The Beatles Anthology [DVD] [1995]

Probably the best piece of Beatles memorabilia you could ever buy. I had originally taped the series of TV way back in the mid 90's, but the DVD is now a permanent storage that won't have Gardner's World taped on it! With all the members of the band present (except of course for the late John) their is a real authenticity about the footage - not just what a narrator thinks. They all give great in-depth in-sights, from how they all met, to the final and emotional days of Abbey Road. Perhaps one unique thing about the band members are their personalities - rarely would a band member these days take the time to produce such a long, in depth story of one of the greatest bands we've known. The editing is super, and sets it aside from other documentaries. No split second footage of songs, so tiny cuts people talking - its just transcends so nicely. Many songs are actually footaged in their entirety, and the moving between stories/years is so smooth. Perhaps the most emotional part of this collection is the end. The interviews end quite bluntly, but its rather fitting, as Ringo explains, because the band never talked about 'it being the end'. They just enjoyed making Abbey Road, and went their separate ways. The editing at thr very end which plays clips of songs mixed together, with the sad but happy photo of them in the field really touches your heart, after everything they had been through for almost a decade. It's not surprising however that, in typical Paul McCartney fashion (ie. he wants to be 'different'), we see him not just talking and giving stories in one chair. He is constantly in several places, from piloting a boat, to rather oddly having a camp-fire in a field. Hmm... What makes this more special now is that, with poor George passing (my fave Beatle for his simple down to earthness) we still have a lovely record of him here and looking very healthy. It was a real shock when he died, as he seemed such a lovely guy. I can't recommend this highly enough. It's quite pricey, but what you may not realise is the sheer length of time it actually scales, and for that, its definitely worth considering.

The Beatles is a name known all over the world. It is a name known in each and every household. As a child I heard about the Beatles from my older brothers and sister. However, I was never a devout fan. I knew of their music, I just never listened to it. That was until this Christmas. I was browsing Youtube, listening to odd music videos when I stumbled upon 'Blackbird' by the Beatles. I said to myself; what the heck, I'll give it a listen. One Beatle video led to another and then to another and then to another and soon Beatlemania broke out all over again in my own home and I just had to have every 'beata' Beatle's material that ever existed! In January I discovered the Anthology box set and my dearest mother bought me it as a late Christmas present. I have told her over and over that she will never be able to top it. It was simply the most wonderful gift I have ever received in my entire 17 years on this planet! When it came in the post (and it came remarkably fast, thanking you Amazon!)I immediately sat down to watch it. I was perched on the edge of my seat, trying to get as near to the screen of the tv as possible drinking in every bit of the Beatle's story from their childhood, right through to their burst into international stardom until finally ending on the Beatle's tragic demise. I have watched this wonderful collection of dvd's three times over (although I have been unable to bring myself to watch the last dvd as I find the part about the band's break-up heartbreakingly sad!). For any Beatles fan it is a definite must have and I'm surprised you don't already possess a copy! Even for those strange folk who can exist without listening to a Beatles song each day, it is an immensely entertaining and extraordinary insight into the life story of four 'once-upon-a-time' ordinary and good-natured lads. It is obvious from the interviews with Paul, George (RIP) and Ringo that they, too, thoroughly enjoyed retelling their story as it really happened. Even though John sadly was killed many years before this programme was contemplated, he is brought back to life in this documentary as it uses pieces from earlier interviews with him so that he, too, can tell his story. It is truly one of the best put together and enjoyable documentaries that I have ever seen and would whole heartedly recommend it to both the extreme and non-extreme Beatles fans and music lovers! It has some wonderful footage of concerts and interviews and might I add Paul is particularly adorable throughout! It reveals in all their glory the lives and music of four of the most famous and astounding figures that have ever walked this planet. In this documentary you will see that these four lads were musically and imaginatively ahead of their time; creating music and exploring areas that had never been thought of before. This documentary is a show case of their utter brilliance and talent and reveals how and why the Beatles music has survived and will continue to permeate and inspire the future music industry. The Anthology box set made me realise that I was born in the wrong era and made me firmly believe that I am a sixties kid at heart! I could go on and on but this review is already ten times too long so I will end on this last comment;LONG LIVE THE BEATLES, LEGENDS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY AND THE CENTURIES TO COME!

Bra dokumentär. Omfattande.

Otimo produto. Em bom estado de conservacao

Même si ces DVD ont été réalisés par la société des Beatles, cette biographie filmée vaut franchement le détour. Depuis la naissance de chaque Beatle jusqu'à la séparation du groupe, huit films d'un peu plus d' une heure retracent l'incroyable aventure des Quatre de Liverpool. Quantité d'images des concerts et des émissions télévisées, quantité de reportages, d'interviews sont ponctués des commentaires de John, Paul, George, Ringo, mais aussi de George Martin, leur producteur artistique, de Neil Aspinal, leur road manger, de Derek Taylor, leur attaché de presse et de Brian Epstein, leur manager. En outre, ces huit épisodes sont admirablement filmés et la construction narrative est impeccable. Biographie romancée certes, mais ô combien fabuleuse. Une oeuvre d'art à la hauteur d'artistes comme les Beatles!

