The Beatles: Rare and Unseen

John, Paul, George and Ringo—four lads who shook the world. This documentary film traces their humble beginnings in Liverpool to their eventual break up ten years later, using recently discovered film and video of the band, including home-movies, concert footage, newsreels and photographs from private collections. For the first time we can see The Beatles relaxed, at play, on and off stage, on film and is a rare glimpse inside the lives of the most famous band in the world.

Includes interviews/additional contributions from: Phil Collins, Steve Harley, Norman "Hurricane" Smith, Colin Hanton (their first drummer), Sam Leach (tour manager), Tony Barrow (press officer 1962–1968), Tony Bramwell (friend and roadie), Ken Dodd, Tony Booth, Gerry Marsden, Len Goodman and Sylvie Varten.

Donna Jackson brings us this review:

Despite the claims on the press release by Wienerworld, this is not a new DVD release. Rather, it is a re-issue by a different distributer. The contents of the DVD are exactly the same as the one issued by Liberation in 2007—and I can guarantee that because I own the earlier version and I watched the DVDs at the same time (one on the computer, one on my DVD player) just to make sure.

There are some interesting snippets in the documentary. It includes interviews with various people associated with the Beatles including Allan Williams, Sam Leach, Norman "Hurricane" Smith, Tony Barrow, Tony Bramwell and Gerry Marsden. There are also clips of interviews given by John in 1975, but that's the only appearance by any of the Beatles (nor is any of the background music performed by the Beatles). It's always interesting to hear these people reminisce, but there was nothing particularly new or 'rare' in what they had to say.

The previously 'unseen' part of the DVD included film footage of the Beatles from 1962, and footage of a concert in Dundee in 1964. It was great to see these performances even though the actual length of the clips was no more than 30 seconds. They were made to appear much longer, however, by continually repeating the footage on a loop in the background. There was also some great footage of the Beatles' holiday in Jersey, of the Magical Mystery Tour, and of the Beatles' performance at the Olympia in Paris. During the latter clip, Paul skips across the stage and it's totally adorable.

Perhaps the most annoying aspect of the documentary was the fact that it had clearly been made for American television. At intervals of about ten minutes, there was a summary of what had been seen thus far, and what was "coming up" in the next segment, with obvious breaks for advertisements.

Overall, I thought the DVD was quite interesting and I enjoyed watching it. I especially enjoyed the film clips, even if they weren't that long. However, and bearing in mind that this is a re-release, I do think that it's a little bit strong to describe the content as 'rare' or 'unseen'. It's a great DVD—as long as you dont expect too many revalations from it.

-- Donna Jackson

The Competition

It's all about the competitions this month here at the BBFC website. To be in with a chance of winning a copy of The Beatles: Rare and Unseen all you need to do is answer this question: The DVD features footage from the Beatles' holiday to which holiday island?

The competition is now closed—congratulations to our winner, Bob O'Hara from Wigan

The Small Print

• One entry per person
• The closing date is Monday, 21st September 2009 at mid-day (GMT)
• The winner will be drawn at random from the correct entries
• The winner will be contacted by email and asked for their address for mailing of the prize. The winner will then have one month to respond, after which time the prize will not be kept
• The competition is not open to members of the BBFC committee
• The judge's decision is final!

© 2010 British Beatles Fan Club