The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years premiers in select theaters today. The documentary is directed by Ron Howard and highlights the Beatles’ live performing career.
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr approved the project because they were fans of Howard’s old TV shows, The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days. They also liked his idea of a film documenting their time on the road.
“I think the basic thing about the Beatles is that we were a great little band,” says McCartney. “So to see us performing as a band is a great thing.”
Howard says that he was surprised to learn that the Beatles took a stand against segregation while touring the U.S. South.
“The idea that we might play to an audience where there were black people on one side and white people on the other was just, like, a joke to us,” says McCartney. “So one thing that I loved in the film was that it shows that we put it in our contract: we will not play to a segregated audience. I must say, I was proud of that, seeing it again in the film.”
The movie also features a restored film of the Beatles’ 1965 Shea Stadium concert and will premiere on Hulu September 17th.
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