Well, this will bring you back to the hectic days of the Beatles first trip to New York and America, but unless you were around for the hysteria, this picture offers only a pale imitation. When I saw the DVD in one of my local libraries in the Just Arrived section, I thought it was a brand new release, so it was more than a surprise to find out that it was from 1978 with nothing new to add to my knowledge of the Fab Four. In fact, I even recognized actress Wendie Jo Sperber from her stint on the TV sit-com 'Bosom Buddies'. She's the most rabid of her female contingent intent on seeing the Beatles up close and personal, leading the charge as teenager Rosie Petrofsky. I hate to say it, but most of the characters in the story came across as annoying to me, none more so than smarmy Tony Smerko (Bobby Di Cicco) and that goofball Richard 'Ringo Klaus (Eddie Deezen). I did get a kick out of the Ed Sullivan impersonator, I think in a pinch, Will Jordan could have almost passed for the real deal.
The thing about recreating the event on screen is that you can tell that the screaming girls in the Ed Sullivan show audience were acting. If you see actual clips of The Beatles at the time, you'll realize just how frantic and out of control their female fans really were. Fainting and crying were just for starters, and you'll get a good sense of that if you catch the 2016 documentary "The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years". Speaking for myself, like many teens of the era, I was glued to the TV that night of February 9th, 1964, because even though I didn't know it yet, The Beatles would wind up impacting music and entertainment in a way that no one could conceive of at the time.
I hate to be too harsh on the picture for viewers who might not have been around when the Beatles first hit our shores, but this film just didn't do it for me. There are plenty of Beatles documentaries out there that offer a much better perspective on the impact they made on music and culture of the era. About the only authentic carry over from the Sixties in this picture is the presence of Murray the 'K', popular disc jockey from radio station 1010 WINS. And for those in an even more nostalgic mood, check out the $3.98 price tag on that Beatles first album!
The thing about recreating the event on screen is that you can tell that the screaming girls in the Ed Sullivan show audience were acting. If you see actual clips of The Beatles at the time, you'll realize just how frantic and out of control their female fans really were. Fainting and crying were just for starters, and you'll get a good sense of that if you catch the 2016 documentary "The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years". Speaking for myself, like many teens of the era, I was glued to the TV that night of February 9th, 1964, because even though I didn't know it yet, The Beatles would wind up impacting music and entertainment in a way that no one could conceive of at the time.
I hate to be too harsh on the picture for viewers who might not have been around when the Beatles first hit our shores, but this film just didn't do it for me. There are plenty of Beatles documentaries out there that offer a much better perspective on the impact they made on music and culture of the era. About the only authentic carry over from the Sixties in this picture is the presence of Murray the 'K', popular disc jockey from radio station 1010 WINS. And for those in an even more nostalgic mood, check out the $3.98 price tag on that Beatles first album!