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    Music

    The Beatles Films Podcast

    Two film writers and Fab Four fans discuss movies and TV about, starring, and inspired by The Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    Copyright: © Ed Williamson and Matt Looker

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    Latest Episodes:
    Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Oct 23, 2023
    Show notes

    That's right, we couldn't put it off any longer: it's the Bee Gees' towering hubris of 1978. We spend some time unpicking Robin Gibb's contemporary quote in which he confidently predicted that the Bee Gees' version would effectively make the original Sgt Pepper obsolete, and we talk about rock operas and how this one is structured. We delve into its interesting backstory involving Brian Epstein contemporary and potential NEMS heir (whom the Beatles rejected), Robert Stigwood, plus: what did George Martin get out of it, and why didn't he take the chance to finally do his own string arrangement for She's Leaving Home?


    • Watch the film for free on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7v3PchZzNoI
    • Read Robin Gibb's quote in full on page 256 of Peter Doggett's You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/_/luOMJFxe-bYC?hl=en (in the UK it's subtitled The Battle for the Soul of The Beatles instead) or see it abridged at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgt._Pepper%27s_Lonely_Hearts_Club_Band_(film)#Overview
    • The documentary we mention is 2020's The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, which is well worth watching: https://g.co/kgs/SqGJEx
    • The compilation album we mention is The Soul of Lennon and McCartney: https://www.discogs.com/release/2014089-Various-The-Soul-Of-Lennon-McCartney
    • IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078239/


    Meet the Beatles Films Podcast


    The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.


    But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

    • Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
    • Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
    • Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    The Lost Weekend: A Love Story Oct 16, 2023
    Show notes

    We have a look at May Pang's documentary about her relationship with John Lennon, just released digitally and on blu-ray on 13 October 2023. We talk about perspectives and whether or not there's such a thing as "the truth" in a documentary, and whether that matters. Also we discuss how Yoko Ono comes across in this film and how a critical depiction fits into contemporary Beatles fandom.


    • We interviewed May Pang about the film back in April 2023, and you can find that episode in this podcast feed.
    • This episode includes a clip of May Pang's appearance on the Geraldo Rivera show on 5 October 1988. Here's the whole thing, in which he attempts to equate her book with Albert Goldman's notorious character assassination The Lives of John Lennon and is generally a bit of a dick to her, and she stands her ground with grace: https://youtu.be/1OZnsKtLKiQ
    • Watch the trailer for the film: https://youtu.be/xrQHqTB3qjo
    • The Kenneth Womack book we mention, which is excellent, is John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life: https://g.co/kgs/jwHeQT
    • IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19812518/


    Meet the Beatles Films Podcast


    The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.


    But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

    • Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
    • Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
    • Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Caveman Oct 09, 2023
    Show notes

    Our attention turns to 1981's Caveman, starring Ringo Starr, Barbara Bach, Shelley Long and Dennis Quaid. We discuss where Ringo is in his life and career at this point, the shadow cast over the production and release by John Lennon's murder, and how Ringo's physical and expression-based performance measures up in a film without dialogue. Also, while it's fair to say neither of us thought it was Citizen Kane, we do disagree a bit about the merits of the film in general, so if you like a scrap you've come to the right place. (Assuming you like your scraps conducted as very mild and polite verbal disagreements.) Fight!


    • Watch the whole film in good quality on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GhOXaxhR2kk?si=qlkKQxhBV-ICTEzg
    • Roger Ebert's 1981 review: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/caveman-1981
    • IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082146/


    Meet the Beatles Films Podcast


    The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.


    But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

    • Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
    • Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
    • Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    George Harrison: Living in the Material World Oct 02, 2023
    Show notes

    We're opening season four with one of the big hitters: Martin Scorsese's 2011 George Harrison documentary. George's life gets a proper going-over for three hours, and we talk about how the film approaches his spirituality and how it relates to familiar religious themes in Scorsese films. This is an interesting film for the calibre of talking heads it attracts, Scorsese's milkshake very much bringing all the boys to the yard: Astrid Kirchherr, Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Phil Spector (!), Tom Petty, Dhani Harrison and Olivia too. We talk about Dhani and Olivia's contributions in particular, and how the film uses talking heads like theirs in a different way than you'd usually expect: framing them in "lived-in" surroundings and encouraging them to discuss ideas and philosophies rather than just reel off anecdotes.


