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Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi on ‘Beatles '64,' the Fab Four's Influence on Cinema, and David Lynch at Their First U.S. Concert
The Beatles are one of the 20th century's most exhaustively documented bands, from television series like 'The Beatles Anthology' and feature films like Richard Lester's 'A Hard Day's Night' to documentaries by Albert and David Maysles, Ron Howard, and Peter Jackson, among others. One would think there was little left to explore, but the miracle of the Disney+ documentary 'Beatles '64' is that it manages to feel completely fresh and new — largely by giving the viewer the visceral experience of what it was like to experience The Beatles' first visit to America via the recollections of people who were there.
One person who vividly remembers what it was like to first hear The Beatles' music is Martin Scorsese, who produced 'Beatles '64' in the hope that it would convey the exuberance that the band's first visit to America inspired. 'You have to understand, it was the end of the origins of rock and roll,' Scorsese told IndieWire. 'You had Motown, you had Phil Spector and the Wall of Sound — which influenced me a great deal in 'Mean Streets' and other films — you had the girl groups and Smokey Robinson and there was still a lot going on, but [rock and roll] needed something fresh. And America needed something fresh too.'
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That's because the country was, when The Beatles arrived on American shores in February 1964, still reeling from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a tragedy that 'Beatles '64' uses as a structuring device in order to give the band's visit context. 'The devastation was unlike anything anyone had experienced in our generation,' Scorsese said. 'The country was ready for something new.' Yet as Scorsese points out, and the documentary demonstrates, The Beatles were initially met with skepticism.
'They were touted as kind of an oddity because they had hair that was long, and the press couldn't wait to attack them,' Scorsese said. 'We didn't take them that seriously. There was an attitude we all had of, 'Yeah, show us.'' Scorsese followed the press coverage of The Beatles' arrival and assumed they were just a 'nonsense novelty' act — until he heard 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' on the radio for the first time while getting ready to go to class at NYU film school.
'I heard the first few beats, and I just stood there. I was late for class,' Scorsese said. 'I listened and I admitted to myself, 'That's really good,' and as soon as I got to NYU I was telling everybody, 'This is not some ripoff — this is for real.' There was something joyous about it, and I don't think we can ever really describe the uplifting effect of not only their musical ability, but the writing and the lyrics. An extraordinary change occurred in the youth of the country after the disaster of the assassination.'
Scorsese, frequent producing partner Margaret Bodde, and director David Tedeschi had access to extraordinary archival footage shot by Albert and David Maysles that enabled them to give the audience a sense of the immediate impact The Beatles had. Most of the Maysles' footage has barely been seen since it was shot, partly due to clearance issues and partly because United Artists didn't want the material in general release where it could dilute the appeal of 'A Hard Day's Night.' Thanks to restoration work by Peter Jackson's Park Road Post Production, most of the footage looks and sounds like it was shot yesterday.
For Tedeschi, the key to utilizing the Maysles' footage was taking advantage of their talent as interviewers. As great as all the backstage and concert footage of the band itself is, what really conveys the magic of the moment is Tedeschi's use of interviews the Maysles did with the group's fans. 'I was lucky enough to work with Al Maysles on [Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert film] 'Shine a Light,'' Tedeschi told IndieWire. 'Marty hired him to shoot behind-the-scenes stuff. You'd see him disarm whoever he was with.'
Tedeschi feels that the Maysles' talent for making interviewees feel at ease is what really makes the footage 'Beatles '64' had to work with special. 'It's not surprising to me that they were able to capture The Beatles,' Tedeschi said. 'What's surprising to me is how a 15-year-old girl on the street who has had no media training is somehow calm and able to project themselves and has great charisma.'
Scorsese was able to witness the Maysles at work back in the 1960s when he was at NYU and looking for a job. 'They were making a changeover from black and white to color, and they always used available light,' Scorsese said. 'But you couldn't do that with color at the time, so my job was to hold the lamp. Now, the problem is that they're directing without telling you anything, so you have to anticipate where Al's going with the camera to give him a little bit of light. In a sense, it was an extraordinary master class in visual interpretation, in creating narrative when nothing is staged.'
'Beatles '64' contains not only the Maysles material and other archival footage, but new interviews conducted by Bodde, Scorsese, and Tedeschi with subjects from the two surviving Beatles (Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr) to fans who saw their first concerts — including director David Lynch in one of his final filmed interviews before he passed away earlier this year. The filmmakers were stunned to learn that, as a young art student, David Lynch attended The Beatles' first ever American concert at the Washington Coliseum — and that he had another connection to the narrative they were telling.
'One thing he said that didn't make the film was pretty fascinating,' Tedeschi said. 'As a Boy Scout, he had been an usher at Kennedy's inauguration. When it came down to it, it was extraordinary how many people were at the New York Carnegie Hall show, at the Washington Coliseum, and in Miami — many people who went on to do great things.'
Interviewing McCartney and Starr was a challenge for Scorsese and Tedeschi, who didn't want to repeat old stories — no easy feat with celebrities as extensively interviewed as The Beatles. Luckily, Tedeschi was able to talk with McCartney as the rock and roller was curating a photographic exhibit dedicated to The Beatles in 1964. 'The photographs jogged his memory and created a way to have a conversation more than just an interview,' Tedeschi said. In the case of Starr, the filmmakers got him to open up by going through all of the old clothes he kept from the time.
Another way that 'Beatles '64' makes enthusiasm for The Beatles infectious is through the way in which Starr himself seems not to have aged — as he goes through his old clothes and displays his old drum set, he demonstrates a youthful energy not dissimilar from the much younger man we see in the archival footage. In the brief moments Scorsese shares with Starr on camera, he seems to get younger, too — as though he's getting back in touch with that NYU film student who first fell in love with the band.
'It's almost as if you can't quite believe this amount of time has passed,' Scorsese said of his experience interviewing Starr. 'I would have been a different interviewer 30, 40 years ago. But following them and other great artists, from the Stones to Dylan to The Band to Van Morrison, you go along for this whole period of people taking these long artistic journeys, and you change. And somehow you tap into that original excitement about the joy of music, and what that music means as an observation of the life we're leading or trying to lead.'
Scorsese and Tedeschi, who have worked together in various capacities for around 20 years now, are still not only passionate about music but energized by the challenge of finding a cinematic language with which to express their feelings. 'The problem is how to say it, in other words, the visual narrative,' Scorsese said, noting that he and Tedeschi are struggling with that very problem right now on their upcoming Robbie Robertson documentary.
'We shot the memorial concert, and Dave is now assembling it,' Scorsese said. 'We're smack in the middle of figuring out what this is. We know it's a concert, but there's got to be something that takes us on a trip, or gives us an experience where we can appreciate more where the music came from and how it affects people today.' According to Tedeschi, the challenge is finding a way to get the feelings he witnessed in the artists at the tribute concert onto the screen in a way that's clear.
'We shot the tribute concert along with the rehearsals, and there were tremendous artists,' Tedeschi said. 'Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Allison Russell…and it's very interesting to see The Band's music and Robbie's music played by different artists, all of whom have been really touched by The Band and affected by it. We're working to take that excitement and the musicality and beauty of that and turn it into something more like a movie.'
'Beatles '64' is currently streaming on Disney+.
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