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The Anthology Television Specials
Well, have you all come down to earth yet? I how my feet still aren't touching terra firma! What a great six hours of television it was. It was all so much to take in and can only be really appreciated by watching it all again a couple of weeks later with your hand on the pause button so you can freeze frame all those great shots of the lads. Overall it was a great spectacle for Beatles fans and non fans alike. Immediately, within seconds of the first programme beginning, you could see that it had been put together with a hell of a lot of time and effort but most of all it was put together with a lot of love. It was a memomble journey down the Beatle brick road that rarely ventured into any alleys or side streets and hardly gave a glance to any hitchikers along the way. Some may say that this attitude showed them in an unnatural light that never really touched upon the sex and drugs and other problems that had been a part of their lives, but if they cared not to venture into the shadows then that was their privalage, for it was their tv specials and not some gutter journalist's. Opening with a lovely montage set to '"In My' Life", it then threw up the first of many oddities - a scene from the 1950's Marlon Brando movie classic 'The Wild One", where a biker (not like an icon ) blurts out "We missed ya Johnny, all the Beatles missed ya!", which makes one wonder if John reaIly did dream up the band's name after all. Unfortunately due to the time restraint of six hours, all areas of their career were barely given ten minutes each, which is a great shame as there is so much more great footage that went unseen. This made the entire show move along at a fairly fast pace, skipping minor parts of their lives including the early tours around England, their Christmas shows and BBC radio sessions to name but three. What was shown during this amazing roller coaster ride was truly superb and very well balanced between previously seen and never before seen footage. Im sure that many of the younger fans probably found all of the footage new to them, but for me it was about 50/50 I guess. The first night's viewing unearthed some really wonderful stuff. The highlights for me were the never heard before recording of "Kansas City" from The Caven; the alternate shots used in the film of "Some Other Guy". Possibly authentic footage of the lad's van travelling down a highway. A glorious "BesameMucho" Let it Be outake complete with 1995 footage of George and Paul doing the "Cha Cha Boom's"; A wonderful compile of at least half a dozen different performances of 'Twist And Shout"; The hilarious footage from 'The Morecambe and Wise Show"; A lovely montage of private super eight films from the early sixties set to 'It Won't Be Long';' A great "Till There Was You" from the "Royal Command Peforrmance". Colour home movie footage of the lad's Washington concert from February 1964 and beautiful colour photos and home movies from their stay in Miami during their first U.S visit. It was rather nice to see probably the best live 1964 footage in existence at the end of the first night and guess what it was "You Can't Do That"from their concert in Melboune! A very nice way to end the first night I thought. The next night's viewing was just as fantastic, if not better, starting off with their first full American tour in mid 1964 and continuing through ''Help'; their M.B.E investiture, another American tour with a feature on their concert at Shea Stadium, the 'Rubber Soul" album, a tour of Japan, their disasterous far east tour and their final U.S tour which signalled the end of their touring years.
