The Beatles stopped touring at the exact moment they became the biggest band on Earth. This doc captures sweaty Liverpool clubs to screaming stadiums where fans could not hear the music over the noise.
I currently rank this as my #4 Beatles documentary on my list of The 10 Best Documentaries on The Beatles.
Trailer for “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Between 1963 and 1966, The Beatles played 166 concerts across 15 countries and 90 cities. They were barely three years into worldwide fame and already completely burned out from touring.
- At Shea Stadium in 1965, over 55,000 fans screamed so loudly the Beatles could barely hear themselves play. The band later admitted they often had no clue whether they were even playing the songs correctly.
- Their final concert happened at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on August 29, 1966. Nobody there realized they were watching the last live Beatles concert ever.
- The Philippines concert disaster is nuts. After accidentally offending First Lady Imelda Marcos by skipping an event, the Beatles were swarmed by angry crowds, lost police protection, and barely escaped the country.
Watch “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years”
You can watch “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years” on Apple TV and Prime Video.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 91/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 89/100 (Users); 96/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: Ron Howard directed this 137-minute documentary. Before making this, Howard had already directed docs like “Made in America” about Jay-Z and later directed “Pavarotti.”
Release Date: September 15, 2016
Other Unique Stuff
- The Beatles secretly taped their final concert at Candlestick Park because they had a feeling it might be the end of touring forever. Nobody announced it publicly at the time.
- Ron Howard restored and remixed massive amounts of old concert footage so viewers could finally hear what Beatles performances probably sounded like beneath the wall of screaming fans.
Wrap Up:
“The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years” is less about nostalgia and more about watching four young guys accidentally become the most famous people on Earth.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc