![]() Directed by Starr himself, it combined conventional gig footage with a series of curiously unfunny skits and outtakes that reek of self-indulgence. Ringo Starr, on the other hand, sought to promote his pal Marc Bolan with the T. Around the same time The Concert for Bangladesh emerged as both an album and a concert movie, thus furthering its charity work for UNICEF and the homeless Bengali refugees. ![]() George Harrison, meanwhile, complemented the Ravi Shankar LPs that Apple released with Raga, a highly respectful 1971 feature-length documentary that sought to introduce the Indian musician to a wider audience and still holds up well today. Indeed, there was significant crossover between the two as some of their titles no doubt suggest: Two Virgins, Imagine. John Lennon made a series of experimental movies with Yoko One in much the same way that they made experimental albums together. The remaining former Beatles jumped at the moviemaking opportunities, using Apple Films in much the same way as they did Apple Records: to promote the music of those they admired, their friends and, just occasionally, themselves. (Wings drummer Geoff Britton was a competitor, so this isn't quite as bizarre a project as it initially sounds.) That was the year in which he independently produced Empty Hand, a 32-minute documentary about the Amateur Karate Championships held in Islington. As the driving force behind the first two features he'd been understandably burnt by the criticisms and conflicts they'd help to inspire, and he wouldn't become involved again with the non-musical side of things until 1976. And even though the Fabs were no longer four, Apple Films carried on regardless, albeit with McCartney stepping to one side. No doubt reluctant to revisit the events of the previous year they had little desire to release the film, doing so only as a means of recouping some of its cost. It's also often forgotten that The Beatles bagged themselves an Oscar for the movie, for Best Original Song Score, though they asked Quincy Jones to collect the Award for them.īy the time Let It Be made it onto cinema screens in May of 1970, the band had formally announced their split. For the most part it's just a portrait of four musicians in a studio, occasionally taking things seriously, but generally insisting on goofing off and playing up to the cameras. Thanks, perhaps, to The Beatles Anthology and its choice of clips and outtakes, Let It Be has since become the one in which Paul and George bicker, thereby serving as a dramatic insight into the reasons behind the split – which isn't strictly true. Unavailable for many years (though rumour has it that it's next in line for the deluxe DVD and Blu-ray treatment following Magical Mystery Tour), the film nowadays has a tendency to be misremembered. Indeed, next on the slate was another of McCartney's ideas, the let's-watch-the-band-record-an-album documentary that would become Let It Be. The dreams making the transition to celluloid weren't those of the average guy on the street, but rather those of The Beatles themselves. Go away and do it.'"ĭespite the claims, Apple Films pretty much operated 'in-house'. If you come and see me and say 'I've had such and such a dream', I'll say, 'Here's so much money. So for the first time, the bosses aren't in it for profit. The ethos was a selfless one, as McCartney helpfully pointed out during the official press conference: "We're in the happy position of not really needing any more money. The Beatles' new company would incorporate many divisions – not just the famous Apple Records, but also Apple Films, Apple Publishing, Apple Electronics, even the short-lived Apple Boutique. Rather than killing off a film career, Magical Mystery Tour began one. There would be a number of next times thanks to the newly-founded Apple Corps. "We don't say it was a good film," was the response this time. And that seems to be what people read to find out what's a success." Clearly wounded by the critical mauling his latest effort had received, he nonetheless remained undeterred: "I think it's as good as I always thought it was." A few days later, presumably once the negative press had settled in, he'd changed tack somewhat. "You can't say it was a success," McCartney explained, "because the papers didn't like it. This was the day after Magical Mystery Tour had aired on the BBC and the Beatle was in something of a defensive mood. On the 27th of December 1967, Paul McCartney put in a hastily arranged appearance on The Frost Programme.
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