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SYNOPSIS:
Icons of the twentieth century, the Beatles revolutionised
the world of music and won millions over with their songs
and clean-scrubbed image. But beneath the album cover lies
a complex darker world of sex, drugs, reality and heartbreak.
Using a combination of new and exclusive interviews, BEATLES
BIGGEST SECRETS delves into the inside story of the world's
greatest ever pop group. One of the first fully rounded portraits
to appear on television, this programme carries explosive
relevations about the extraordinary life and behaviour of
Liverpool's favourite sons. This is the Beatles at their best
and their worst!
MOVIE
REVIEW
This reviewer
wasn’t born in the 1960s, so he wasn’t around
to experience the phenomenon that was The Beatles during that
era. But because the English pop and rock band has so much
social and cultural influence even by today’s standards,
there is no way anyone familiar with popular music wouldn’t
have heard of the band. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George
Harrison and Ringo Starr are such cultural icons and trend
setters; they have made their mark in other areas like art
and film. And what is the life of a rock star without some
dirty laundry?
This 2004
TV documentary is s a collection of interviews, archival photographs
and video footages put together supposedly to expose the deepest
and darkest secrets of the Fab Four. The long list of interviewees
featured include 1960s Liverpool musician Tony Crane, McCartney’s
stepsister Ruth McCartney, radio journalist Larry Kane and
Lennon and Yoko Ono’s assistant May Pang, amongst many
others.
Therein
lays the problem of this documentary produced and directed
by Fiona Proctor. What you get in this 71 minute picture is
a compilation of sound bites said by different sources, all
with the objective of painting a dark world where sex, drugs
and all things unpleasant are involved. You even get some
ugly information about the supposed rivalry, the fights and
even a gay relationship between one of the Beatles and his
manager. Shudders.
Sure,
a documentary is supposed to shed light on the truth behind
the glitz and glamour behind the commercially and critically
acclaimed band, but is this exploitation really necessary?
This reviewer may not be the best person to tell you whether
the information in this documentary has any factual backup
to them, but the lengthy series of talking heads which seem
to have malicious intent just doesn’t make this enlightening
in any sense at all. Instead, it seems like a project to bring
the Fab Four down.
Loyal
fans may not be too impressed with how this documentary is
put together, while those who do not have much knowledge about
The Beatles may be intrigued to find out more about the multifaceted
lives of the four members of the popular band.
For
those of you who think that you are going to hear some familiar
tunes performed by the band, you’d be sorely disappointed.
There is no Beatles music throughout this documentary at all.
Hmm, if you really had to hear “Hey Jude”, “I
Want to Hold Your Hand” or “All You Need is Love”,
go watch Julie Taymor’s musical drama Across the Universe
instead.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 disc contains no special features.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
There
is nothing to complain about the disc’s visual transfer,
and there are English Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0 audio tracks
to choose from.
MOVIE
RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
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