The Beatles In the Movies The Beatles were not just a great band: like all cultural phenoms, they had massive
amounts of charisma, and like many members of their generation, they were infused with both unbridled optimism and a deep desire to rebel. All of this made them invaluable as future movie stars; anyone with
their popularity could have gotten a movie deal in the media-mad Sixties (Hell, the Dave Clark Five got a movie deal), but the Beatles were actually media-savvy enough to capitalize on it. They were stars,
after all.
A rare UK Help! poster from Mitch McGeary
The Beatles films, both those they made and those made about them, depict the lads' story and their impact in an astonishingly complete way,
detailing their rough start (BackBeat), the blush of innocence we gave them (A Hard Day's Night, Help!, I Wanna Hold Your Hand), the truths they stumbled across (Yellow Submarine, How I Won The War), their
excesses (Magical Mystery Tour), and their eventual disillusionment (Let It Be, The Magic Christian).
Most rock stars don't translate well to other mediums, but the Fabs weren't most rock stars. One
should never forget that they spent as much time as art students as they did rolling drunks in the Reeperbahn. It's that combo of street smarts and avant-garde aesthetics that endeared us to them in the
first place. And the film industry's even harder up for folks like that than the music industry is. How could they not wind up on the big screen?
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