Made mostly of archival footage... most of it recoloured, this is quite a nice documentary... I was expecting a bit more though. Aside a few bits here and there, there doesn't seem to be that much that's new... even if there is... director Ron Howard says there is. What could be more familiar than The Beatles though? Certainly not an easy story to breathe new life into! All that said, 50 years on from the time, it remains quite incredible to watch the furore that they created, just how new, fresh, raw they were. So disregard my initial thoughts, forget pointless analysis, it's The Beatles! The greatest band the world has ever seen. Just enjoy it and lose yourself if only for a 106 minutes.

Even though I regard The Beatles as the greatest musical act of all time, I haven't really delved into the minutiae of their history. So, as someone who has watched the odd documentary about them and listened to stories about them on the radio, I have to say that Ron Howard's documentary here was very good in that it covers much of the band's history and covers some of the landmark incidents that the band is famous (or infamous) for.

That being said, the revelations in this documentary are rather anodyne, compared with the startling revelations of the ABC TV (Australia) documentary "When The Beatles drove us wild", especially with regards to what band members got up to sexually during their tour of Australia in 1964, when the promoter lucked onto signing them for a bargain-basement price (just before they became a worldwide phenomenon). There are no stories of their sexual exploits in Howard's film and you wonder how the band could have survived if their debauchery in Australia (and elsewhere, no doubt), had been covered by the media. The ABC documentary suggested – from memory – that there was a kind of "understanding" between the band and the media in Australia not to cover those kinds of sexual activities.

What you do get in Howard's documentary is lots of photos and film of the band, including their time in previous bands, like The Quarrymen (which featured John Lennon, later joined by Paul McCartney and later still, George Harrison). There are also photos and film of The Beatles' early days in Hamburg and The Cavern. All the band members feature in current interviews or old interviews with those members who have died before the making of this documentary. The significant figures involved with the band are also featured (briefly) in interviews, people like their manager Brian Epstein and record producer George Martin ("The fifth Beatle").

Throughout the film, there are quite a few songs by the band which get played. Most of the time you don't hear the entire song, but it's long enough to be enjoyable. You also get to hear demo versions of songs or rehearsals or out-takes from recording sessions.

If you're obsessive about The Beatles, there might not be too much that is novel for you in this film but for the uninitiated there are lots of topics which get raised which the studious types can further research at their leisure. Personally speaking, some of the topics raised here I was already familiar with but may have forgotten about, meaning that I enjoyed being reminded about it. For instance, I was vaguely aware of some incident involving Imelda Marcos, the First Lady of the Philippines when The Beatles toured there. Other topics were new to me, like the protests arising from the band being booked to play at the Budokan stadium in Japan. Sometimes what I thought I knew was challenged. For instance, I thought that The Beatles' concert at Shea Stadium marked the end of their touring career because the crowd noise was so excessive that the band never wanted to have to deal with that again (the bonus feature at the end has reasonable sound quality for that concert). In the documentary, however, it's mentioned that their concert at Candlestick Park in the US was their last ever proper concert.

The landmark controversies do feature in this documentary, including the band's infamous "butcher cover" artwork for their single release "Yesterday and today" as well as John Lennon's notorious "bigger than Jesus" utterance which seemed capable of derailing their success...well, at least in their biggest market, the US.

An interesting aspect to this documentary is the focus on the many firsts that the band achieved, including being the first band to play stadiums (Shea Stadium), John Lennon accidentally inventing the use of backward played tape on albums, The Beatles being the first act to have the top 5 selling songs in the US singles chart and most noteworthy of all (and a surprise to me) was that The Beatles collectively overturned America's apartheid policy in the South to have non-segregated seating for their concerts there.

Lastly (as far as the documentary proper goes), it was interesting to hear that the band weren't always confident that they would be successful...they had their doubts, and John would go through a motivational chant to lift their spirits. Also, maybe it seems obvious, but I wasn't aware how autobiographical (and literal) Lennon's song "Help!" was. No other songs are discussed in this manner. I do have vague memories of a story on FM radio about their song "If I fell" (from memory) being autobiographical too...a song secretly intended to communicate with Lennon's lover, as he contemplated leaving his wife, I believe.

