The Beatles Documented: A Personal Journey

We took a time, and before too long, I fell in love with her. I got a car one day from Granada Television in England. They said the Beatles were... arriving in two hours in New York at Idlewild Airport. Would we like to make a film of them? And I put my hand over the phone and turned to my brother and said, Who are the Beatles? Are they any good? Fortunately, he was the one that knew about that kind of music. I knew something of classical music. He says, Yeah, they're great. So we both got on the phone and made a deal and rushed out to the airport. Renata knew very well that this might be a great moment, although no one could be sure whether there would be five people or five thousand people showing up at the airport. We want the Beatles! We want the Beatles! But they were right. This was a historical moment. These guys, the Beatles, they were... Almost like from another planet. My brother and I started working together in 1960. Four years before we made the Beatles film, my brother doing the sound and I doing the camera. Along with the Beatles on that same plane were two guys from Granada Television who were helping to produce the film. and they had some ideas that to us were kind of archaic. My brother and I have always been averse to interviewing people. We'd rather get information that is spontaneous, that's people experiencing something rather than answering questions. However, we never know for sure, having shot something, whether it's appropriate to use it in the film, so we were open-minded about it. Forty years have gone by now, and it's a good time to look back Some of the material that didn't go into the film, in retrospect, some of the stuff that we did of the kids in interview form is fascinating. No question about it. It's just phenomenal that people would come to see this and yet they wouldn't come to see the president. President Johnson came a few days ago. And there's no president over here except reporters and photographers. I figure what could be so vital as Beatles? I can't see that there is nothing. It's just that people are seeing them. I can't see them. It's just ridiculous. I've got to listen to a good jazz show anyway. Mingus or Mulligan, but not The Beatles. I saw them fly! I saw them in the couple's room. They're so cute! Yeah, I like them a lot. I want to see them too! See, we don't usually like, we don't like rock and roll. Yeah. But we think they're just great. What's your music? Oh, well, I'm, I go to Juilliard. That's classical. It's all classical. What is it? This is Italian arias and things like that. I just think they're the greatest. It's very interesting to see people go crazy over four people who are just thousands more like them. I know, it's just interesting. What do you think of them? They're alright. They don't particularly excite us. You know, anyone can rise out of the crowd and be a star. ...generated this kind of excitement and this kind of spark that I don't think it's bad. Take it easy! As we looked over the material in the editing process we decided that we're better off spending more time with the Beatles in their hotel room. Thirty eight. Hello, senior. I'll just find out, is there Miss Lillian Lang? Yes. Yes? Come on in, Lil! She's just coming to the phone. Come on, Lillie girl! Thank you very much. Can you put it through, please? Oh, really? Is there a call I should say? Um, we'll go talk to him, find out if it's the right one. We can't bring one in front of the mic. No! Why not? In front of the mic. Go and get the others. Sorry about that. Just so easy. I'm not going to waste time. I'm going to I want it on this line if it's Brian Matthews. Is this a photo? Yes. 1264. I can add that, which is a real, no room. It's good. They are filming and accepting this, but yeah. You know, I admire you. When we got into the hotel room, the light wasn't perfect by professional cinematographer standards, what's called in the business high production value, right? It was exactly the kind of lighting that you find in a real hotel. Well, that was perfect for us. We wouldn't want to change it in any way. And there's enough light so that we were properly exposed. And nothing about... The lighting that would upset them or get them to be any different from what they were. Overseas will call you back in 15 minutes, Miss Lang. Hello? Hello? What is this? Who's these ciggies with her? Why is there such a delay? Anybody got a light? Well, this is a man, not a woman. Oh, I see. Yes. Oh, I saw that. Show me. Thank you. What's happening? 15 minutes. I'll call back. I think we could have a rest from these comments for 15 minutes. What comments? It was at a time, fortunately, when my brother and I had already perfected the kind of instruments that we needed. A camera that I could hold on my shoulder would be very quiet, and a tape recorder that was so technically advanced that... We could shoot without being connected with one another. So we were totally mobile and there was nothing, technically, the equipment that we had that would be obtrusive and stop us from getting behind the scenes and close to people. Well, we had this big mass press interview with about 100 people there, you know. And then we got out to that and then we had to catalog each marvelous car. You know, in New York, the three records, Please Please Me, She Loves You, and I Wanna Hold Your Hand, are all number one. All joint, yeah. No, I think I Wanna Hold Your Hand has gone two million. Two. Yeah, and... Please please me, no not please please me, she loves you, that's done a million I think, almost. Well we don't know for definite yet, they'll probably give us the sales figures tomorrow. I hope so. Yeah it's number one in Cashbox and Billboard. Yeah well tell them not to forget we're only away for ten days. And we'll be back, you know, we're thinking of them. Oh yeah, they always get rumors. We're coming back to do the film for seven weeks anyway. People need to have attention paid, whether they're celebrities or ordinary people, the act of recognition is a very worthwhile one and a good one for people. And knowing I can tell you in my heart that it was good for them. It would be good for the people who look at the film. It would be good for us in making the film. I felt good about it, and that helped to establish trust. It's the way you look at somebody, and it's the empathizing, the love, if you will, that you share with them. that gives you that kind of access and we like these guys a lot. Funny mic there, that's what I say. I say it's a funny mic. If we could get the camera down on this mic it'd be a real laugh. How about go on? Defy convention. Down on it, go on. Hi-ya! Take 29. Take 29. Take 30. How many of us want to go up? How many of you guys? I've got a couple of lights here. The lights in the room, one, two. