This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
From Sullivan to Shea to Sgt. Pepper, The Beatles’ long and winding road was marked by incredible milestones.
Even more incredible, perhaps, is how short that road really was — barely six years separate the band’s breakthrough and breakup. In these days of decade-long gaps between albums — Axl Rose, come on down! — that sort of fast-forward existence just can’t be fully appreciated. Or can it? To find out, I decided to watch the exhaustive new Beatles Anthology DVD in one sitting.
OK, so it’s hardly a year in Hamburg. But with more than 11 hours of footage on five DVDs — including five hours of stuff that wasn’t shown on TV back in 1995, along with tons of unedited archival footage (very cool), plenty of artsy montages (not always cool) and even a mid-’90s jam by the surviving Beatles (sorta cool) — this definitive Beatlography is as close as anyone could get to a day in the life of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Here’s my minute-by-minute diary:
00:01 — Armed with a giant mug of coffee, I push play on Disc 1. The strains of Love Me Do fill the air.
00:04 — The story begins with the birth of Ringo in 1940. I may need more coffee.
00:09 — We get our first glimpse of Paul, George and Ringo, who were interviewed extensively for this set. Spoiler alert: Paul is still the cute one.
00:20 — Paul meets John at a village fete in 1957. A thundering chord is struck. Destiny awaits. The coffee has kicked in.
00:39 — Augmented by George (who auditioned on a double-decker bus) and the “mean, moody and magnificent” drummer Pete Best, the lads leave Liverpool for Hamburg.
00:56 — Clad in leather pants, they return home to The Cavern Club, gaining manager Brian Epstein and dumping Pete — seemingly no longer so magnificent — for Ringo.
01:05 — Several minutes of stunning footage from a 1962 Cavern show by the boys. Finally, the good stuff!
01:59 — A vintage 1963 TV appearance. Excellent!
02:07 — Three songs from the 1963 Royal Command Performance where Lennon made his infamous “rattle your jewels” quip. Yes!
02:27 — The Beatles invade America. I invade the bathroom.
02:41 — The Ed Sullivan Show footage — edited! Sacrilege!
03:56 — Bob Dylan introduces the Fabs to grass. “I laughed and laughed and laughed,” says Ringo.
04:13 — Help! Not the movie; my butt is falling asleep.
04:44 — Three words: Ringo Starr, MBE. I laugh and laugh and laugh. But did they really smoke a joint before the ceremony? Ringo: “I was too stoned to remember.”
04:55 — About 15 minutes of footage from Shea Stadium. I am awake again.
05:11 — The Beatles meet Elvis. Says Paul, “He looked like Elvis.” Thanks, Paul.
05:35 — The rest of the lads drop acid, but Paul wimps out. “Talk about peer pressure — The Beatles!” he whines. Cute or not, Paul is starting to get on my nerves.
06:18 — John calls The Beatles more popular than Jesus. Rednecks burn their LPs, which Ringo says “was OK for us, because then they re-bought them.” Ringo becomes my favourite Beatle.
06:28 — The boys retire from touring.
06:37 — The boys all sprout moustaches. Coincidentally, so do I.
06:50 — Sgt. Pepper. George calls it “a bit boring.” Frankly, George seems a bit cranky.
07:59 — After hanging out in India with the Maharishi, George writes Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey. “That’s just what the Maharishi used to say,” explains George. “Except for that bit about the monkey.” OK, I’m officially getting bored.
08:19 — Yoko meets John. The beginning of the end.
09:14 — The boys plan their final gig on the Apple rooftop as the climax to the Let It Be film. “Then we (can) all go home,” says Paul. I’m not the only one getting bored, it seems.
09:26 — Paul marries Linda.
09:29 — John marries Yoko.
09:32 — George marries Ringo. No, wait, I must have dozed off.
09:45 — Sick of each other, the band split.
09:54 – 11:14 — Paul, George and Ringo meet up in 1994 and 1995. They chat about old times, listen to vintage tapes with George Martin, and briefly jam — though George’s heart doesn’t seem to be in it. Paul: “Let’s do Blue Moon of Kentucky!” George: “A short rendition.” As incredible as the Anthology DVD is at times, I know just how he feels.
