Product Details

• Actors: Brian Epstein, George Harrison, Murray the 'K', John Lennon, Paul McCartney
• Directors: Albert Maysles, Kathy Dougherty, Susan Frömke
• Producers: Susan Frömke, Neil Aspinall, Ron Furmanek, William Dever
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Capitol
• DVD Release Date: February 3, 2004
• Run Time: 83 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00018D2X8
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,608 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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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

Product Description
Studio: Emi Music Distribution Release Date: 04/17/2006

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A most enjoyable view, February 4, 2004

By	David Carrejo (El Paso, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Much has been written and seen about the Beatles landing in America. After winning many fans over worldwide prior to February of 1964, the Beatles were ready to conquer the U.S. although they were not quite prepared for the overwhelming response they received once they arrived. Originally intended for a UK audience, the Maysles brothers' documentary follows the Beatles from the very moment they landed at JFK airport until they departed for home some two weeks later. Included are highlights from the Beatles' performances on the Ed Sullivan Show as well as portions of their first American concert at the Washington Coliseum. Behind the scenes footage from the hotel rooms, the Peppermint Lounge (for a night on the town), press photo shoots, and on the train to (and from) Washington, D.C. give an idea of how amazingly close the Maysles brothers were to the center of it all. Their landmark style of creating documentaries provides an amazing "fly on the wall" perspective. There is no narration and there are no formal interviews. The film lets the event speak for itself as it captures the action quite naturally and spontaneously. Nothing is staged and the film provides a most intimate look at the Beatles' interaction with each other as well as with the excitement of Beatlemania. For those of us born too late to witness and experience the mania, this is our link to the past and a glimpse at the beginning of a very important revolution in pop music and culture.

The re-release of this noteworthy documentary provides a noticeable improvement over the original version. There is now an audio commentary by Albert Maysles. Furthermore, there is a 51-minute interview with him which includes his presentation of a handful of outtakes from the original film. One notable highlight of the personal interview includes Maysles' discussion of how his camera was accidentally turned on at the Washington Coliseum concert. Without a second thought, he propped it up on his shoulder (without security seeing him). His brief footage provides a very rare view of how a Beatle fan saw and "heard" the Beatles play. It's very clear from the footage that fans interested in listening to the show simply could not do so. Other intriguing highlights include recorded comments from teenagers and adults on the street and at JFK airport.

The drawbacks to be noted about this DVD are the result of other previous DVD releases including the Ed Sullivan Presents the Beatles DVD set and The Beatles Anthology. The Sullivan set contains ALL of the shows in their entirety while this release only includes portions of shows. The Anthology set contains a good segment of the Coliseum concert taken from an absolutely pristine film print and not the more common well-worn copy. This release still contains the worn footage. It would have been nice to see a bonus feature containing the complete Coliseum concert from the master print. However, this DVD is the original documentary and the integrity is maintained throughout. It's important to note that the Maysles brothers did not have permission to film in either the CBS studios for the Sullivan shows or in the Washington Coliseum. (One other highlight on the extra footage is Paul McCartney trying to come to the brothers' aid when security blocked them from the CBS studio for the first show.) A color booklet is included with a handful of photos and quotes from each of the Beatles; however, perhaps Apple could have designed a better booklet to include reprints of news articles and reviews from 1964, transcripts of Beatle interviews, and, perhaps, a reprint of the diary of events from Mark Lewishon's Beatles Chronicle.

This is definitely a treat for Beatle fans and a great example of how to produce a quality documentary. I also recommend the Maysles brothers' production, Gimme Shelter, where they capture the exciting and controversial events surrounding the Rolling Stones 1969 tour, including the tragedy at Altamont.

20 of 20 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 (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

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".

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	"[e-mail]" (Oakley, KS USA) - 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.