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. You can't get enough people in the room. You have the same riot we had yesterday. Okay. Who are you going to deal with? Two wire services? That's right. Roland said we want 15 minutes. All right. All right. You said we were trying to do it. You're on the show. I'm trying to do it. All right. You're on the show. The others object. They'll have to object to their office. What else can I tell you? There's three right upstairs. Three people. Three, yeah. One is sick. Nobody's getting to him. No, he's in bed. He will not be out of bed until the television show. On that basis, then I'll back out and not be with you then. I don't see how you can exclude the daily news. We have a lot of circulation in the country. How can you exclude a thing? It doesn't make sense to me. How can you just make a deal? I didn't make a deal. Well, whoever made it. I made no deal. The AP called up and the UCI called up. We're calling right now. The peckers are calling in here. I've been here 64 hours. Is that what you did? You called and made an appointment? We applied to do it, yes. Oh, you called and made an appointment? Yeah. For 15 minutes. Everybody can do it. All right, well, we're calling in now, personally. Number one, the answer is yes or no. I can't hear it. Is that the way you want it? How about the roof? And that'll satisfy everybody. You think so? The easier... The easier... The New York skyline in the background... You get the building in the background... Where's... Is the client down here or somebody's the manager? Well, why not just... We can't just... What's happening? The guys were always very much themselves. Any time a professional cameraman would show up, the professional cameraman would say, do this, do that, do this, do that. Okay, well, we'll just wait till the background clears. And so for them, being in front of a camera meant performing for it. So that had become their natural way of behaving, so we stuck with it. Now we can't see the center thaw up here. Spread out. Who's that coming? Who's that coming? Hey Beetle! Hi Beetle! Alright. Hey, great! Good, good, good. You got Beetle Cup too, huh? How about getting my cap on now? Get my cap on. Good job. affair because he had a sore throat that day. Of course we wanted very much to get into the installment show, film the guys. in the studio, but try as we did, and even with Paul's help, we couldn't get by the front door because it was union rules that outside cameras couldn't come in without special permission. All right, come on. What are you doing? Cut the gap. Just go and speak to the people. Sure, sure. Can I do it just from the back here? Back here, right. You better stay off on that. Of course we didn't wanna miss the Beatles. What we were gonna do if we couldn't get in to the Ed Sullivan show and couldn't film them there. We had mentioned this problem to Murray the K. What's up? Where are you watching the show? Where do I watch the show? Yeah, at home. Any other people there? Just my wife and my in-laws. No kids. No kids. Where's the place where we go and get some kids watching? For such an increase. Over in New Jersey, Governor Hughes has asked the state legislature for a state income tax. I think you five fellas finally hit Sullivan pretty good. He's smiling again. He's never had a smile for 15 years. He's going to do that now. Shut up! I'm gonna punch you up a bracket. There you go. That ends it. You can tell who's the boss there. Isn't that it, Martin? Yeah. Well, what time are we going? We must be fast tonight. Oh, yeah. What happened to you? I just feel in that hour. I'm going to land your hand on my knee, nobody can stop me. It occurred to us that if we just walked down the street and walked into the first tenement building, somewhere along the corridor, there'd be a family watching the Beatles on television. And when we heard, through one of the doors, the Beatles music, we knocked on the door. The mother of the family came to answer it, and we explained that we were making a film of the Beatles. Can we come in and film the film? She said, yeah, come on in. And we had this wonderful private moment with... The two girls and the rest of the family watching and responding in a very intimate setting. I can see that before the light, that moon and I will never burn. It's only you and I, we're one by one. Oh, we're one by one. Oh, you got a long, Much more interesting from our point of view than just being stuck with a tripod and a well-lit, but not... A real life kind of situation, like the family. I'm 23, congratulations. The Pembroke Lounge was a wonderful opportunity to see the guys off stage, having fun. It was such a crowded situation, everybody wanted to get close to them and dance with them. I had to get the camera in the thick of it all. Because I was able to do that, I was very, very pleased. It's certainly one of my favorite scenes in the whole film. Hey, Bob! Hey, Bob! Murray, baby, I didn't see too much, baby. Whoa! I'm not influenced by this American scene, baby. But I just love it. I just love it out here, Murray. And I think I have. Whoa, baby, don't be so upset, because I'm not influenced. You know what I mean? Thank you, Murray. It was a really good scene. Thank you very much. I'm good, man. I wasn't influenced by you either. No, really, seriously, thanks very much, Murray. Enjoy it. Okay, I think it's about time to wrap it up. Now that I see this little piece that didn't enter the film, of Murray the K bidding them farewell at the end of this evening at the Peppermint Lounge, maybe it should have... I