In Apple Films' 1971 documentary, Ravi Shankar is pondering whether he's diluted his beloved Indian classical music by promoting it to the West, through his association with George Harrison and The Beatles. We look at how the film explores this, and how it emphasises the spiritual connection necessary to perform the music, through techniques like focusing on the musicians' eye contact while playing. Plus! Was George actually rubbish at the sitar?

• Watch the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvwf53_ZPEM
• The final scene of Mad Men, in a very similar setting to the Esalen Institute, where Ravi and George practise sitar in Raga: https://youtu.be/LKPI56zW5AA

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

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We're in agreement: this is the worst film we've covered. Yes, worse than Sextette. Ringo Starr's role in Frank Zappa's 1971 freakout film seems like it could've gone to anyone: is there a specific reason for using him as a Zappa avatar in this film? We also talk Zappa and free speech: do the arguably puerile lyrics undermine the virtuoso musicianship of Zappa and the Mothers of Invention? And did John Lennon and Yoko Ono rip off a Zappa song after they played together?

A WARNING: there is more effing and jeffing in this episode than usual, because of the necessity to quote some of the dialogue to discuss it.

• Watch 200 Motels: https://m.ok.ru/video/1559126346278
• The documentary The True Story of 200 Motels: https://youtu.be/hHupp3ZDKAk
• Théâtre du Grand-Guignol: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Guignol
• Cirque de Clunes on Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge: https://youtu.be/hPQHHP7dfjU
• Benson Boone: https://youtube.com/@bensonboone
• The Darkness: https://youtube.com/@theactualdarkness
• Jamrag/King Kong, as of 2025's Power to the People box set, now credits Zappa as a writer: https://youtu.be/4BDPdquOpnk
• Ringo's quote about his waning commitment to filmmaking is from Alan Clayson's book Ringo Starr: https://share.google/mEjJ4ljorGZFTVQmi

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
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This film is of Mark Lewisohn's 2022 stage show bringing to life what the Beatles did in 1962, enhanced by on-location filming by director Chris Purcell. We talk about how it showcases a performance style and an enthusiasm that belies a reputation for dry historical detail. And quite a bit about Ringo Starr's drumming, as it turns out.

• You can rent Evolver 62 on Prime Video and Apple TV at the moment: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/evolver-62
• And buy it on blu-ray in some territories: https://www.wowhd.co.uk/evolver-62/824355814323
• The Bill Hicks bit with the Ringo joke in it: https://youtu.be/-jIuP_Uk7Ak
• The Red Dwarf episode with the Ringo joke is series 2, episode 6, "Parallel Universe": https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00b8qy6/red-dwarf-ii-6-parallel-universe. See also series 1, episode 2, "Future Echoes" in which we find out Lister's robot goldfish are called Lennon and McCartney.
• The Ringo interview it turns out we were both thinking of was actually with Dave Stewart, not Elvis Costello: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl9188EPdLI
• Trailer for Bart Layton's The Imposter, which repopularised reconstructions in documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1kHod0xa_8
• Actor Peter Boyle, at whose wedding John Lennon was best man: https://share.google/7TH4WLlIiuMSOvzW1
• Ed's point towards the end about how the surfeit of biography online affects fandom is paraphrased from Monsters: What Do We Do with Great Art by Bad People? by Claire Dederer: https://share.google/pXQbXdAMaKS5qEJdf

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
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1972's Imagine was part-longform music video for John Lennon's Imagine and Yoko Ono's Fly albums, and part-bonkers conceptual art film. We try and get to the bottom of it: does it mean anything, and does a work of art's meaning have to be intentional in order to be, well, meaningful? Plus some key themes: mass isolation, intimacy in celebrity, male femininity through submission: sure, why not? 

• You can watch the 2018 remaster on Prime Video at the moment.
• The trailer for the 2018 cinema release: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThIhgBloqN0
• The chess scene, set to Yoko's Don't Count the Waves: https://youtu.be/nVRhtWfJqXQ
• The video for the song Imagine: https://youtu.be/YkgkThdzX-8
• OK, so we weren't 100% correct about Situationism, but give us a break: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situationist_International 
• The chess scene in Bottom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f64qJorLrY
• The Marina Abramović work similar to Yoko's Cut Piece is Rhythm 0, in which she stood for six hours and invited the audience to use 72 objects to do whatever they wanted to her: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_0

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
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We love an iconic Beatle interview, and here's one: the first time two Beatles had been interviewed together on TV since the band split up. It's fascinating for a few reasons. We talk about Ringo's alcoholism (he went into rehab later that year), and how George gently prevents his drunk friend from going too far. Plus some discussion of the When We Was Fab video, which George was there to promote. Was Paul McCartney in the walrus costume? And did Michael Aspel found the Traveling Wilburys?

• Watch the interview: https://youtu.be/-vrRfORrcYM
• Thelma Barlow, the Coronation Street actor also interviewed in the episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelma_Barlow 
• Terry Wogan interviewing English footballer Paul "Gazza" Gascoigne in 1990: "The dream could turn out to be a nightmare" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcGvSKRQ5KY
• George's When We Was Fab video: https://youtu.be/AVu6nPTVbBQ
• Oliver Reed drunk on Aspel and Company: https://youtu.be/EZMXIxIQmPw

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
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Based on Lars Saabye Christensen's 1984 book, a huge success in Norway, it's another coming-of-age story! Why does teenage Beatles fandom dovetail so well with this genre? We look at the use of the music in the film, which secured the rights to use a few Beatles songs, as well as how successfully it marries up the four teenage boy characters with their respective Beatles.