The only "complaint" I have of this documentary is that it would have been good to have revisited some clips from previous documentaries. E.g. there was one which featured Lennon talking to a fan, I believe, who was convinced that The Beatles had written a song about him...Lennon had to explain to him, like Jesus to a child, that that couldn't possibly be true (if I recall). One Australian documentary I saw had footage of one of their Australian concerts (Festival Hall, Melbourne?), where I heard an undiscovered gem of a song "It won't be long". Nothing like that in Howard's documentary. I do remember one "Parkinson" interview, I think, with Paul McCartney where he asked Paul about their songwriting influences. Paul mentioned their education, which was interesting...until Parkinson unfortunately changed the subject.

It was great to be reminded of the wit of the band in their press conferences...some funny comments from them.

Highlight:

A soccer crowd at Anfield spontaneously singing a Beatles song during a game.

Liked/interesting:

Footage of Ringo really hammering the drums enthusiastically.

The band were mostly stoned when shooting their film "Help!".

Their record deal was lousy.

Reviewing documentaries is always a bit tricky, since it is often difficult to separate the quality of the film making from your emotional attachment to the subject material. In my case, my early life was saturated with Beatlemania. Although I was only 2 year's old in 1963 at the start of it all, I had three older siblings who ramped up the excitement so much that it permeated my young mind. I still remember being vehemently "Sssshhed" since I was making too much noise during the live and ground-breaking "All you need is Love" telecast!

Ron Howard's film focuses on "the touring years" which as depicted were truly manic, spanning from 1963 to 1966 before then skipping forward to 1969 for their final rooftop concert. This was in a time when airline travel was not the more comfortable and smoke-free environment it is today, so these worldwide trips much have been seriously gruelling, even without the adoration that reached dangerous proportions when they reached their destinations.

Howard has clearly had his research team scour the world for archive clips since – whilst sensitively skipping some of the more 'commonly seen' materials, like the "jewelry shaking" clip – the film shows concert action I certainly had never seen before.

The film is also nicely interlaced with celebrity cameos recalling their linkage to the Fab Four's performances (often moving, like Whoopi Goldberg's) and the group's "legacy" effect on modern-day art (in Richard Curtis's case rather less convincing). One of the most striking of these is that of Sigourney Weaver recounting her attendance as a pre-teen at the Beatle's Rose Bowl performance in LA. There, in the newsreel footage of adoring fans, is the unmistakable face of the 'before she was famous' actress: at least I hope it really was her (as the clip's timing implied) and not a lookalike, since that would be really disappointing!

Also featuring – although not enough for my liking – are Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, recounting their feelings about the events and what happened behind the closed doors of hotel rooms or – most notably – a meat truck.

What shines through is the honesty and intelligence of Lennon and McCartney, typified by the idiotic questioning of journalists, some of who had done so little homework they didn't even know there wasn't a Beatle called Eric! Some of the group's off the cuff responses were priceless: "What is the secret of your success?" asks one journo. "We don't know" quips John. "If we knew we'd form another group and be managers."

While the film has enormous energy in its first two thirds, it rather runs out of momentum in its final reel…. a bit like the Beatles did in fact. It also has elements of gimmickry like the smoke rising from photo cigarettes which gets a tad tiresome after the tenth occurrence.

But this is a very watchable and enjoyable rock down memory lane for 50-somethings and for any fans old and young of the Fab Four's music. Highly Recommended. Note that the documentary itself is about 90 minutes in length, with another 30 minutes of live concert music tagged onto the end post-titles (which for travel reasons I was unfortunately unable to stay for so can't comment on).

(For the graphical version of this review - or to comment on it - please visit bob-the-movie-man.com. Thanks!).

9/17/17. This documentary is a good reminder of just how crazy teenagers were in the '60s. What struck me about the Beatles now was just how good their sound was and how talented they really were. They deserved all the success they got, but as humans they just couldn't maintain their professional ties, to the detriment of pop music. They were a cultural phenomenon and true rock icons who had it all but couldn't keep it going. Perhaps, that is the saddest part of watching this - they made wonderful music, but only for a short time, in retrospect. Together, Lennon and McCartney were the best music writing team ever. Separately they were hardly half of what they were together. They balanced each other out. While McCartney continued to be successful, none of his own works ever surpassed the work he did with Lennon. (Although I did like Ram) And, Lennon turned into an embittered, cynical angry man who just couldn't get over the slights he tried to overcome. And, when he finally got close to getting his act together we all know what happened that one December day.

If, like me, you've been an obsessed Beatle fan all of your life, watching Ron Howard's Eight Days A Week may be a slightly strange experience.

