Favourite film depictions and documentaries of The Beatles.

My top five favourite film depictions of The Beatles:

1. Nowhere Boy (2009)

Nowhere Boy is a film which gives John Lennon's teenagehood the light that not everyone is aware of and it was done extremely well. Aaron Johnson is a version of John which works really well to tell the story of John's upbringing and essence before we widely knew him. I adore it because of the portrayal of his emotions and soul.

2. Two of us (2000)

Ok don't bite my head off for this one because I have a perfectly good explanation. Yes, this film is pretty based on fiction. Yes, it never happened as such. But it is a gateway to what John and Paul's relationship was like and I believe the events of this film are very likely to have happened several times, probably a lot more and I feel like it encompasses them so completely even if slightly parodic at times. And that's exactly how they would have wanted to be perceived - John would have got a good laugh out of it and it's very heart-wrenching too, and incredibly moving and beautiful, to me at least. The actors, although the accents aren't the greatest sometimes, have the mannerisms and discontent lifestyles and differences brilliantly used in my opinion and there are endless times where I'm just grinning at their relationship and their interactions make me tear up with glee and references they would for sure use against each other and just their love for each other.

3. Across The Universe (2007)

Dsspite the beatles not featuring as themselves in this film at all, it is a musical made up of beatles songs and I needed it to be on here because it is one of my favourite films of all time. It's chill-spingingly spectacular visually, emotionally and great justice to the beatles voices put into situations and embodiments which fit and meld together like they always belonged. It encompasses the sixties and it conveys the struggles of activism and the political environment at that time and I could gush about it for eternity. The characters, the everything.

4. Chapter 27 (2007)

I wished against all odds that this was a film that was ever needed to have been made and of course it's conflicting and it does make me intensely upset that Mark Chapman can possibly be glorified but on the other hand it does dramatise the sequence of events and conveys facts of Mark Chapman's psychology and for that reason I find it an important thing to watch even if partly fictionalised.

5. The Linda Mccartney Story (2000)

On the surface it is a film that looks cheesy and misrepresented however I found it to capture Paul and Linda's relationship really really beautifully. The actor who plays Paul is a bit hit and miss but you can forgive it for that. No matter what it gets wrong, it has breathtaking scenes especially the scenes involving Paul's depression and family life and overall it's a good attempt and shows the growth of their relationship really strongly and has very good context for Linda's career and life.  

I have a lot more but these are ones which come to mind first and it sometimes changes.

My top 5 favourite documentaries about The Beatles:

1. The Beatles Anthology (2000)

What can I say? This is 'the' beatles documentary. It is everything you could ever want it to be - it's from them and the access to stories, personal feelings, reflection, led through everything with them

2. 'George Harrison - Living in the material world.' (2011)

This is a true and loving ode to George. No documentary has striked me quite as hard as this one. It's like they have crafted George's mind to play out to you, with every single person that was ever in contact with him and makes it the most thorough study that I've ever seen and every piece is put together so expertly.

3. Good Ol' Freda (2013)

'Good Ol' Freda' has to be one of those point of views you feel really grateful to have. It is a documentary centred on the life of Freda Kelly, The Beatles' secretary. She is someone who was extremely close to them and her insight is really valuable because it is authentic and her experiences and memories were harboured and they're new. It's also heart-warming how she still holds things she doesn't want to divulge and watching how her life was changed and how it has come after being with the beatles is so interesting and really lovely to have a lot more of what went on behind scenes and how strongly she contributed to making the fan community a big part of who the beatles are.

4. The Day John Lennon Died (2010)

This isn't a happy one but I like this documentary because it has intimate accounts of the effect that John's death had and John's life in New York and details of his being at that time and what he was reading and doing, what he was like and also what people who didn't like him thought about him and although this documentary shares devastation it leaves forms of positivity too. 


5: Imagine: John Lennon (1988)

This documentary I like because of the interviews including Sean and Julian and Yoko, home footage and John in his element and the making of 'Imagine' and John as a father to Sean.