How the Beatles Changed the World

I really enjoyed this Beatles documentary. Plenty of toe-tapping songs cover the chronological narrative exploring their early clean-cut days through to their psychedelic climax. Nothing new learned here, but seeing plenty of footage of the guys performing and being interviewed counts for a lot.

The history of The Beatles and their influence on everything from music, art, and culture to fashion and politics. Very interesting, and surprisingly so. I was expecting your average documentary on the Beatles, with hardly anything I didn't know before. For the first 20-30 minutes or so I wasn't dissuaded from this view. However, from a point the film departs from the usual Beatles coverage and shows how they influenced everything of their age. Their musical innovations are incredibly interesting, as are some of their other influences. Just as interesting is seeing what and who influenced them, and how they absorbed these influences and synthesized these into their music. All this gives a good view of how revolutionary and evolutionary the times were and how The Beatles had a large hand in that revolution and evolution. On the downside, it would have been good to hear from famous people who were actually influenced by The Beatles. None of the interviewees are anybody important, so we either have minor people from The Beatles social circle or outsiders, e.g. journalists, music critics, giving their views. It all feels so B-grade, which is disappointing as it reduces the credibility of the narrator's point.

People very close to the Beatles are disclosing in a warm and kind manner what was behind the music. It made me understand why they have split. But until the split they showed how they changed the world. Must see it.

This documentary deals with the Beatles as a product of, and reaction against, repressive post-war England, and goes on to show how they revolutionised perceptions of pop stars, and later became major figures in the swinging counter-culture before Lennon's new life with Yoko and political activism were the most obvious sign that the band was no longer a unit. Nothing much you don't know probably, and far from a comprehensive account -- no single film (or book) could be -- but this film is literate and coherent with well placed talking heads offering memories and analysis. The story is familiar, but it's a great story worth telling again.

This documentary about the Beatles is quite different to previous one's I've seen. Instead of a chronological discussion of the band, it's more about the influence that the band had on culture...and vice-versa. So, it follows the band from the rather innocent early days to an awakening to world events to an eventual cultural civil war. Sadly, the Beatles themselves say very little other than in a few video clips from the era...nor do the two surviving Beatles have anything to say in the film. Instead, it's their friends and associates who talk and talk about them. In many ways, this was an exciting look at the Beatles in context....though occasionally I thought the folks in the film over-thought things and over-analyze them. Overall, quite interesting and at least it is different and not just another Beatles bio-documentary.

I always thought Yoko received too much blame for the final parting of the band- but to say she was responsible for the massive successes. Is grossly unreasonable and completely unhinged. This doc just rambles on and on, covers nothing but the already well known facts and uses a lot of supposition and guessing without any evidence to support. What a waste of time.

Being 45 min in and still no mention of the drummer in the background; who can take this seriously? If you want to hear words like mania , influence and succes, this will be your documentary. Other wise, let it be.

This is a documentary you'd expect to see on cable TV. It's a bunch of know nothing stuffed shirts who are given the task of fitting their commentary into the treatise of the documentary -- in this case, how the Beatles changed the world. Truth is, the world changed the Beatles. They were just early adopters. Hands down, the Beatles are the best main stream rock group ever. Their tunes can be enjoyed by any generation. Unfortunately, this doc over thinks and over analyzes everything. Watch it for the archival clips. The commentary is moronic.