Saturday, August 09, 2008

The Compleat Beatles

The Compleat Beatles, released in 1984, is a two-hour documentary, chronicling the career of the "Fab Four". Though it has since been supplanted by the longer and more in-depth documentary The Beatles Anthology, The Compleat Beatles was for many years largely regarded as the definitive source of information on the Beatles.

Narrated by Malcolm McDowell, it included extensive interviews with a number of sources close to the Beatles, including producer George Martin, their first manager Allan Williams, music writer Bill Harry, and musicians Gerry Marsden, Billy J. Kramer, Marianne Faithfull, Billy Preston, and Tony Sheridan, as well as early concert footage, behind-the-scenes background on the making of their albums, and candid footage of their often obsessed, hysterical fans.

Directed by Patrick Montgomery, the film was produced by Delilah Films and released by MGM/UA. It enjoyed a brief theatrical release in 1984.

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