A trailer has been released for Beatles 64, the Martin Scorsese-produced film that tells the story of The Beatles' arrival in the US sixty years ago. The documentary, which was directed by David Tedeschi – who also worked on the Scorsese production Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story – will premiere on November 29 on Disney+.
"On 7 February 1964, The Beatles arrived in New York City to unprecedented excitement and hysteria," reads a statement from the filmmakers. "From the instant they landed at Kennedy Airport, met by thousands of fans, Beatlemania swept New York and the entire country.
"Their thrilling debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show captivated more than 73 million viewers, the most watched television event of its time. Beatles ‘64 presents the spectacle but also reflects a more intimate behind-the-scenes story, capturing the camaraderie of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they experienced unimaginable fame."
The film includes original footage shot by documentarians Albert and David Maysles, who would put together the Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter movie six years later. The brothers' Beatles footage originally appeared in 1964's What's Happening! The Beatles In The U.S.A., and was re-released in 1991 as The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit.
For the new film, the footage has been upscaled to 4K by Park Road Post in New Zealand, while the music has been transformed by another NZ company, Peter Jackson's Wingnut Films, who previously used their "de-mixing" software to work on last year's final Beatles single Now And Then, and to create the stereo mix of Revolver, an album originally mixed in mono. The Beatles 64 audio was then remixed by Giles Martin.
Beatles 64 includes new interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as fans whose lives were transformed by The Beatles' first Stateside trip.
In September it was revealed that The Beatles: 1964 US Albums In Mono would be released this Friday (Noember 22) via Apple Corps Ltd/Capitol/UMe. The collection spans a total of seven of the quartet’s early album released: Meet The Beatles!, The Beatles’ Second Album, A Hard Day’s Night, Something New, The Beatles’ Story (2LP), Beatles ’65 and The Early Beatles.
Each record has been cut from their original mono master tapes by Kevin Reeves at Nashville’s East Iris Studios, pressed on 180g vinyl, and feature faithfully replicated artwork with new four-panel inserts containing liner notes written by US author and Beatles historian Bruce Spizer.