get the impression you're filming me. Is this true? Could be. I get the movie actually. This man carrying this little weapon on his shoulder. Walking the dog. Pretend you can't see him. He'll go away. It is such a feeling of great exhilaration when you have your camera in your hand, you're looking through that lens. and you know that you're getting something so good for the film. I didn't know at that time, from moment to moment, exactly how it would be used, but I knew I was at the right place at the right time getting the right thing. This time, Brian Epstein was... Approached by a TV guy from ABC television as we were leaving the hotel and the lighting was totally imperfect by normal professional standards. But for me it was wonderful every once in a while when the silhouette, especially of Brian, would pop out. And you still saw the taxi cab and the city and so forth. But with the outline of his face, nice. You're Epstein, right? Yes. Jack Powers. Remember I had to use you at the airport when you came in? That's right. I'm the director of news for WBC. Oh, good. When are you gonna be available today for maybe a little telephone interview or something like that? The boys? You, you. Oh, so, Is that about 6.30? About 6.30 this evening. Just quick. And I can call you right on the phone. Right up your... Ah, yes, I'll ask for your book, sir. Alright. Make it 6.45. 6.45? Good. Very good. Thank you. The door is the other way around. Here. Thank you. W.A.B.C. is the broadcasting station? Yes, the ABC network, 203. Big one, it's an American network. I gave an interview to them, and first immediately I got into the airport. They're very hot in New York, it's one of the... ...three stations in town. That's ridiculous. Those radio stations. Fantastic. Calling into a program all of a sudden to just have a little conversation because the boys have been sort of speaking on the telephone and listening to it on the set. Have you had any time for any... No, the boys... Capital took the boys out to the 21 room. I'm asked like they went out with my other kid. I don't know. Well, you know, I had to get out this morning and......to get an alert. I went to bed. I had a good night's sleep, I suppose. I rather wanted to see a show actually. This one, Hello Dolly, isn't it? Yes. I think it's very good. I think a good documentary is an ode to reality and it gives us our actors, if you will. It gives us the scenes, it gives us everything that we need. You're lucky you came by train though. Oh yeah, I hope you can see some of the country anyway. Yeah, there's a ton of water in town. We should have come down by plane but you know, it was snowing. But what happened on Thursday? Do you think there will be a plane on Thursday? Oh yeah, sure. Because we gotta go to Miami, don't we? Oh, yeah, we love that. We used to be over by that. Oh, we used to be over by that, yeah. Miami is great. It's a good town to have a lot of. At least one. It's another one of those things that supports my view that just keep an open eye and things will happen on their own. Just from out of nowhere, this little kid comes up and engages herself relentlessly. And happily was Ringo. Boy, my mother's sister went here all brought. She brought her group. Bertie, how you pronounce the P? What? Bertie, you ask me? Who? Em, Em, Em Presley. With what? Come on. Come on. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. She knows all the big words. Hey, can you say it? What's it mean? That means she's loving it. We took advantage of that moment that sprung up. And it shows, too, a very paternal loving aspect of Ringo, that he didn't busy himself with something else. He took care of this little kid who was so curious and so... I'm going to let you do it. I'm going to let you do it. Call and go. When did you first hear the Beatles? On the radio. And then I went... You like them? Yeah. Ha I'll give you, I'll give you, I'm gonna, she was just asking. Woo! You don't know him because you don't listen to him. Okay, bye-bye. Okay, bye. Don't forget to come. I won't. In so much of what we see, we're constantly reminded. They hadn't, and I don't think they ever would be, or were spoiled by this celebrity. That was a wonderful element in there. ...charm in their appeal....a tough fella with the camera again. He's been boogin'on scene, hasn't he, man? There was a point where the Beatles were interested in how we were doing things, and so... They got into all kinds of questions about the technology. Paul and George especially were fascinated by the way we were making the film and the fact that we could be so quick on our feet. The technology had advanced more with us than in crews which had outdated equipment by our standards. normal television crews, the camera was fastened to a tripod and so forth. But they took particular relish in noticing that the watch that I was wearing was an electronic watch and that the camera was so fixed that there was a watch just like that in the camera, another one in the tape recorder, and it's that device in both. instruments that kept the two instruments locked in synchronization. And the other movie cameras. Look, he's separate from him. They're in perfect synchronization. Are they? Because they've got little... They're all good friends. That's great. I think he's going to watch too. Is it exactly the same thing? Let's see it. Oh, yeah. Wow. This is a good after. I'm going to watch it. I love it, David. It's going to be awesome. Don't. What? Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. And then my brother set it up so they could hear their own voices. We got a great kick out of that. Well, every time I see him, he's just like crawling down the floor with the magnetiser. Like a joke. Well, what are you getting from there? What's coming from here? You can't tell. You're doing proper rockin'to the floor. Wow! It's great. It's in sync. It's live now. Hello. Do you have one? Can I have one? You can have one. Go on, take it. Okay. It's great. Hello. Hello. Hello. Welcome. What's that? How is it in sync when it comes out later? My arm in the way. Oh, I see. That's because you're hearing it. Are you filming now? Yeah. My arm in the way. Without looking. It made that cat look like it was doing that. It made it in sync. You've got to have a great eye for this, too. You know, you want to hear about... It's killing me. Hello, I don't like it to be reckoned with. Alright. Hello, hello John. How you doing? I'm alright thanks, how's yourself? How's your dad? I'm well, ooh. Hey man. Oh, whee! Sounds like wood, wood, and, The comment which I remember even now, I think it was John that said that Al built a camera with the help of engineers. He made it himself, you know. He did it on the backstair. I love that one. Wild Sound, the train station. We're sitting Wild Sound on the train station. There may be a controversy over the Beatles apparel and their hairdos, but there's no debate about one thing, they sure have got talent. I had such a hard time coming into the stadium. I wasn't allowed to be there in the first place. And so when I finally got to be seated like anyone else, I noticed that my camera had been running all this time by mistake. Someone had hit the button. So I quickly changed the magazine and pulled the camera off my shoulder and got this wonderful full scene of what looked like a boxing ring. Great. With a wonderful shower of light coming down on the Beatles. Because I had a lens that could vary my closeness to them, I could zoom in and vary the shot. I turned around in one moment and there was Brian Epstein. Wonderful, I got him too. So I was... In a way, I was in more places, in better places than people who could just freely move around. Music If you look closely at the faces you'll see that there are a couple of them. Why are we here? I think the one reason that the scene that the ambassadors host didn't make it was I think there wasn't much of a story there. And yet looking back, I mean, now, I mean, in any kind of different moment, Yeah, yeah. It was loud and hard. There's been that one I've kind of shown before, you know, where you're going to play a little I don't know what to do. I've got some small car. I don't know what to do. I've got a lot of money. Are you used to that? I'm not used to that. I'm a cool person at the embassy. What do you have to say about that? Really? No, nothing. No, nothing. Back to New York before they go to Miami. And they could relax more at this point. I guess we're going to come back. There are lots and lots of people watching that at Sullivan Show. 72 million I think I know, I know We don't know that much Well I don't know about you But I'm one Darling turn around and let's show each other Come on I'm turning around Oh, yeah, up this building. Down here we have a drug addict. We can't get it off. Get off there, whatever. I'm alive. Let me have the bag. I thought it was a suicide. I don't know, let's see how many rings you're gonna be having. No, you better see how many rings I've got on my back. How long have you been on the books? About a half hour. That's a lot of work. You've been on a lot of books. I don't know about drugs then. Let's talk about woodbines. Woodbine is the greatest little cigarette. For what? As it says so on the packet. John, you're back. I thought your name was Murray. How are you John? How are you John? Of course, there's so many times in the outtakes when you see my brother, because I have to turn the camera on to him at the end of the shot in order to get the synchronization. Two, four, two. On you. Okay. But you see me too because you're looking through my eye when you're looking at the screen. I can't play you anymore, really. Oh, what are you into? Two, four, seven! Bingo! You won a major prize! It was really a very equal kind of contribution because it took the two of us to produce it, that is, to maintain. a relationship with the subjects and to ascertain what was coming up next and to decide where to be when. Screams Before going to Miami, my brother took off for England because it was decided that it would be best for my brother to make a deal with Granada Television so that we'd be able to make our own film. And I continued with the Beatles in Miami with another person to take sound. Mr. Starr, I have a telegram for you. Oh, thank you very much. I'm at the Doverville Hotel. Everything you got is fine. John was off with his wife at that time. The three remaining Beatles, they were so entertaining that I didn't realize until later on, oh, where's John? Cut! End of scene one! I still haven't packed all my stuff yet Do you know what I've done a remarkable night? I missed a picture of you, that's it I saw your girl the other day You know what? What? Blowing her hair all over her face Sometimes I get a little worried. Now we're from Coca-Cola. What's the word, Paul? Coca-Cola. I like it. Shut up, cop. I think it is an exciting moment that people hold on to dearly. Those first moments in their career. of celebrities and especially the Beatles they were just kids and there has to be some kind of magic quality that a film could capture that could help to give us an understanding of how they were able to take over A whole nation. See on the other side. Van in. We got to my brother. Yeah! Good luck. Look up. Good luck. For myself, I went a long way from knowing nothing of the Beatles to not only listening to their music, watching them, you know, but helping to create a lasting record of exactly who they were. It's been the end of a certain chapter. A chapter in their lives as well as a chapter in the lives of people who have become engaged with them. Now they're fully into their career. And they've taken another country in their hands. Thank you. A new genre of documentary filmmaking. By the techniques that allowed us to get so intimate with the people that we're filming. I've been told that it's no longer possible to get into situations that are very intimate with a camera. That people are so savvy to a camera that they become too camera conscious. I don't agree, at least it hasn't been my experience. It depends on who's trying to get the access and how they approach people, how they look at people. If they, as I do, empathize with them, feel for them, and want to represent them truthfully. People love that, and they always will. That doesn't change. I even can say that in looking at the film each time, I'm inspired to go on to do another one.