For the casual fan it should, for the most part, be a fun 2 1/4 hours packed with lots of interesting footage and interviews. But for myself, who has virtually every bit of video footage and audio tape that fans can get their hands on, there isn't much that's new and you may be left wondering why Howard would take the brave step of releasing nostalgic stuff like this on the big screen. "Ah, let's see, we can watch Jason Bourne or Suicide Squad...I know, let's watch old footage of the Beatles!" But I cannot deny that the audience that shared my viewing was reasonably large in numbers, and they seemed to appreciate the experience, so I guess its a case of "well done, Ron Howard".

If I had to complain about a few things, it would be the cropped footage converting 4:3 to 16:9, or having BW turned to colour in a lot of cases. I prefer historical things to not be messed with. Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the full concert they show at the end of the film was uncropped, and the picture quality was excellent!

So was it worth this very experienced Beatle fan's while to see Eight Days A Week in the cinema and not just wait for the Blu-ray? Yes, it was worthwhile, and I think my lasting memories will be the rest of the audience snickering every time the footage jumped to another hysterical fan screaming out for one of the four. It made the viewing more fun.

After more than 50 years, there's not much new that can be said about the birth and rise of the "Beatlemania" phenomenon, so don't expect any great surprises or revelations in Ron Howard's documentary of the Beatles touring period. The footage is great as are the interviews (even the 'celebrity' interviews such as Whoopi Goldberg add something to the story). No reason to suggest Beatle's fans watch this new addition to Beatle-nostalgia (they will), but the movie's worth viewing by anyone who remembers the era or likes the music (or, of course, both). I still find it sad to watch images of John Lennon, knowing how pointless and untimely his death was.

"Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years" (2016 release; 137 min. including bonus feature) is a documentary about the Beatles' touring days from late 1963 to August 1966. As the movie opens, we find the boys singing "She Loves You" in Manchester, November, 1963, and in glorious full color mode, no less. A bit later we get "Twist & Shout" from that same evening. To see it on the big screen is utter and pure delight. Along the way, we hear the Fab Four add their personal perspective on these times. "We were not an overnight sensation", reminds Paul, and we then get a very brief glimpse of their touring days in Liverpool and Hamburg. The movie spends, rightfully, more on 1964 than all the rest combined and it is a true treasure trove of rare and unseen footage, alongside the more familiar footage. Sigourney Weaver tells about attending the first Hollywood Bowl show, and later Whoopi Goldberg talks about being at the Shea Stadium show.

Couple of comments: this documentary is directed by none other than Ron Howard, with the full cooperation of Paul, Ringo and the Lennon and Harrison estates. Howard and his team must have roamed the earth to come up with all of the fantastic footage, and make some pointed comments along the way (the Beatles had a contractual provision prohibiting segregated shows in the South, a remarkable stand considering the circumstances). The sound quality has been painstakingly remastered as best as possible. As a lifelong Beatles fan who was too young to have seen them in person or fully appreciate what all took place half a century ago, this movie is sheer delight from start to finish. The theater version came with a 30 min. bonus feature immediately after the end titles, namely "The Beatles At Shea Stadium", their entire set from August 15, 1965. It absolutely blows the mind what happened there. And to think that as the headliner, the Beatles played for all of 25 minutes! Watching the crowd is as much fun as it is watching the guys. Here again, the old footage has been restored and remastered.

"Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years" opened this weekend on a single screen for all of Greater Cincinnati, at my local art-house theater. I couldn't wait to see it. The Saturday matinée screening where I saw this at was PACKED to the rafters, to my surprise and delight. On my way out of the theater, there was already a long line waiting for the next screening. It seems this movie is hitting a nerve, and this has the looks to be a solid success on the art-house theater circuit. If you love the Beatles, you do not want to miss this. "Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Having read and seen just about everything there is about The Beatles I wasn't expecting to learn anything new, but I believe Ron Howard missed an opportunity to tell all that see this film what life was really like for these four guys during those years. If you want to show the world the craziness that Beatlemania was, then tell it all. Try to let us inside their world whilst on tour. You don't have to go into sordid details ,but let us know what life on the road was like. Who knows how long we have Paul and Ringo, so let's get all the truth out there before they're gone and people can say what they like. As a fan, I would have liked to have seen a film that is a true record of those years.

Directed by Ron Howard, a documentary on the Beatles, focusing almost exclusively on their "touring years' - 1963 to 1966. Includes interviews and press conferences with the Beatles, rare footage and recordings and interviews with people who were influenced by the Beatles.

