Taking a look at the Beatles' touring years
U.S. – Ron Howard’s documentary film “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week-The Touring Years” is about to get fans in ecstasy. The film is not a biopic, nor a fictionalized tale and much less an uncomfortable history about their breakup: it is 137 minutes of the Fab Four’s live music.
The documentary follows the British quartet through hectic four years of non-stop touring in Europe (1962-1966) when they cemented their reputation as a live stadium band. Likely, the film is a song-filled free-will documentary, and yet it has its bit of intimacy.
The film opens with a one-week theatrical release on Thursday, Sept. 16, and then it will go straight to Hulu. Fans who catch the movie in cinemas will get a special treat from director Howard: 30 minutes of rare footage of the band’s historic 1965 Shea Stadium Concert.
‘Eight Days a Week’ will hit around 80 theaters
The one-night sneak peek is followed by the full week engagement in 50 theaters in the U.S. Hulu will release the movie on Sept. 17, but the Shea footage will not be a part of the streaming version or the DVD release.
The house that produces the movie is Abramorama Entertainment. Its founder, Richard Abramowitz, assures the extra footage is not to lure people out, as the Beatle’s fans have already a strong sense of attachment to the band.
“It’s more like, ‘You think you’re going to have fun? You don’t even know. What this!’ No one’s heard Shea sound like this. It’s an unmatchable asset,” said Abramowitz.
The exclusive 4K footage features 30 minutes of a 50-minute concert on August 15, 1965
The iconic performance was their first rock concert in a U.S. stadium. Over 55,000 people crowded the Shea Stadium in New York to watch the show. At the moment, It was the biggest revenue British band the band had ever collected.
The Beatles played on a small stage in the center on the field, and the sound is still pretty good for today’s standards. The show aired on America in ABC-TV in 1967, but only in bits and pieces.
It has never been seen in complete form since its original TV broadcast in black&white on the BBC. The movie features a 4K reconstruction of the footage as well as remastered sound by the hands of the Abby Road Studio.
4K resolutions and remastered audio feature in all of the live music present in the documentary.
The film starts on the day February 12, 1964
That day, Paul McCartney sang “All of My Loving” on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” forever establishing the Beatles as international superstars.
There are also never seen before interviews with the Beatles and people close to the band. Additionally, it features the quartet’s downtime in the hotels, exchanges with the press and reunions at the studio to create new music.
In 1966, The Beatles quit on live shows to perform exclusively in studios.
Source: Billboard