We took a time, and before too long, I fell in love with her. I got a car one day from Granada Television in England. They said the Beatles were...

arriving in two hours in New York at Idlewild Airport. Would we like to make a film of them? And I put my hand over the phone and turned to my brother and said, Who are the Beatles?

Are they any good? Fortunately, he was the one that knew about that kind of music. I knew something of classical music.

He says, Yeah, they're great. So we both got on the phone and made a deal and rushed out to the airport. Renata knew very well that this might be a great moment, although no one could be sure whether there would be five people or five thousand people showing up at the airport. We want the Beatles!

We want the Beatles! But they were right. This was a historical moment. These guys, the Beatles, they were...

Almost like from another planet. My brother and I started working together in 1960. Four years before we made the Beatles film, my brother doing the sound and I doing the camera. Along with the Beatles on that same plane were two guys from Granada Television who were helping to produce the film.

and they had some ideas that to us were kind of archaic. My brother and I have always been averse to interviewing people. We'd rather get information that is spontaneous, that's people experiencing something rather than answering questions.

However, we never know for sure, having shot something, whether it's appropriate to use it in the film, so we were open-minded about it. Forty years have gone by now, and it's a good time to look back Some of the material that didn't go into the film, in retrospect, some of the stuff that we did of the kids in interview form is fascinating. No question about it.

It's just phenomenal that people would come to see this and yet they wouldn't come to see the president. President Johnson came a few days ago. And there's no president over here except reporters and photographers.

I figure what could be so vital as Beatles? I can't see that there is nothing. It's just that people are seeing them.

I can't see them. It's just ridiculous. I've got to listen to a good jazz show anyway. Mingus or Mulligan, but not The Beatles.

I saw them fly! I saw them in the couple's room. They're so cute! Yeah, I like them a lot.

I want to see them too! See, we don't usually like, we don't like rock and roll. Yeah.

But we think they're just great. What's your music? Oh, well, I'm, I go to Juilliard. That's classical. It's all classical.

What is it? This is Italian arias and things like that. I just think they're the greatest.

It's very interesting to see people go crazy over four people who are just thousands more like them. I know, it's just interesting. What do you think of them? They're alright. They don't particularly excite us.

You know, anyone can rise out of the crowd and be a star. ...generated this kind of excitement and this kind of spark that I don't think it's bad. Take it easy!

As we looked over the material in the editing process we decided that we're better off spending more time with the Beatles in their hotel room. Thirty eight. Hello, senior. I'll just find out, is there Miss Lillian Lang? Yes.

Yes? Come on in, Lil! She's just coming to the phone. Come on, Lillie girl!

Thank you very much. Can you put it through, please? Oh, really?

Is there a call I should say? Um, we'll go talk to him, find out if it's the right one. We can't bring one in front of the mic.

No! Why not? In front of the mic. Go and get the others.

Sorry about that. Just so easy. I'm not going to waste time.

I'm going to I want it on this line if it's Brian Matthews. Is this a photo? Yes. 1264. I can add that, which is a real, no room. It's good.

They are filming and accepting this, but yeah. You know, I admire you. When we got into the hotel room, the light wasn't perfect by professional cinematographer standards, what's called in the business high production value, right? It was exactly the kind of lighting that you find in a real hotel. Well, that was perfect for us.

We wouldn't want to change it in any way. And there's enough light so that we were properly exposed. And nothing about... The lighting that would upset them or get them to be any different from what they were.

Overseas will call you back in 15 minutes, Miss Lang. Hello? Hello? What is this?

Who's these ciggies with her? Why is there such a delay? Anybody got a light? Well, this is a man, not a woman. Oh, I see.

Yes. Oh, I saw that. Show me. Thank you. What's happening?

15 minutes. I'll call back. I think we could have a rest from these comments for 15 minutes. What comments?

It was at a time, fortunately, when my brother and I had already perfected the kind of instruments that we needed. A camera that I could hold on my shoulder would be very quiet, and a tape recorder that was so technically advanced that... We could shoot without being connected with one another.

So we were totally mobile and there was nothing, technically, the equipment that we had that would be obtrusive and stop us from getting behind the scenes and close to people. Well, we had this big mass press interview with about 100 people there, you know. And then we got out to that and then we had to catalog each marvelous car. You know, in New York, the three records, Please Please Me, She Loves You, and I Wanna Hold Your Hand, are all number one. All joint, yeah.

No, I think I Wanna Hold Your Hand has gone two million. Two. Yeah, and...

Please please me, no not please please me, she loves you, that's done a million I think, almost. Well we don't know for definite yet, they'll probably give us the sales figures tomorrow. I hope so. Yeah it's number one in Cashbox and Billboard.

Yeah well tell them not to forget we're only away for ten days. And we'll be back, you know, we're thinking of them. Oh yeah, they always get rumors. We're coming back to do the film for seven weeks anyway.

People need to have attention paid, whether they're celebrities or ordinary people, the act of recognition is a very worthwhile one and a good one for people. And knowing I can tell you in my heart that it was good for them. It would be good for the people who look at the film.

It would be good for us in making the film. I felt good about it, and that helped to establish trust. It's the way you look at somebody, and it's the empathizing, the love, if you will, that you share with them.

that gives you that kind of access and we like these guys a lot. Funny mic there, that's what I say. I say it's a funny mic.

If we could get the camera down on this mic it'd be a real laugh. How about go on? Defy convention.