Excellent documentary. The fact that it is directed by Ron Howard lets you know that this going to be more than your average blow-by- blow documentary. It's quite an emotional experience, as you see the young, not-yet-famous band start out on the road to stardom, how they deal with the increasing fame and, in some instances, how it overwhelms them. The footage and stills often capture many of their moments of joy and triumph, adding to the engagement factor, plus the concert and studio footage gives you a great feeling of artistic geniuses at work.

There's also an energy and pioneering spirit about it all, created largely through Ron Howard's choice of footage and editing. The interviewees, which include such luminaries as Elvis Costello, Sigourney Weaver and Whoopi Goldberg, also show how young people's lives were affected by the Beatles.

In addition, the sense of friendship and camaraderie between the four is palpable. Another benefit about having a big-name director/producer make the movie - you get to hear actual Beatles tracks, all wonderfully produced. Not some amorphous background non-Beatles track because the producer couldn't get the rights to play their music.

While not covering the entire Beatles history, well, not in any depth - pre-63 and post-67 are covered but really just as prescript and postscript respectively - this is still the most definitive documentary on the Beatles. No documentary I've seen so accurately captures the impact of the Beatles and their influence on music, culture and, especially, everyday people.

If there weren't already more exhaustive and authoritative takes on the Beatles, I'd give this a higher score.

Also, if you really dig the Beatles's story, this flick puts a bad taste in your mouth in the first five minutes. Howard thinks he can do his actuality voodoo to graft Ringo properly onto the Beatles in Hamburg. He made the calculation that fans would shrug that off as artistic license... but it does reek a bit. He didn't even have to mention Stu and Pete by name: All he really would have needed to do is mention that Ringo joined on pretty quickly when the new demands of studio recording, back in England, necessitated a more professional percussionist. That's a great part of the story, an homage to Ringo, not onerous to bear, and certainly a weird thing to jettison in the interests of squeezing the matter into the 100min runtime.

Now, I'd direct you to the Beatles Anthology, which covers their career exhaustively, authoritatively, and in greater detail and is a trove of key audio and video.

That said, I was a bit astonished at some of the really cool and unique bits Howard got his mitts on that I hadn't seen before. And I have to admit that, after the above-mentioned hamfisted edit, Howard makes some fine compositional choices for his finished product. He targeted a particular segment of the pageant which was the Beatles, and made a decent go of it. Gotta hand it to ol' Opie.

When I first heard that the Beatles were going to release a film called The Beatles Live Project I was thrilled. I thought it was going to be a film of some of their greatest concerts like Washington DC, Shea Stadium, Tokyo Japan and others all strung together in remastered High Quality condition. Unfortunately that did not happen. Instead Ron Howard has put together another Beatles documentary movie very similar to The Compleat Beatles which was released in the 1980's, and The Beatles Anthology which was released in the 1990's. There is some live Beatles footage in this film but for the most part it is just interviews with people recalling what it was like to be at a Beatles concert. One of the people who Ron Howard interviews in the movie is Whoopi Goldberg. What on Earth is Whoopi Goldberg doing in a movie about the Beatles? The Beatles were a band who made a career of singing songs about Peace and Love, Whoopi Goldberg is a person who has made a career of preaching hatred, racism, and social division. Thankfully she does not appear in it for very long, but long enough to make any Beatles fan feel a little ill. It's not a bad movie but it could have been better. Ron Howard has made some really good movies but this is definitely not one of them.

If like me, you were (or are) a fan of the Beatles, this film should be an inspiration. I was growing up at the time of their touring days, yet I was too young to have attended any of those shows. But, by the time the White album came out, I was hooked, and their music was quite iformative, inspiring, and powerful to me at the time. Watching this movie brought back some of that power and charm, and the sense of what an amazing point in history the 1960's were.

The film was a bit sketchy in that it did not reveal much about the men. Could have delved into the characters and craziness of the touring a bit more. But, I sense that Howard was bringing a sense of reverence to the project, and did not feel the need for the sordid details. He have certainly seen enough of that in various other documentaries about rock stars over the years.

I have to say, I found this film uplifting, and very, very enjoyable to watch. Witnessing the evolution of their music (I never really payed much attention to them until Rubber Soul) was great. What a band. What a bunch of great guys. Gentlemen, spokesmen, sincere, brilliant, and creative as they come. Wow.

