Customer Reviews

Destination Hamburg

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is pretty bad. Worst part is the lack of English subtitles for those German interviews. I was really looking forward to Klauss and Astrid, I don't speak German so, tough. Long sections of black on the screen, most likely just as filler. Don't bother, even if you are hard core.

For Beatles Completists Only - And Tony Sheridan Fans

Obviously news media were not jumping all over the four members of the Beatles before they hit it big in 1963. If they were, their fame would have started in 1957 when, as the Quarrymen, they were playing clubs in both Liverpool, England and Hamburg, Germany. Their first "recording break" came when they backed up vocalist Tony Sheridan, who at least had a recording contract!

Using some rare - but VERY WORN - footage of the various Beatles members from the Hamburg days, along with some very out of focus and worn footage of Hamburg locations (there must be some better "stock" footage the director could have found, this 45 minute "documentary" tries to provide a time line for how the group formed. There is lots of "newer" (I can't tell how recent it really is) interview footage of Sheridan who is filmed at a very strange camera angle from below.

Of course there is no actual "Beatles" music as it wasn't licensed. We do hear Sheridan sing songs not owned by the Fab Four such as My Bonnie, Johnny B. Goode but with "The Beat Brothers" as his backing group.

Completists will want to at least see this film. But for the generalist, there are better DVDs (including others from MVD) out there.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"