Down on it, go on. Hi-ya! Take 29. Take 29. Take 30. How many of us want to go up?

How many of you guys? I've got a couple of lights here. The lights in the room, one, two.

3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. You can't get enough people in the room. You have the same riot we had yesterday. Okay.

Who are you going to deal with? Two wire services? That's right.

Roland said we want 15 minutes. All right. All right. You said we were trying to do it.

You're on the show. I'm trying to do it. All right.

You're on the show. The others object. They'll have to object to their office.

What else can I tell you? There's three right upstairs. Three people.

Three, yeah. One is sick. Nobody's getting to him.

No, he's in bed. He will not be out of bed until the television show. On that basis, then I'll back out and not be with you then.

I don't see how you can exclude the daily news. We have a lot of circulation in the country. How can you exclude a thing? It doesn't make sense to me. How can you just make a deal?

I didn't make a deal. Well, whoever made it. I made no deal.

The AP called up and the UCI called up. We're calling right now. The peckers are calling in here. I've been here 64 hours. Is that what you did?

You called and made an appointment? We applied to do it, yes. Oh, you called and made an appointment?

Yeah. For 15 minutes. Everybody can do it. All right, well, we're calling in now, personally. Number one, the answer is yes or no.

I can't hear it. Is that the way you want it? How about the roof?

And that'll satisfy everybody. You think so? The easier...

The easier... The New York skyline in the background... You get the building in the background...

Where's... Is the client down here or somebody's the manager? Well, why not just...

We can't just... What's happening? The guys were always very much themselves. Any time a professional cameraman would show up, the professional cameraman would say, do this, do that, do this, do that.

Okay, well, we'll just wait till the background clears. And so for them, being in front of a camera meant performing for it. So that had become their natural way of behaving, so we stuck with it.

Now we can't see the center thaw up here. Spread out. Who's that coming?

Who's that coming? Hey Beetle! Hi Beetle!

Alright. Hey, great! Good, good, good.

You got Beetle Cup too, huh? How about getting my cap on now? Get my cap on.

Good job. affair because he had a sore throat that day. Of course we wanted very much to get into the installment show, film the guys.

in the studio, but try as we did, and even with Paul's help, we couldn't get by the front door because it was union rules that outside cameras couldn't come in without special permission. All right, come on. What are you doing? Cut the gap. Just go and speak to the people.

Sure, sure. Can I do it just from the back here? Back here, right. You better stay off on that.

Of course we didn't wanna miss the Beatles. What we were gonna do if we couldn't get in to the Ed Sullivan show and couldn't film them there. We had mentioned this problem to Murray the K. What's up? Where are you watching the show?

Where do I watch the show? Yeah, at home. Any other people there? Just my wife and my in-laws. No kids.

No kids. Where's the place where we go and get some kids watching? For such an increase.

Over in New Jersey, Governor Hughes has asked the state legislature for a state income tax. I think you five fellas finally hit Sullivan pretty good. He's smiling again.

He's never had a smile for 15 years. He's going to do that now. Shut up!

I'm gonna punch you up a bracket. There you go. That ends it. You can tell who's the boss there. Isn't that it, Martin?

Yeah. Well, what time are we going? We must be fast tonight. Oh, yeah.

What happened to you? I just feel in that hour. I'm going to land your hand on my knee, nobody can stop me.

It occurred to us that if we just walked down the street and walked into the first tenement building, somewhere along the corridor, there'd be a family watching the Beatles on television. And when we heard, through one of the doors, the Beatles music, we knocked on the door. The mother of the family came to answer it, and we explained that we were making a film of the Beatles. Can we come in and film the film?

She said, yeah, come on in. And we had this wonderful private moment with... The two girls and the rest of the family watching and responding in a very intimate setting. I can see that before the light, that moon and I will never burn.

It's only you and I, we're one by one. Oh, we're one by one. Oh, you got a long, Much more interesting from our point of view than just being stuck with a tripod and a well-lit, but not... A real life kind of situation, like the family.

I'm 23, congratulations. The Pembroke Lounge was a wonderful opportunity to see the guys off stage, having fun. It was such a crowded situation, everybody wanted to get close to them and dance with them. I had to get the camera in the thick of it all.

Because I was able to do that, I was very, very pleased. It's certainly one of my favorite scenes in the whole film. Hey, Bob! Hey, Bob!

Murray, baby, I didn't see too much, baby. Whoa! I'm not influenced by this American scene, baby.

But I just love it. I just love it out here, Murray. And I think I have. Whoa, baby, don't be so upset, because I'm not influenced. You know what I mean?

Thank you, Murray. It was a really good scene. Thank you very much. I'm good, man.

I wasn't influenced by you either. No, really, seriously, thanks very much, Murray. Enjoy it. Okay, I think it's about time to wrap it up.

Now that I see this little piece that didn't enter the film, of Murray the K bidding them farewell at the end of this evening at the Peppermint Lounge, maybe it should have... I get the impression you're filming me. Is this true?

Could be. I get the movie actually. This man carrying this little weapon on his shoulder. Walking the dog.

