''Beatles Stories: A Fab Four Fan's Ultimate Road Trip'' is a 2011 film.
Synopsis
Songwriter
Seth Swirsky grew up in the 1960s, a fan of
The Beatles. As he got older he noticed that whenever someone told a story about themselves and his favorite band he was all ears.
So he bought a video camera and set out on an 8-year journey to film personal stories about his heroes from those who had one.
Interviewees
Some of the more than 110 individuals that Swirsky interviewed for the film are former personal assistant Fred Seaman, Sir
Ben Kingsley,
Graham Nash,
,
Justin Hayward of
The Moody Blues, actor
Jon Voight,
Susanna Hoffs
Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as a co-founder of the pop-rock band The Bangles.
Hoffs founded The Bangles (originally called the Bangs) in 1981 with Debbi and Vicki Peterson. They re ...
, former first daughter
Luci Baines Johnson
Luci Baines Johnson (born July 2, 1947) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the younger daughter of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson.
Early years
Born in Washington, D.C., Joh ...
, former
New York Yankee Bernie Williams,
Rick Nielsen of
Cheap Trick,
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...
of
The Beach Boys, actor
Henry Winkler
Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series ''Happy Days'', Winkler has ...
,
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
football owner
Jim Irsay
James Irsay (born June 13, 1959) is an American businessman, known for being the principal owner, chairman and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL).
Irsay's father, Robert Irsay, built a fortune estimated to be o ...
,
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...
,
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...
, Beatles longtime producer Sir
George Martin, Lennon ex-girlfriend
May Pang, Beatles engineers
Norman Smith,
Ken Scott and John Kurlander and American cultural icons
Frank Gifford and
Bob Eubanks, among others.
Premieres
''
Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
Stories''
was chosen as an Official Selection at the 2011 European Independent Film Festival
—considered the Sundance of Europe
—and had its world premiere in Paris, France, on April 3, 2011.
It was an Official Selection at The 2011 Newport Beach International Film Festival, where it made its North American premiere on April 29, 2011.
It made its East Coast premiere at The Gold Coast International Film Festival on June 2, 2011.
It was also an official selection at The 2011 Las Vegas Film Festival,
Santa Fe Independent Film Festival
The Santa Fe International Film Festival (SFiFF), formerly known as the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, is an American film festival held annually in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, Violet Crown Cinema, Center for Co ...
,
Bend Film Festival, Kansas International Film Festival
and the 2012 Fargo Film Festival.
The documentary consists of filmed interviews that he conducted with people who had a personal story or recollection about themselves and one or all of The "Fab Four".
In June 2012, it was screened in London, Manchester and Liverpool.
[
]
DVD release
The DVD of the documentary as well as a bonus disc containing an additional 25 interviews was released on June 6, 2012.
Criticism
''Beatles Stories'' made news when it was revealed by John Lennon's former personal assistant—one of the over 50 interviewees in the movie—that, by the time of his death, Lennon would have voted for Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
in the 1980 elections and, that by the end of his life, he was embarrassed by the naivete of his song " Imagine".
Honors and awards
''Beatles Stories'' was nominated for Best Score for an Indie Film or Documentary at the 2013 Hollywood Music and Media Awards.
References
External links
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*
'Beatles Stories' showcases endless reach of Fab Four's magic
Beatles Stories: A Fab Four Fan’s Ultimate Road Trip
Beatles Stories DVD – Seth Swirsky – Review
Songwriter Seth Swirsky on his new documentary Beatles Stories which was inspired by a visit to Liverpool
{{The Beatles filmography and videography
2011 films
2011 documentary films
American documentary films
Documentary films about the Beatles
2010s English-language films
2010s American films