Backbeat (1994)

A dramatization of the Hamburg, Germany phase of the Beatles' early history.

Director:

Iain Softley

Writers:

Iain Softley, Michael Thomas,

Stars:

Sheryl Lee, Stephen Dorff, Ian Hart

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sheryl Lee	...	Astrid Kirchherr
Stephen Dorff	...	Stuart Sutcliffe
Ian Hart	...	John Lennon
Gary Bakewell	...	Paul McCartney
Chris O'Neill	...	George Harrison
Scot Williams	...	Pete Best
Kai Wiesinger	...	Klaus Voormann
Jennifer Ehle	...	Cynthia Powell
Marcelle Duprey	...	Singer
John White	...	Sailor 1
Bernard Merrick	...	Sailor 2
Nicholas Tennant	...	Sailor 3
Finola Geraghty	...	Model
Rob Spendlove	...	Arthur Ballard
Charlie Caine	...	Lord Woodbine

Storyline

A pre-fame Beatles head for the seedy clubs of Hamburg in search of success. The band meet up with a group of trendy German beatniks, one of whom (Astrid Kircherr) bass guitarist Stuart Sutcliffe falls in love with. Whilst best friend John Lennon can only watch, Sutcliffe has to choose between rock 'n roll and a new life in Germany...

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Plot Keywords:

stuart sutcliffe | john lennon | germany | rock 'n' roll | the beatles | 

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Taglines:

5 guys, 4 legends, 3 lovers, 2 friends, 1 band.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language, and for sexuality

Details

Country:

UK Germany

Language:

English German French Russian

Release Date:

15 April 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

A kezdetek

Filming Locations:

Cheney Street, London, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

£1,133,831 (UK) (15 April 1994)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel Four Films, Fortbeam, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby LC-Concept Digital Sound

Color:

Black and White Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the paintings Stu makes in the film are reproductions of actual paintings by Stuart Sutcliffe.

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Goofs

At the end of the film, text describing subsequent events is superimposed over shots of a beach. One paragraph notes that Klaus Voormann played bass on John Lennon's album "Imagine" and designed the Beatles' "Revolver" album cover, but although the former title is placed in quotation marks, the latter is not.

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Quotes

Astrid: Tell me something, John Lennon. When you are rich and famous, when you are number one, when your name is in lights and everybody wants to be your friend, when somebody asks you, "Do you remember Astrid in Hamburg?" what will you say?
John Lennon: I'll say she was the girl I always wanted. The girl of me dreams, like Brigitte Bardot with better manners. I might have fallen in love with her. But she fell in love with me best friend. And that was the end of that.
Astrid: I love him, John.
[pauses]
Astrid: I do.
John Lennon: Yeah. Don't we ...

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Crazy Credits

At the very end of the end titles, long after all the other music credits have run, one last music credit appears on the otherwise blank screen: "TIME TO GO HOME, Written by Maria Bird, Published by Minder Music."

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Connections

Features Les enfants terribles (1950)

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Soundtracks

"Please Mr Postman"
Written & Composed by Brian Holland, Robert Bateman, Freddie Gorman, Georgia Dobbins & William Garrett © 1961
By kind permission of Jobete Music (UK) Ltd

User Reviews

The Pre-Beatles Show

Finally we see the side to the Beatles that no one really knew - what happened before and what they were before. Stephen Dorff gives off another simply brilliant performance as Stuart - the man who could have been but never cared enough he was "Just along for a few laughs". Being a Beatles fan I've always been interested in their personal lives and this movie gets more personal than any documentary or news reel could. As to how true the events are I'm not sure but it was a definitely enjoyable movie.