In the early years, The Beatles cut their teeth playing an insane number of live gigs (highlighted by their time in Germany) but once they became known worldwide, did not play live that often. Eventually they stopped playing live altogether and became a studio only band. This was before the reform to play benefits industry caught on, so even that didn’t bring them back together again.

Howard’s film focuses on their last great flurry of live gigs and liberally uses live footage from that period (cleaned up to a pristine standard) as well as recent interviews with both Paul, Ringo and others. The camaraderie of the four mop tops comes through with great effect and it looks like they did a pretty good job of dealing with the immense interest in their every utterance.

Of special note during the film’s current theatrical run is the screening of the complete Shea Stadium concert as a coda to the film and this is not to be missed. It shows just how crazy the crowds actually were and how engaging the band was on stage (especially John Lennon’s sense of absurdist humour). The filmmakers have done an amazing job of restoration and the sound and vision is outstanding. Catch the film now during it very limited run.

Rob Hudson
www.thebeatleseightdaysaweek.com

The Beatles: Eight Days A Week The Touring Years is based on the first part of The Beatles’ career (1962-1966) – the period in which they toured and captured the world’s acclaim. Ron Howard’s film will explore how John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr came together to become this extraordinary phenomenon, “The Beatles.”

It will explore their inner workings – how they made decisions, created their music and built their collective career together – all the while exploring The Beatles’ extraordinary and unique musical gifts and their remarkable, complementary personalities. The film will focus on the time period from the early Beatles’ journey in the days of The Cavern Club in Liverpool to their last concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1966.

To enter this great competition just fill in the entry form below. Please note – these tickets are for a specific screening only and can not be exchanged or refunded. The winners will need to be available on Friday September 16 at 6:30pm in Brisbane to be able to attend this screening at the Palace Barracks Cinema.

Competition will be drawn 11 September 2016, winners will be notified by email.