Beatles Stories

Beatles Stories: A Fab Four Fan's Ultimate Road Trip is a 2011 film.

Beatles Stories
Directed bySeth Swirsky
Produced bySeth Swirsky
Production
company
Julukesy Films
Distributed byCinema Libre
Release date
  • April 2011 (2011-04) (Newport Beach)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

Songwriter Seth Swirsky grew up in the 1960s, a fan of The Beatles.[1] As he got older he noticed that whenever someone told a story about themselves and his favorite band he was all ears.[2]

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.[3]

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,[4] Art Garfunkel, Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues, actor Jon Voight, Susanna Hoffs, former first daughter Luci Baines Johnson, former New York Yankee Bernie Williams, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, actor Henry Winkler, Indianapolis Colts football owner Jim Irsay, Smokey Robinson, Donovan, Beatles longtime producer Sir George Martin, May Pang, Beatles engineers Norman Smith, Ken Scott and John Kurlander and American cultural icons Frank Gifford and Bob Eubanks, among others.[5][6][7][8]

Premieres

Beatles Stories[3] was chosen as an Official Selection at the 2011 European Independent Film Festival[9]—considered the Sundance of Europe[10][11]—and had its world premiere in Paris, France, on April 3, 2011.[12][13] It was an Official Selection at The 2011 Newport Beach International Film Festival, where it made its North American premiere on April 29, 2011.[14][15] It made its East Coast premiere at The Gold Coast International Film Festival on June 2, 2011.[16]

It was also an official selection at The 2011 Las Vegas Film Festival,[17] Santa Fe Independent Film Festival,[18][19] Bend Film Festival, Kansas International Film Festival[20] and the 2012 Fargo Film Festival.[21] 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".[22]

In June 2012, it was screened in London, Manchester and Liverpool.[5]

DVD release

The DVD of the documentary as well as a bonus disc containing an additional 25 interviews was released on June 6, 2012.[5] The DVD also contains a director's commentary track and a featurette with Norman "Hurricane" Smith, the engineer who worked on many of the Beatles' songs.[5][23]

The movie will have its official release in October 2012, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of The Beatles first recording, "Love Me Do".[3]

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 in the 1980 elections and, that by the end of his life, he was embarrassed by the naivete of his song "Imagine".[24][25][26]

Honors and awards

Beatles Stories was nominated for Best Score for an Indie Film or Documentary at the 2013 Hollywood Music and Media Awards.[27]

References
  1. "Seth Swirsky's official website". Seth.com. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
  2. "Beatles Stories: A Fab Four Fan's Ultimate Road Trip". Beatles Stories. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
  3. Seth Swirsky. "Beatles Stories A Beatle Fan's Ultimate Journey".
  4. Rolling Stone. "Premiere: Graham Nash Raves About Recording With the Beatles". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  5. Michael Starr. "Starr Report". New York Post. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  6. Catherine Jones. "Songwriter Seth Swirsky on his new documentary Beatles Stories which was inspired by a visit to Liverpool". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  7. Wall Street Journal. "Seth Swirsky: Talking About Meeting the Beatles". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  8. Marc Myers. "'Meet the Beatles,' Literally". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  9. The European Independent Film Festival. "Official Website".
  10. Elizabeth W Rubel. "European Independent Film Festival".
  11. ""BROKEN CLOUDS" by Yuri Alves competing in "SUNDANCE OF EUROPE"".
  12. The European Independent Film Festival. "Official Selection 2011".
  13. Film Annex. "Beatles Stories". Archived from the original on 2013-01-23.
  14. Newport Beach Film Festival. "Newport Beach Film Festival 2011". Archived from the original on 2011-03-01.
  15. Hollywood Outbreak. ""BEATLES STORIES" DOC MAKES NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT".
  16. The Gold Coast International Film Festival. "2011 Film Guide". Archived from the original on 2012-03-21.
  17. The Last Vegas Film Festival. "2011 Film & Events Schedule". Archived from the original on 2012-01-01. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  18. "Festival Events". Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  19. "Festival Events". Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  20. "KIFF 2011 Schedule and Film Guide". Archived from the original on 2015-08-10.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  21. "FFF 2012 Documentary Feature Films Announced". Archived from the original on 2014-09-03.
  22. PR USA. "Five Years in the Life Results in 'Beatles Stories'". Archived from the original on 2012-03-11.
  23. "'Beatles Stories' documentary shares new Fab Four tales". Goldmine Magazine. 11 September 2012.
  24. Wenn.com. "Lennon was a closet Republican: Assistant".
  25. TODAY staff and wire. "Was John Lennon a closet conservative?". Archived from the original on 2011-07-04.
  26. Tony Pierce (June 29, 2011). "John Lennon was a closet Reagan Republican claims former assistant". Los Angeles Times.
  27. "2013 Music in Visual Media Nominees". Archived from the original on 2013-10-15.
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