Birth of the Beatles

1979
1h 44m

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John Altman, Ray Ashcroft, Rod Culbertson, and Stephen MacKenna in Birth of the Beatles (1979)

An account of The Beatles during the Hamburg years, their signing with Brian Epstein and their inevitable rise during the early sixties.An account of The Beatles during the Hamburg years, their signing with Brian Epstein and their inevitable rise during the early sixties.An account of The Beatles during the Hamburg years, their signing with Brian Epstein and their inevitable rise during the early sixties.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

727

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison all opposed the making of this film and wanted to be stopped and never to be released.

Goofs
When the Beatles are in Hamburg in 1961, George Harrison sings "Don't Bother Me" on stage, the first song he wrote for the group but in actuality Harrison didn't write the song until 1963, and it was included on the Beatles' second album.

Quotes
Paul McCartney: Hey, when you're rich and famous, what are you gonna be?
George Harrison: A millionaire.
Paul McCartney: And do what?
George Harrison: Buy a bus for me dad! He's putting his foot down. Wants me working.
John Lennon: Don't be thick! People die here... never knowing if they've ever lived. Well, you won't find me working 9 to 5.

Alternate versions
A European version exists, and is a different cut from the American version. The following changes were made to the European version:
Some of the dialogue and text in this version is different.
The opening narration is now done by a British narrator, with the opening text superimposed on a black screen as opposed to a blue screen.
The prologue, which includes John saying that he wants to see Mickey Mouse is omitted.
The opening theme song is "My Bonnie" instead of "She Loves You".
A scene in an art school with a naked woman is included.
The scenes where The Beatles perform at Der Kaiserkiller are longer. They also include two additional song scenes: "Kansas City" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" (the former has them trip on the stage floor, while the latter has them break it).
The scene where they find Stuart badly beaten has extra dialogue.
The scene where Stuart and Astrid have their moment in bed together is different. The other version has him showing her her new necklace, while this version, has the two of them making love to each other.
John's bedroom scene with Stuart has extra shots of the others in bed.
The scene where they first talk to Brian Epstein is a little bit longer.
The scene where Brian goes to find The Beatles performing "Love Me Do" at a venue is longer.
The scene where Brian goes to tell the Beatles about George Martin and EMI, has him getting out of a taxi.
In the scene where Cynthia tell John about expecting a baby, John asks her "What are we gonna call him?"
The scene where the Beatles arrive at New York City is longer.
The end credits feature "She Loves You", instead of "My Bonnie".

Connections
Features The Ed Sullivan Show: Meet The Beatles (1964)

Soundtracks
I Saw Her Standing There
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by Rain (Eddie Lineberry, Chuck Coffey, Bill Connearney, and Steve Wight)

User reviews20

Review

Featured review

8/10

Enjoyable

I haven't really paid attention to the accuracy but I did pay attention to the acting. As far as I'm concerned, each actor had the mannerisms of their respective characters down. I thought it was an energetic film and I enjoyed it even though I only saw it twice, 44 years apart! Stephen MacKenna did a brilliant job as John Lennon and I thought the film pointed out key elements of their time together before their fame. Costumes were great. Definitely one of the better musical biographies I've seen. The film really does a great job of showing their beginnings and how hard they worked and basically that they paid their dues.