat Beatles\u201d is not perfect, at least it made a game effort to retell a well-known story with some degree of spunk and spirit. For that, we should be grateful.
\n
\nIMPORTANT NOTICE: While this weekly column acknowledges the presence of rare film and television productions through the so-called collector-to-collector market, this should not be seen as encouraging or condoning the unauthorized duplication and distribution of copyright-protected material, either through DVDs or Blu-ray discs or through postings on Internet video sites.<\/em><\/p>\n

Listen to \u201cThe Online Movie Show with Phil Hall<\/a>\u201d on SoundCloud, with new episodes every Monday.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BOOTLEG FILES 606: \u201cThe Complete Beatles\u201d (1982 documentary). LAST SEEN: It can be found via online video sites. AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: On VHS and LaserDisc. REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The cute Beatle kiboshed it. CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Yeah, yeah, yeah\u2026not! In the aftermath of the December 1980 murder of John Lennon, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":26382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1513],"tags":[292,1051,1795],"class_list":["post-26381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bootleg-files","tag-documentary","tag-the-beatles","tag-the-compleat-beatles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26381"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26385,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26381\/revisions\/26385"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}