Let’s Rank The Beatles’ Movies

I’ve been going through a bit of a latent Beatlemania phase as of the past few months. The Beatles were always a huge cornerstone of my musical taste growing up having influenced me to pick up the guitar and grow my hair for most of my teenage years. Their Anthologies (which I rented from my local library back in the day) were gateways to pop standards and sonic experimentation. Even seeing Paul McCartney at the RDS back in 2003 was as close to seeing a living god (though we all know George was the cool one). Yet it was a recent trip to Liverpool and a pilgrimage to their childhood homes, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields and The Cavern Club that reawakened my love of that band after years of oversight from other groups and experimental genres. I was getting back to where I once belonged.

My re-entry to Beatledom made me re-explore their back catalogue by blowing the dust off a few LP’s. It made me more appreciative of their early work which I had previously snubbed as being far too mainstream when compared to the likes of The White Album and Abbey Road. However, one thing did escape my purview from my earlier days were the Fab Four’s contribution to cinema. From between 1963 and 1970 they produced no less than five films ranging from mockumentary, farce, surrealism, animation and documentary. They wanted to conquer the silver screen as well as the airwaves. After all, it was John Lennon seeing Elvis Presley on screen, not the radio, that made him want to be a rock n roll star. For an entire week I watched one per night and with a more mature head on my shoulders, I set out to see if they were any good and which one was the best.

5) Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

This one is just plain weird. Even The Beatles themselves must have been wondering what they were taking when they came up with this one. Originally created to be a TV Christmas special for the BBC, Magical Mystery Tour is a bit of a mess with no real plot other than the lads heading on a trip on a bus intersected with scenes of John Lennon’s nightmares and a Busby Berkley style song and dance number in white tuxedos. The only saving grace, (like with all of these films) is the music and contains the only known performance of I am the Walrus. This one’s a struggle to watch, even for hardened Beatlemaniacs like myself.

4) Help! (1965)

I have a theory that comedy has a sell by date which is ascertained by a wide range of factors based on how old you are divided by where you grew up etc. For example, I find that most comedy before Monty Python is not laugh out funny (Spike Milligan on The Goon Show being an exception). I appreciate that it’s good humoured but it’s not LMAO funny like say Father Ted or The Inbetweeners. Watching Help! feels like looking at a museum piece. You know this is meant to be a comedy but given the fact you’ve grown up in the 21st Century as opposed to the 20th you can’t laugh along with the bizarre and sometimes racist undertones in the film. The movie’s plot and acting don’t hold together that well which is not surprising given that the lads were in the middle of their heavy cannabis experimentation at the time. Despite that, it provided the template for the groovy Monkees TV series and has one of the most underrated Beatles soundtracks ever.

3) Let It Be (1970)

If Help! was The Beatles in their good times then Let It Be is certainly the band in their bad. Watching Let It Be feels like being down the pub with your mate and their partner after they’ve had a blistering row and we all know it’s all coming to an end. It’s just awkward for everyone. And that’s what Let It Be is, a long and drawn out breakup. Originally conceived as a documentary to accompany a live album which never materialised, we’re left seeing the band bicker and squabble over arrangements and production; certainly not helped by Yoko Ono’s presence in the background. Let It Be‘s best moment, however, is the Saville Row rooftop gig which produced the iconic Get Back and Don’t Let Me Down performances which have often been imitated yet never bettered. The concert, unbeknownst to them at the time, was to be The Beatles last ever live appearance as a band and knowing that as a die-hard fan makes you cry a little inside when you watch it. The Beatles have yet to remaster the film since, according to their management, it’s not a good reflection on the bands’ public image. However, rumours abound that a 50th-anniversary re-release is in the works for 2020.

2) A Hard Day’s Night (1963)

You thought this was going to number one, didn’t you? And with a rational, critical thinking hat on this should be. It’s one of the best British films of the 20th Century according to the BFI, one of the great all-time films by Time Magazine and lauded by Roger Ebert as “one of the great life-affirming landmarks of the movies.” And it is! A Hard Days Night is a fun ‘day in the life’ look at the band in their prime. It perfectly captures the band and remains the image of the band we want to remember; witty, joyful and full of cheeky Liverpudlian energy. The supporting cast (including Irish actor Wilfrid Brambell as Paul’s impetuous grandfather from the Emerald Isle) buoy up the inexperienced yet charming performances from The Beatles themselves. But was this my favourite? No, that award went to…

1) Yellow Submarine (1968)

Of all films Yellow Submarine made me grin ear to ear throughout. The 50th anniversary high definition remaster not only holds up, but it’s also actually an enhancement to the entire experience. Having to fulfil a motion picture deal with United Artists, the band decided it would be easier to have an animated film rather than the hassle of a live shoot. The resulting film was a psychedelic journey through Pepperland as the Beatles are summoned from their dreary real lives to help fight off the villainous Blue Meanies, all to the tunes of All You Need Is Love, Sargent Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. A pure product of the free love era of the 1960’s, Yellow Submarine is so much fun to watch. The rotoscoped animation (magically produced and directed by George Dunning, Robert Balser and Jack Stokes) coupled with the collages of vintage Edwardian photography and live action footage paired with the psychedelic sounds of the bands best and most creative era make it a total delight. George Martin’s sumptuous orchestrations are beautifully woven into the trip fabric of this film cementing his legacy as the true “Fifth Beatle.” Whilst John, Paul, George and Ringo had actors perform the voices of their characters, they were truly amazed at the final product and popped themselves at the end of the film for a rendition of All Together Now. The film is way ahead of its time and leaves you in amazement of the technical achievement of that era. Whilst the bizarre plot isn’t much to write home about, the now iconic kaleidoscopic visuals and music make Yellow Submarine a trip you want to take again and again.