    • You can watch the film on NOW TV in the UK, or rent/buy it on Prime and YouTube: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/george-harrison-living-in-the-material-world
    • Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/AGMMXK-661M?si=e9xecTinAJSVaWB7
    • The Johnny Marr article we refer to is actually sort of two: in a 2016 interview he called George one of his favourite guitarists https://medium.com/@JonnieWilks/the-johnny-marr-interview-c9f9ae53eaed and he complimented him again in Uncut's 2021 Revolver issue https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/interviews/the-beatles-best-revolver-songs-132652/
    • You can rent Scorsese's No Direction Home: Bob Dylan on Apple TV, and buy/rent it on Prime and YouTube. https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/no-direction-home-bob-dylan
    • Watch a short video where Scorsese explains the process of making the film, and what inspired him about George: https://youtu.be/L_YRmLgpT7I?si=61Mbjhx2xqO7DW1T
    • IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1113829/


    Meet the Beatles Films Podcast


    The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.


    But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

    • Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
    • Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
    • Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Live and Let Die (with Neil Alcock) Jun 27, 2023
    Show notes

    To celebrate 50 years since the film's release we've got together with our friend and James Bond authority Neil Alcock for an episode on Live and Let Die. As we'll hear, the theme song by Wings represented a gear shift and a new direction for Bond themes, away from big band singers and towards rock. Was Paul McCartney instructed to write elements into the song to fit the film's theme?


    We also talk about Bond and the Beatles as British cultural exports of the 1960s, and the connections between them, and we discuss George Martin's score, how that came about, and the elements of it that made a break with the Bond scores of the past.


    Buy Neil's excellent book, HITCHOLOGY: A Film-by-Film Guide to the Style and Themes of Alfred Hitchcock: https://neilalcock.com/hitchology


    • Neil's Blogalongabond entry on Live and Let Die from 2011: http://theincrediblesuit.blogspot.com/2011/08/blogalongabond-live-and-let-die.html
    • BJ Arnau's version of the song, performed in the Harlem club in the film: https://youtu.be/LWKGfbs8dzo
    • Guns n Roses cover version: https://youtu.be/RywqQ_AKB9M
    • Byron Lee and the Dragonaires version: https://youtu.be/JSRRU_aLB_I
    • Chrissie Hynde version (in which she removes the hanging preposition): https://youtu.be/534YARaE6h4
    • Article on the debunking of the "they didn't want Paul to sing it" story: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/dec/18/live-and-let-die-james-bond-theme-paul-mccartney
    • Wings performance from the 1973 James Paul McCartney TV special, with Paul's exploding piano: https://youtu.be/ZwnX0iqKDdQ
    • Picture of George Harrison wearing a 007 T-shirt: https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=APwXEdf


    Meet the Beatles Films Podcast


    The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.


    But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

    • Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
    • Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
    • Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Yellow Submarine (Part 2) Jun 19, 2023
    Show notes

    In part two we close out our third season with some good old-fashioned British magic realism. Is Yellow Submarine a magic realist piece, and if so are the submarine or the Beatles themselves the conduit for the magic?


    Plus! We discuss its eastern European influences, and talk about the failed Robert Zemeckis remake, how far it got, and the technological and industrial reasons why it didn't go any further.


    Thanks very much for listening to us again this season. If you could give us a five-star rating in your podcast app, tweet about us, tell a friend or graffiti our name on a bus stop we'd greatly appreciate it. See you for season four!


    • Here's the pinball animation from Sesame Street: https://youtu.be/JZshZp-cxKg
    • Some footage from the abandoned Zemeckis remake: https://archive.org/details/the-beatles-yellow-submarine-3d-unseen-found-footage


    Meet the Beatles Films Podcast


    The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.