5 DVD e 10 ore circa di documentario narrato in prima persona dai 4 fab four (John tramite interviste di repertorio). Se siete già appassionati dei Beatles e vi siete letti le migliaia di biografie esistenti, non scoprirete chissà quali mirabolanti novità... Ma solo le immagini storiche valgono l'acquisto. Se invece conoscete e apprezzate i Beatles senza avere mai approfondito più di tanto la loro storia, è un documentario assolutamente imperdibile. Ho aspettato per anni che i costi scendessero un po', ma quando finalmente mi sono deciso... mi sono chiesto come mai abbia atteso così tanto. Stupendo!

At 11 years old, my biggest interests were horses, painting and drawing horses, reading books about horses and avoiding homework. Then, one November Sunday night, I wanted to watch tv and there was nothing on but The Beatles Anthology, I was too lazy to turn the set off. AND IT'S A GOOD THING I DIDN'T!!! At the end of two hours, I was off to bed singing "Love Me Do" and begging to watch the second installment the night it came on. It was heartbreak when I missed the 3rd and final installment on Thanksgiving night but by Christmas, I was 12 years old and the proud owner of my first boombox and my first CD ever: The Beatles Anthology 1. That was 9 years ago and I'm even crazier about The Beatles than I was then. I've even converted my best friends and my latest boyfriend into Beatles fans! It was also interesting to see my parents watching the local news the next night and seeing literally HUNDREDS of teenagers lined up outside the music stores in the Mall to buy Beatles albums! Oh, and don't get me wrong, I still love my horses (I'm training them now) and am pursuing an art career in college, I still love to read (I have several books about The Beatles) and am now trying to write a novel; but my love of The Beatles has never faded. The airing of The Beatles Anthology unleashed a second tide of Beatlemania that has yet to fade. In fact, they are still among the Top Ten searches on ebay. The Beatles also ignited my love of 60's and 70's music and culture and I am now among the hundreds of 20-somethings on my campus who are the latest of worshippers at the altars of the likes of: Jimmy Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and the solo career of John Lennon. We can now find common ground with the Baby Boomer/Old Hippy Professors on our campus and, even our parents! Ah, but back to my story. In my 13th year, The Beatles Anthology aired AGAIN, proof of its undying popularity. This time, I was prepared, and had enough VHS tape to record all three nights, sans commercials. My allowance, sadly, was not large enough to purchase the whole set of VHS tapes and my parents deemed them too expensive for a present. So, I continued to watch my home recordings as they faded more and more from continual use. Then, (hallelujah!) the DVDs were released! I was finally able to see the Anthology in its entirety, and for a much better price than the $130 out-of-publication VHS tapes. This set is NOT a letdown! And, it has the added bonus of extra material (the video for "Real Love", behind the scenes production, etc.) that the VHS tapes didn't have. The story of how The Beatles came to be is a real inspiration for me. I love the tale of how they all came to know each other and it was very interesting to learn of their backgrounds, the music that influenced each of them, how they got their name (like the Crickets, but Beat, like Beat Music) and the truly HORRIBLE living and traveling conditions they had to endure (broken windshield while traveling down a highway in the middle of winter in leather clothes, the horrible accommodations when they first arrived in Hamburg, and other stories). Their climb to success was long, hard and at times, disgruntling. But by the time John was 24, they were in America and loved all over the world! The Beatles had 27 Number One Hits in the space of SIX years! That is UNPRESIDENTED! Plus, they occupied the top FIVE spots of the Hits chart all at once, a record that had never happened before or since. Even when the Anthology aired, for weeks before, ABC broadcasting was advertising their station as "A Beatle C", even the local news anchors were being interviewed about who their favorite Beatle was. And, in the Friday Night programs called TGIF, their regular theme songs were replaced with BEATLES songs! I mean, no one band must be bigger, more famous or more loved to deserve all that hype! And I must say, I believe in that statement. The Beatles have influenced my artwork (just hearing their music brings all kinds of WONDERFUL abstract images into my head), like John Lennon always did, I now dream in Technicolor, and also like him, I don't need drugs to do it! He stated that it was always like that for him, he didn't know any other way to dream and at that point, he hadn't ever touched drugs. And despite their drug use, you have to respect The Beatles, they never used while they were recording (except once by accident) so even their was always done sober. AND, they give me hope that I WILL be able to make it with my own brand of art, the key is to NEVER give up on what you love to do, NO MATTER *WHAT* ANYONE TELLS YOU! (ex. John's Aunt Mimi: "You'll never make a living playing a guitar, John.") But, honestly, this is a GREAT set, The Beatles are a fantastic, original and NEVER-outdated band. They were the Four Horsemen of the 60's, they changed and influenced that decade in too many ways to name, they influenced the course of ALL genres of music forever, and they were always on the cutting edge of ingenuity, creativity and originality. Their sound was so NEW and Different from anything ever heard before, OR since! And because of that, their music will always remain TIMELESS and in a class ALL its own.