A movie that brings a freshness to old material with new interviews, unseen footage and enhanced sound and images. A real tribute. Don't go expecting an epiphany or any gritty revelations, this is a story retold with love and one suspects, awe. It does what the title says and focuses on the touring and the music with helpful and not over-intrusive commentary along the way, and helps the viewer to understand how the band came to their decision in 1966. It is not difficult to imagine that the band finished touring last year, such is the care and attention that has gone into enhancing the images. I loved this film, unashamedly.

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.

I don't usually watch documentaries, but when I heard about this one I was unusually excited. I personally love and idolise The Beatles and particularly John Lennon so much, and the thought of seeing them on the big screen just made me happy.

The documentary is very entertaining and shows us a lot of new Beatles footage that was of course fantastic to see. It had some great contributions from famous people such as Whoopi Goldberg and the surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, which were nice too see but I think a little more variety of celebrities would have been nice.

The film shows a side of The Beatles that nobody usually sees. It shows them as just kids who were out of their depth, which was great because it really brings them down to our level. It was very interesting to see that in a way the fans killed The Beatles and that they thought the music was getting lost in the hysteria.

It only touches on the controversy surrounding them a little, which is a shame because it was very interesting to learn about.

You come out with a new view of them as people and not as a brand. It does a good job at humanising them, which I applaud it for doing as it will inspire others to peruse their dreams.

There's something magical about seeing these people together even on film because the chemistry they have is so strong and the music is phenomenal. Hearing the music again was great. Especially when it's remastered.

There's also a really cool bit involving Sigourney Weaver. It really shows how big The Beatles were.

They reused some of the footage a bit too often and it can get a bit irritating over time.

I would definitely recommend it to a fan of The Beatles, it's good to learn about them. If you aren't a fan then you won't like it. It's well crafted with only a little problem here and there. Overall, it's good and I would recommend it to a Beatles fan.

Ron Howard isn't the first person I would have pictured directing a documentary about the Beatles, but "The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years" is great in every way. It focuses on the period from 1963-1966, as the Fab Four traveled the globe. No surprise that they drew throngs of shrieking teenage girls everywhere that they went. We get input from Paul and Ringo, as well as notable people who attended their concerts (Sigourney Weaver and Whoopi Goldberg) and people who followed them around.

I was born long after the '60s, so I can't authentically picture what it was like to attend the Beatles' concerts, but this documentary gives one a feeling of being there. It was clear that everyone in the theater was having a great time. You're sure to love it.

I must say that following all the media publicity about discovering an untold story about the band we all know and love, I was disappointed by the lack of revelation and unseen footage that this movie contains. I am a hardcore fan and have probably read too many books and watched too many documentaries about the band, so I found it mildly interesting. That is not to say that the film is badly put together and many will find it interesting, not only there are footage of their touring but also some snippets of studio banter and early takes that I have never heard before. I rather enjoyed the Shea Stadium concert (that I probably had watched dozens of times before!), nice to watch on a big screen with a remastered sound (although most of the music has been overdubbed later in the studio, due to the poor recording quality but hey in 1965 it was quite a challenge to put a Beatles concert on tape with 50000 screaming girls in the background!). If you are not a hardcore Beatlemaniac you might enjoy this movie. The Beatles First Visit was far more interesting as regarding the life on the road.

When I was a kid, i spent more time listening to my parents Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix LP's than I did their Beatles ones.

I have to admit I always thought the Beatles were a bit too poppy and overrated, how wrong I was!!

Until watching this, I totally under appreciated the cultural impact The Beatles had around the world, and sheer volume of quality work they put out, of varying styles and influence...especially when they experimented more later in their career.

They did all this whilst facing a lot of pressure while under the media spotlight, and we're able to remain honest, fun, and true to themselves without selling out.

I would have liked to see a little more on the bands history once they had stopped touring in 1966, but nevertheless the focus on the Beatlemania period is really well done, and worth a watch for any music fan, regardless of genre!

I guess most people on the planet know about the Beatles. This documentary looks specifically at their touring years.

By modern standards the Beatles weren't together very long. If you look at the major bands headlining festivals nowadays the chances are they've been around for 20+ years. Back in the 60's this wasn't really the norm though, so the Beatles were a very long lasting band by the standard of the time. The documentary looks at the 3 phases of the Beatles; the formative years, the single years and the music years. Those are my classifications. The formative years were played out in Hamburg and small British venues such as the Cavern Club. The single years were from around 1962 through 1965 where they pushed out a bunch of singles that dominated the charts. The music years (or drug years!) were 1966 through 1970 where they pushed the popular music boundaries and changed the direction of popular music forever.