    But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

    • Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
    • Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
    • Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Yellow Submarine (Part 1) Jun 12, 2023
    Show notes

    In the first part of our season finale we're discussing 1968's Yellow Submarine, the Beatles' animated film and, as we outline, their only musical. We talk about how the project came about and how much the Beatles were involved (spoiler alert: not much), as well as the choices made in their characterisations, and what that says about their public personas at the time. We also talk a lot about the new songs included in the film: Hey Bulldog, It's All Too Much, Only a Northern Song and All Together Now.


    • You can rent or buy Yellow Submarine on Apple TV: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/yellow-submarine
    • Watch the original trailer from 1968: https://youtu.be/vefJAtG-ZKI
    • A longer clip of Liverpool fans singing She Loves You in 1964: https://youtu.be/3Y5RY9vhph0
    • John's early version of Hey Bulldog: https://youtu.be/eltBGtWm6Fc
    • Looks like Ed was wrong about Teenage Fanclub having covered Hey Bulldog. He was probably thinking of their cover of The Ballad of John and Yoko, which you might as well have a link to, seeing as you're here: https://youtu.be/2lTNAPmwM_o
    • Here's the intro to the Ulysses 31 cartoon from the eighties that Matt mentions: https://youtu.be/Ev1aBt-_Zs4
    • IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063823/


    Meet the Beatles Films Podcast


    The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.


    But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

    • Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
    • Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
    • Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    All Together Now Jun 05, 2023
    Show notes

    Who doesn't love Love? We're talking about the documentary about the Cirque du Soleil show The Beatles: Love. The film is an official Apple product and has talking head input from Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, Olivia Harrison, Neil Aspinall, George Martin and Giles Martin. So why isn't it more widely known? We discuss how Apple moved on from here and became the legacy-preserving machine it is today. We also talk about the Love album and the impact it had, Yoko and Olivia and their understandable efforts to fight the corner for their late husbands' legacies, and what the film reveals about Paul and George's relationship towards the end of George's life.


    • You can rent or buy All Together Now on Apple TV in the US or UK: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/all-together-now. You can also pick up the DVD very cheaply.
    • Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/KVqBEbY86Sw
    • See a very short clip showing Paul McCartney and George Harrison, as discussed, backstage at the Cirque du Soleil "O" show in 2001: https://youtu.be/sYVyT937Yf0
    • IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1305839/


    Meet the Beatles Films Podcast


    The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.


    But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

    • Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
    • Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
    • Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Living is Easy with Eyes Closed (Vivir es fácil con los ojos cerrados) May 29, 2023
    Show notes

    Here's a companion piece to last week's episode. In David Trueba's 2013 film, set in Spain in 1966, English teacher Antonio and two young hitchhikers take a road trip to Almeria where he hopes to meet John Lennon on the set of How I Won The War.


    Starring Javier Cámara, Natalia de Molina and Francesc Colomer, Living is Easy with Eyes Closed won several Goya awards and was Spain's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 2015 Academy Awards.


    We talk about how Strawberry Fields Forever and Help! are used as themes, how the film uses John's star status to make him a mythical, unattainable figure, what that means about the relationship of fans to stars, and how the film subverts the tropes of the road movie.


    Thanks a lot to Juan Gil Manjón for his contribution to this episode.


    • You can rent it in the UK on Prime, Apple TV or Chili: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/living-is-easy-with-eyes-closed
    • Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/uO1jXG38XbM
    • IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2896036/


    Meet the Beatles Films Podcast


    The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.


    But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

    • Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
    • Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
    • Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    How I Won The War May 22, 2023
    Show notes

    Onto John Lennon's solo acting debut in Richard Lester's How I Won The War, best known for John having written Strawberry Fields Forever in Spain while shooting it. We talk about how John is a significant figure to cast in a film commenting on the British class system, and how he and the film upend your expectations. Green, green, green!


    • Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/d8cK7Z78o8k
    • Watch a handy YouTube video with all of John's scenes: https://youtu.be/KEZFe94xpkk


    Meet the Beatles Films Podcast


    The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.


    But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

    • Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
    • Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
    • Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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