The Beatles Anthology 5: August '65 to July '66 (1996)

Genres - Music  |   Sub-Genres - Biography, Music History, Vocal Music  |   Run Time - 72 min.  |   Countries - United Kingdom  |  
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Synopsis by Perry Seibert

The Beatles Anthology 5: August '65 to July '66 follows the band from one of their performing highs to one of their two most disastrous international incidents. This episode opens with five numbers from their famous performance at Shea Stadium ("Twist & Shout," "I Feel Fine," "Baby's in Black," "I'm Down," and "Help"). Utilizing interviews produced specifically for this documentary, rare archival footage, and lots of music, part five of The Beatles Anthology shows the deterioration of the band's enjoyment for playing live. Although John, Paul, George, and Ringo do get to meet Elvis Presley, they grow more and more impatient with giving concerts. They are unable to hear themselves over the screams of the crowd, and it dawns on the bandmembers that people are coming to see them and not hear them. Their songwriting takes a decidedly introspective turn with the release of Rubber Soul. There is also an explanation of how the distinctive cover for that album came to be. The band is introduced to LSD, and John's songs on Revolver show the effects. Overwhelmed by the number of television appearances they are asked to do, the band begins creating music videos and sending those to the television shows. You see the promotional clips for both "Paperback Writer" and "Rain." This episode ends with the band in the Far East. Their performances at Japan's Budokan are a disappointment for them because they cannot recreate the studio effects employed on the Revolver songs. They realize that their level of their musicianship is suffering because of their dislike for performing. Finally, the band offends Imelda Marcos by not attending a state dinner. The band is forced to flee the country after a flurry of hostile press.

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Keywords

band [music group], British, career-retrospective, concert-footage, rock-music