• You can rent the film cheaply on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlOJYlREuIE
• The book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatles_(novel)
• Watch The Bonfire of the Vanities: https://share.google/2KvlWLlYJaRyxTi1D
• Mario Puzo's The Godfather novel: https://share.google/25bfmbahtQ6IksLbA
• The Norwegian Wood film: https://share.google/olHb9tcPqN3cYKKtQ

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
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• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast
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Given a short cinema release in April 2026, this film remixes and restores John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1972 One to One concerts at Madison Square Garden, New York, John's only full-length post-Beatles concerts. We look at the context: this is shortly after the release of Sometime in New York City, an album which hadn't gone down well with fans or critics. Does this explain the seeming audience relief at hearing songs from other albums? We also look at Yoko Ono as an "anti-rock" vocalist, and discuss Imagine: as this was its only concert performance by its author, did the song escape the singalong anthem status it might otherwise have had?

• The film has no streaming release date set at the moment, but generally these short cinema runs are a preamble to an imminent streaming release so we'd expect one soon. https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/power-to-the-people-john-and-yoko-live-in-nyc
• Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7DztEZ86IY
• Bruce Channel's Hey Baby, part of the brief 1962 harmonica craze into which Love Me Do slotted: https://youtu.be/Ync7jflOzuA
• Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak, which started the popularity for autotune: https://open.spotify.com/album/5ykOQlHaE5ZRxMibfI75YW?si=csCzZXmhSqe0uUhNISzyXw
• The Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense: https://a24films.com/films/stop-making-sense

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
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In 1972, Paul McCartney's original 1961 Höfner bass guitar went missing. Then he got it back! Is there enough for a whole BBC documentary in it? Well, as we'll see, this film tells the story very well, but maybe the story itself is a bit unsatisfying. Still, a decent line-up of talking heads, including Paul himself, Klaus Voormann and Elvis Costello. What's not to like? Especially if you're into watching Klaus act out the middle section from A Day in the Life for no obvious reason.

• You can watch the film on BBC iPlayer until at least March 2027: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002v46m/mccartney-the-hunt-for-the-lost-bass
• "Big Johnny Bass" is of course Bill Black, Elvis Presley's bass player. Paul owns his double bass and played it on Real Love. We knew that really.
• The Netflix documentary Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer: https://www.netflix.com/title/81031373

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
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Morgan Neville's new documentary, released in conjunction with MPL and with Paul McCartney's cooperation, covers the 1970s and what Paul did next after leaving The Beatles. It could've been a hagiography. But anyone who's seen it will have noticed it allows a lot more criticism of Paul than you'd expect. We look at the reasons for this and the effect of it: is this a Paul acknowledging his shortcomings, or just taking the opportunity to frame the narrative around them? We also discuss the effect of Sean Ono Lennon's contribution to the film, and whether it constitutes some public validation for Paul about his relationship with John Lennon.

• You can watch the film on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B0FXN4DTFC
• Other films and shows we mention in the episode include Netflix's Take That: https://www.netflix.com/title/81901625
• Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81928842
• It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley, still in a few cinemas at time of release but sure to be on a streamer soon: https://share.google/uBk1OKq2Q83X8Nfs8
• Wingspan is on YouTube for free at the moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BOthkQtbJA
• The interview with Paul in the Evening Standard: https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/paul-mccartney-wings-beatles-interview-book-b1256680.html
• Barry Miles's book Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now: https://share.google/lhLl0jnHBAC5TztIS

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
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Time for some wild speculation, now we've got a lot of the Beatle wives and fifth Beatle candidates' casting confirmed. We look in particular at Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, and discuss the film Foe, in which she and Paul Mescal played a couple living in an isolated setting. A bit like Paul McCartney and Linda's Scottish farmhouse exile? We've been watching lots of films featuring the cast too, and we look at what their performances suggest they'll bring to these roles. Does the casting of high-profile actors to play wives and Beatle family members suggest big roles for them, and does this in turn suggest these films will have a focus on the band's home lives, and how fame affected them?

• We'll do our best to cite all the films we've mentioned. For Mescal and Ronan, watch Foe on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.co.uk/FOE-Saoirse-Ronan/dp/B0C9G86K94
• To make sure we've got it right: Ronan was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 2008, and for Best Actress in a Leading Role three times: 2016, 2018 and 2020
• The other Mescal films: Hamnet and The History of Sound, both out in UK cinemas in January 2026
• Mescal talking about stepping back from public view while the Beatles films are in production: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/jan/02/i-dont-want-to-resent-the-thing-i-love-paul-mescal-and-josh-oconnor-on-romance-rationing-and-retirement
• You can and should buy and rent Harris Dickinson's Urchin in lots of places: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/urchin
• Other Dickinsongs: Where the Crawdads Sing, Blitz, Babygirl
• Joseph Quinn in Hoard: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/hoard
• Stranger Things, featuring Quinn from season four: https://www.netflix.com/title/80057281
• The trailer for Andrea Arnold's wonderful Bird, with Barry Keoghan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y0iJkT97Jc
• More Keoghanicals: Dunkirk, Bring Them Down, The Batman
• Mia McKenna-Bruce stars in Seven Dials on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81314952
• And in How to Have Sex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWmF8KpxxmA
• The films' entry on the FDA website, that currently suggests they'll all be released on 7 April 2028, but as we say is likely to change: https://filmdistributorsassociation.com/release-schedule/past-present-and-future-releases/?filmSearch=beatles

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
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• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast
• Threads https://www.threads.net/@beatlesfilmspod
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