Product Details

• Actors: Murray the 'K', Brian Epstein, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney
• Directors: Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Kathy Dougherty, Susan Frömke
• Producers: Susan Frömke, Neil Aspinall, Ron Furmanek, William Dever
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Mpi Home Video
• VHS Release Date: November 13, 1991
• Run Time: 83 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302213142
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,884 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Any fan of Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night won't want to miss the documentary The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit by Albert and David Maysles. The Maysles brothers were given extraordinary access to the Beatles during their first trip to the U.S., in February 1964, for several concerts and their seminal first appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Like Hard Day's Night, which came out later that year, this film (also known as What's Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A.) shows lots of spontaneous cheekiness with the press and fans; the Beatles' wide-eyed bemusement at the hysteria they caused; as much cutting up as a tiny hotel room allows; and even specific scenes--goofing off on a commuter train, mod dancing in a nightclub--that would later appear in Lester's film. The only thing missing is Paul's grandfather.

The performance segments alone are a must for fans. The three Ed Sullivan appearances show a great cross section of their hits at the time, including "All My Loving," "I Saw Her Standing There," a beautifully delivered "This Boy" by John Lennon, and a wobbly "I Saw Her Standing There" so out of tune George Harrison nearly cracks up as he listens to Lennon and Paul McCartney struggle for harmony. The blurry, badly mic'd footage of the concert at the Washington Coliseum shows the Beatles acting as their own roadies, setting up their instruments; the platform Ringo Starr drums on lurches ominously with each downbeat. It was a more innocent, exuberant time, to be sure, and this sweet documentary lets the Beatles phenomenon speak for itself. --Anne Hurley

From the back cover

It was one of the great moments in the history of show business: It was 1:20 p.m., the 7th of February 1964, and Pan Am Yankee Clipper flight number 101 taxied down the runway at New York's Idlewild airport, carrying a human cargo of four young British musicians who were destined to conquer Great Britain's former colony, the U.S.

Within 48 hours, the Beatles were performing on the Ed Sullivan Show, capturing 73,000,000 viewers, thus making television history.

This is The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit, a day-by-day audio visual account of the group's arrival on American shores. This full-length film takes us on an historic, musical ride back in time.

This is the real Hard Day's Night, culled from hours of footage shot at the time, some of which has never been seen before, and the Ed Sullivan appearances will give audiences of all ages an opportunity to relive a time of glorious, innocent mayhem. People will be able to see and hear what happened, as it happened. Such a time will never come again.

Ed Sullivan secured as many segments as negotiations would permit--three--and so these historic performances are preserved intact. And the Maysles Brothers, American filmmakers of great distinction, secured the wondrous realities off-stage.

The 83-minute film contains more than 13 performances, which have been visually restored to near perfection. The tracks have been digitally remastered to produce a superb hi-fi sound. Between performances, the viewer will join the Beatles in their limos, hotel rooms, and on their trip from New York to Washington, D.C., to Miami, Florida.

If you were there, this is a fabulous journey back into a glorious time of youthful joy. If you weren't, this is the way to catch up fast.

Includes the hits: "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," "She Loves You," "I Saw Her Standing There," "Please Please Me," and many more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR..., June 5, 2002

By 

Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Beatles - The First U.S. Visit [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is an engaging documentary of The Beatles' first U.S. visit. What makes it so fascinating are their performances on the Ed Sullivan show, which are captured here. Digitally remastered, this early television footage has been expertly restored, enabling the viewers to see and hear The Beatles, as they first appeared on American television.

Cheeky and exhuberant, The Beatles, occasionally off key but having the time of their lives, have not lost the capacity for knocking the socks off the viewer, as they are brimming over with vitality and the joy of life. They are truly wonderful to watch, as well as hear. Fortunately, the video covers all their performances on Ed Sullivan, and what a treat they are! It is sad to think that already two of them, John and George, are no longer with us.

The film documents a more innocent and simple time. It captured The Beatles on the threshold of international fame. It memorialized for all time their first U.S. visit with footage shot in railroad cars, hotel rooms, and limousines. Some of it is somewhat self-conscious, and some of it is playful fun. It also memorialized the reactions of their fans. The film is a daily cinema verite testament to that first visit.

This is a very good documentary that is well worth having soley for the performances of The Beatles. There are over thirteen of them, and the tracks have been digitally remastered for your listening pleasure. Overall, however, the documentary lacks some cohesion, due to the cinema verite nature of the film. Still, it is a worthwhile documentary to have, if only for those wonderful Ed Sullivan performances. If one wants a historical overview of The Beatles, one may also wish to view the more in depth and complex documentary, "The Compleat Beatles".

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Real" Hard Day's Night, April 7, 2000

By 

Paul S. "silverbeatle" (Cary, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beatles - The First U.S. Visit [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Having been born in 1962, I wasn't able to witness the hysteria that surrounded the Beatles' 1st trip to America; until now. This video puts you right in the middle of everything they experienced (well, almost) on their February, 1964 trip. Their arrival, and press conference, at Idlewild Airport, taxi rides, photo shoots, after hours parties and all 3 Ed Sullivan Show appearances in their entirety. Also included are 3 songs from the Washington Coliseum concert. After watching this video, it's easy to understand why Americans were captivated by these guys. It's also very apparent why the Beatles could only tolerate this "mania" for 2 more years. I wish I could have experienced it firsthand.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an absolutely amazing document!, January 28, 2000

By 

"[e-mail]" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beatles - The First U.S. Visit (DVD)

Wow! Is this really a documentary? Were the Beatles really that witty, charming and off the cuff? The answer to both questions is yes! Actually, this shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Hard Day's Night was really very close to the real thing: A Day In the Life of the Beatles in early '64. However, this documentary takes nothing away from a Hard Day's Night. They are both absolutely brilliant on their own terms. Lester does things in the movie that transcend what a documentary can do (the fabulous escape "Can't Buy Me Love" sequence, for one of many). However, you don't need to be a Beatle fan to appreciate this great documentary. Unless you have no interest in this very interesting time in history, you will find this extremely...well... ...interesting. How lucky we are to have this unique event so brilliantly preserved for posterity. The Maysles brothers were visionaries! If you have any interest in why the '60s were such a remarkable decade,don't miss seeing this! Holds up very well to repeated viewings.