This movie is very much focused on the 1960-1965 period as that's when the Beatles played live. There is no doubt that the fervour surrounding the Beatles was unique and is unlikely to ever be repeated, so the movie is really engaging. One of the things that really stood out for me in the movie was the sheer inadequacy of the sound systems they used. Most present day hi-fi systems would have more power than the systems the Beatles were using to play to thousands of people. If you are interested in the Beatles or music in general you should definitely watch this movie.

Saw this documentary last night. Grew up a true Beatles fan, adored them/all their music. Still do, in fact. Played Sgt. Pepper most of the day today. And through the years I have seen just about every doco ever made about the band.

But when I went to see them at the age of 16 at Festival Hall in Melbourne, Australia in 1964 I felt utterly cheated and so very, very disappointed by the "live" experience for 2 main reasons.

(1) I expected them to sound EXACTLY like their records (yeah, I know, very naive) – and they didn't.

(2) What I could hear I thought sounded god-awful – and the reason I couldn't hear properly (despite the obviously crap sound system, etc. available at the time) was because I was surrounded by shrieking, screaming, hysterical teenage girls. (And it was clear to me most of the girls were over-doing the hysteria big time. Annoying.)

Which brings me to this latest doco. I thought maybe I would be seeing more behind the scenes interaction between the group, I thought perhaps I would be seeing more 'not seen before' type interviews, I thought I might hear more information about their respective family lives in the early years during their meteoric rise to fame 63-67. But no, none of those things really happened at all.

What was there, and in plentiful proportion to absolutely everything else, was vision after vision of shrieking, screaming, hysterical teenage girls! As you might imagine, this was less than impressive to me. And by that I mean - BORING!

I totally agree with what another reviewer said, it was more like one long Newsreel.

I definitely would not recommend this documentary and, not for the first time, let me say I am incredulous at the high IMDb rating.

Reporter: "What place do you think this story of The Beatles is going to have in the history of Western culture?"

Paul McCartney: "You must be kidding with that question…it's not culture, it's a good laugh!"

When you think of truly iconic musicians, who springs to mind? The likes of Mozart, Beethoven, Elvis and of course The Beatles. And now nearly 50 years after they stopped touring, actor and director Ron Howard has produced a documentary entitled The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years; which looks at the touring years of the band between 1962 – 1966.

The Beatles are undoubtedly the most successful group in music history. These four lads from Liverpool – John, Paul, George and Ringo – are estimated to have sold around 600 million albums worldwide since their formation in 1960. They continued to dominate the charts in the UK and overseas, until they split in 1970.

In the Music world, these four English lads from The Old Smoke are regarded as the pioneers of the so-called (in America) British- Invasion or the inevitable global industry domination.

And Eight Days A Week brings us the story of The Beatles during their touring years of 1962 until 1966. Directed by Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, The Da Vinci Code), this documentary provides a mixture of interviews, footage, photos and recordings of The Beatles, as they worked their way from small venues in the north of England, to becoming four of the most recognisable faces of the 1960s. Along this journey, we see how their manager Brian Epstein created their image, the recording process of the Fab Four, and the changes in their musical style as we move through the 1960s.

A milestone in the music industry came when The Beatles played to a crowd of almost 56,000 fans in August 1965, at the Shea Stadium in New York. No other artist had attempted to play to this capacity, and their music was spread around the stadium via the Tannoy system. Footage of this and other concerts can be seen in the documentary, including the overwhelming reaction of the band as they are faced with the screams of their audience. It is interesting to note that two future Beatle wives were in the audience at Shea Stadium; Linda Eastman (wife of Paul) and Barbara Bach (wife of Ringo).

Interviews with the two remaining Beatles, Paul and Ringo, and former interviews with John and George are in short supply. Eight Days A Week is mostly images and footage, with voice-overs in place. Those hoping to learn about the childhoods, marriages or personal lives of the Fab Four will be disappointed. Additionally, there is no mention of the breakup of The Beatles in this documentary; its entire focus is almost all on the touring years. However, there is plenty of behind the scenes footage of the band and those around them during the early 60s, as we hear how being a Beatle came with both ups and downs. We also see the relationship the Fab Four had with each other during this period of great success.

Any hardcore Beatle fans will not learn anything new from this documentary, but it is still a fascinating glimpse into the early years of a band who have certainly left their mark on Western culture.