Pretend you can't see him. He'll go away. It is such a feeling of great exhilaration when you have your camera in your hand, you're looking through that lens.

and you know that you're getting something so good for the film. I didn't know at that time, from moment to moment, exactly how it would be used, but I knew I was at the right place at the right time getting the right thing. This time, Brian Epstein was... Approached by a TV guy from ABC television as we were leaving the hotel and the lighting was totally imperfect by normal professional standards.

But for me it was wonderful every once in a while when the silhouette, especially of Brian, would pop out. And you still saw the taxi cab and the city and so forth. But with the outline of his face, nice.

You're Epstein, right? Yes. Jack Powers. Remember I had to use you at the airport when you came in? That's right.

I'm the director of news for WBC. Oh, good. When are you gonna be available today for maybe a little telephone interview or something like that? The boys? You, you.

Oh, so, Is that about 6.30? About 6.30 this evening. Just quick. And I can call you right on the phone.

Right up your... Ah, yes, I'll ask for your book, sir. Alright. Make it 6.45. 6.45?

Good. Very good. Thank you. The door is the other way around.

Here. Thank you. W.A.B.C. is the broadcasting station?

Yes, the ABC network, 203. Big one, it's an American network. I gave an interview to them, and first immediately I got into the airport. They're very hot in New York, it's one of the...

...three stations in town. That's ridiculous. Those radio stations.

Fantastic. Calling into a program all of a sudden to just have a little conversation because the boys have been sort of speaking on the telephone and listening to it on the set. Have you had any time for any...

No, the boys... Capital took the boys out to the 21 room. I'm asked like they went out with my other kid. I don't know. Well, you know, I had to get out this morning and......to get an alert.

I went to bed. I had a good night's sleep, I suppose. I rather wanted to see a show actually.

This one, Hello Dolly, isn't it? Yes. I think it's very good.

I think a good documentary is an ode to reality and it gives us our actors, if you will. It gives us the scenes, it gives us everything that we need. You're lucky you came by train though. Oh yeah, I hope you can see some of the country anyway.

Yeah, there's a ton of water in town. We should have come down by plane but you know, it was snowing. But what happened on Thursday? Do you think there will be a plane on Thursday? Oh yeah, sure.

Because we gotta go to Miami, don't we? Oh, yeah, we love that. We used to be over by that.

Oh, we used to be over by that, yeah. Miami is great. It's a good town to have a lot of. At least one.

It's another one of those things that supports my view that just keep an open eye and things will happen on their own. Just from out of nowhere, this little kid comes up and engages herself relentlessly. And happily was Ringo. Boy, my mother's sister went here all brought.

She brought her group. Bertie, how you pronounce the P? What? Bertie, you ask me?

Who? Em, Em, Em Presley. With what? Come on. Come on.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. She knows all the big words.

Hey, can you say it? What's it mean? That means she's loving it.

We took advantage of that moment that sprung up. And it shows, too, a very paternal loving aspect of Ringo, that he didn't busy himself with something else. He took care of this little kid who was so curious and so... I'm going to let you do it.

I'm going to let you do it. Call and go. When did you first hear the Beatles? On the radio. And then I went...

You like them? Yeah. Ha I'll give you, I'll give you, I'm gonna, she was just asking.

Woo! You don't know him because you don't listen to him. Okay, bye-bye.

Okay, bye. Don't forget to come. I won't.

In so much of what we see, we're constantly reminded. They hadn't, and I don't think they ever would be, or were spoiled by this celebrity. That was a wonderful element in there.

...charm in their appeal....a tough fella with the camera again. He's been boogin'on scene, hasn't he, man? There was a point where the Beatles were interested in how we were doing things, and so...

They got into all kinds of questions about the technology. Paul and George especially were fascinated by the way we were making the film and the fact that we could be so quick on our feet. The technology had advanced more with us than in crews which had outdated equipment by our standards. normal television crews, the camera was fastened to a tripod and so forth. But they took particular relish in noticing that the watch that I was wearing was an electronic watch and that the camera was so fixed that there was a watch just like that in the camera, another one in the tape recorder, and it's that device in both.

instruments that kept the two instruments locked in synchronization. And the other movie cameras. Look, he's separate from him. They're in perfect synchronization.

Are they? Because they've got little... They're all good friends. That's great.

I think he's going to watch too. Is it exactly the same thing? Let's see it.

Oh, yeah. Wow. This is a good after. I'm going to watch it.

I love it, David. It's going to be awesome. Don't. What?

Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't.

Don't. Don't. Don't.

Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't.

Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't.

Don't. Don't. Don't.

Don't. Don't. Don't. And then my brother set it up so they could hear their own voices.

We got a great kick out of that. Well, every time I see him, he's just like crawling down the floor with the magnetiser. Like a joke.

Well, what are you getting from there? What's coming from here? You can't tell. You're doing proper rockin'to the floor. Wow!

It's great. It's in sync. It's live now.

Hello. Do you have one? Can I have one?

You can have one. Go on, take it. Okay.

It's great. Hello. Hello.

Hello. Welcome. What's that?

How is it in sync when it comes out later? My arm in the way. Oh, I see.

That's because you're hearing it. Are you filming now? Yeah. My arm in the way. Without looking.

