24 April 2018 | proud_luddite

7 | A great nostalgia trip

The Fab Four are the subject of this documentary beginning from the days of phenomenal superstardom during their concerts from 1963-1966.



The storyline of this film (directed by Ron Howard) is great entertainment not only as a story of fame and its joys and pitfalls but also as a great trip down memory lane for this beloved group of artists.



The pitfalls are few - at least as exposed here. Firstly, these superstars were relatively unscathed compared to rock artists of lesser fame. The film is a good chronology up to the mid-1960s but then it jumps to 1969. It does not delve into the years after 1966. Yes, the title tells us this is just the touring years but the viewer is still left hungering for more story up to and including the eventual breakup - a hunger that is not satisfied.



But the footage and interviews do provide wonderful nostalgia for that wonderful decade that was made so great partly (some might say mainly) because of The Beatles. Such moments include the super-high in the beginning, the shift to less enthusiasm due to exhaustion from touring, dealing with a planned segregated concert in Jacksonville, controversy from John Lennon's comment on the group being more popular than Jesus, the magnificent music, and the presence of young men who were mature way beyond their years. A bonus is the unintended laughter caused by some 60s fashion (cat-eye glasses) and the screaming fits of young hysterical female fans. The latter had me howling out loud.