It made that cat look like it was doing that. It made it in sync. You've got to have a great eye for this, too. You know, you want to hear about... It's killing me.

Hello, I don't like it to be reckoned with. Alright. Hello, hello John.

How you doing? I'm alright thanks, how's yourself? How's your dad? I'm well, ooh.

Hey man. Oh, whee! Sounds like wood, wood, and, The comment which I remember even now, I think it was John that said that Al built a camera with the help of engineers. He made it himself, you know. He did it on the backstair.

I love that one. Wild Sound, the train station. We're sitting Wild Sound on the train station. There may be a controversy over the Beatles apparel and their hairdos, but there's no debate about one thing, they sure have got talent. I had such a hard time coming into the stadium.

I wasn't allowed to be there in the first place. And so when I finally got to be seated like anyone else, I noticed that my camera had been running all this time by mistake. Someone had hit the button. So I quickly changed the magazine and pulled the camera off my shoulder and got this wonderful full scene of what looked like a boxing ring.

Great. With a wonderful shower of light coming down on the Beatles. Because I had a lens that could vary my closeness to them, I could zoom in and vary the shot. I turned around in one moment and there was Brian Epstein. Wonderful, I got him too.

So I was... In a way, I was in more places, in better places than people who could just freely move around. Music If you look closely at the faces you'll see that there are a couple of them.

Why are we here? I think the one reason that the scene that the ambassadors host didn't make it was I think there wasn't much of a story there. And yet looking back, I mean, now, I mean, in any kind of different moment, Yeah, yeah.

It was loud and hard. There's been that one I've kind of shown before, you know, where you're going to play a little I don't know what to do. I've got some small car.

I don't know what to do. I've got a lot of money. Are you used to that? I'm not used to that. I'm a cool person at the embassy.

What do you have to say about that? Really? No, nothing.

No, nothing. Back to New York before they go to Miami. And they could relax more at this point.

I guess we're going to come back. There are lots and lots of people watching that at Sullivan Show. 72 million I think I know, I know We don't know that much Well I don't know about you But I'm one Darling turn around and let's show each other Come on I'm turning around Oh, yeah, up this building. Down here we have a drug addict.

We can't get it off. Get off there, whatever. I'm alive. Let me have the bag.

I thought it was a suicide. I don't know, let's see how many rings you're gonna be having. No, you better see how many rings I've got on my back. How long have you been on the books?

About a half hour. That's a lot of work. You've been on a lot of books. I don't know about drugs then. Let's talk about woodbines.

Woodbine is the greatest little cigarette. For what? As it says so on the packet. John, you're back. I thought your name was Murray.

How are you John? How are you John? Of course, there's so many times in the outtakes when you see my brother, because I have to turn the camera on to him at the end of the shot in order to get the synchronization.

Two, four, two. On you. Okay.

But you see me too because you're looking through my eye when you're looking at the screen. I can't play you anymore, really. Oh, what are you into?

Two, four, seven! Bingo! You won a major prize!

It was really a very equal kind of contribution because it took the two of us to produce it, that is, to maintain. a relationship with the subjects and to ascertain what was coming up next and to decide where to be when. Screams Before going to Miami, my brother took off for England because it was decided that it would be best for my brother to make a deal with Granada Television so that we'd be able to make our own film.

And I continued with the Beatles in Miami with another person to take sound. Mr. Starr, I have a telegram for you. Oh, thank you very much.

I'm at the Doverville Hotel. Everything you got is fine. John was off with his wife at that time.

The three remaining Beatles, they were so entertaining that I didn't realize until later on, oh, where's John? Cut! End of scene one! I still haven't packed all my stuff yet Do you know what I've done a remarkable night?

I missed a picture of you, that's it I saw your girl the other day You know what? What? Blowing her hair all over her face Sometimes I get a little worried. Now we're from Coca-Cola.

What's the word, Paul? Coca-Cola. I like it.

Shut up, cop. I think it is an exciting moment that people hold on to dearly. Those first moments in their career.

of celebrities and especially the Beatles they were just kids and there has to be some kind of magic quality that a film could capture that could help to give us an understanding of how they were able to take over A whole nation. See on the other side. Van in. We got to my brother. Yeah!

Good luck. Look up. Good luck.

For myself, I went a long way from knowing nothing of the Beatles to not only listening to their music, watching them, you know, but helping to create a lasting record of exactly who they were. It's been the end of a certain chapter. A chapter in their lives as well as a chapter in the lives of people who have become engaged with them. Now they're fully into their career. And they've taken another country in their hands.

Thank you. A new genre of documentary filmmaking. By the techniques that allowed us to get so intimate with the people that we're filming.

I've been told that it's no longer possible to get into situations that are very intimate with a camera. That people are so savvy to a camera that they become too camera conscious. I don't agree, at least it hasn't been my experience.

It depends on who's trying to get the access and how they approach people, how they look at people. If they, as I do, empathize with them, feel for them, and want to represent them truthfully. People love that, and they always will. That doesn't change. I even can say that in looking at the film each time, I'm inspired to go on to do another one.

Transcript for:The Beatles Documented: A Personal Journey

Transcript for:
The Beatles Documented: A Personal Journey