We're thrilled to bring you this special bonus episode where we got the chance to talk to May Pang about her documentary, The Lost Weekend: A Love Story. We spoke about her part in the filmmaking process, her relationship with John Lennon and how she continues to be close to Julian, and why she wanted to tell this story, 50 years on. May was great fun and fascinating to speak to, and we want to thank her for being so generous with her time!

The Lost Weekend: A Love Story is on limited release in the US from today, 13 April 2023. You can search for tickets at https://thelostweekendtickets.com/. It's slated for a UK release in June. We've seen it and we'll release a full episode about it to coincide with the UK release.

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:

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We knew this day would come. The 1984 film written by and starring Paul McCartney, derided by many, tolerated by some. We explain a bit about how a project like this actually gets as far as a cinema release, point out as gently as possible which bits don't stand up to narrative scrutiny as much as they might, and talk about the bits that - whisper it - actually have some merit. And we ask: is this just an ego project or is there more going on? Why did Paul choose these songs to rerecord? And should Ringo Starr be given more to do?

WARNING: Give My Regards to Broad Street is in this episode both described as "an auteur piece" and compared favourably to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

• Watch Give My Regards to Broad Street on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mc1UnNmYP4M
• Watch the 1984 South Bank Show episode about the making of Broad Street, which we refer to a lot https://youtu.be/87i6WQ8k6yA

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:

• Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
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We got an advance look at Mary McCartney's Abbey Road studios documentary If These Walls Could Sing, released in the UK and Ireland on Disney+ today, 6 January 2023.

What did we think of its approach, and its array of heavyweight talking heads, from Paul McCartney (natch) to Elton John, John Williams, Jimmy Page, Pink Floyd and Nile Rodgers? Plus! Hear what revelations made Matt gasp, and how the film somehow sets up a scrap between Noel and Liam Gallagher when they're not even in the same room.

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:

• Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

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To close out season two, welcome to part 2 of our conversation about The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour film. Thrill as we dissect the choreography of the Your Mother Should Know sequence in frankly punishing detail. Gasp as we unpack the quasi-religious subtext of The Beatles playing a group of omnipotent wizards. And nod knowingly as we wonder whether George Harrison was all that into it in general or if he'd have really just preferred to be dropped off at the services.

Thanks a lot to everyone who listened to episodes in 2022 and talked to us through our social channels. We'd appreciate if you could subscribe and leave us a positive review on whatever platform you use: it really helps new people find us. See you for season three in 2023!

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:

• Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

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Magical Mystery Tour first aired on BBC1 on Boxing Day 1967 in black and white. It didn't go down all that well. Then it went out in colour on 5 January 1968 on BBC2 and wasn't much better received. This was the Beatles' first major critical failure, but in part one we discuss whether it succeeded on its own terms: were they actually trying to entertain their audience, or were they more interested in challenging them? Was the film just a showcase for the songs or was there more going on?

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:

• Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

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We're talking about David Leaf and John Scheinfeld's 2006 documentary on John Lennon's activism, with its dizzying array of intellectual heavyweight talking heads. There's a lot to unpack here, from how it doesn't shy away from showing John's naivety, to the value of pop stars using slogans to promote political causes, and whether you should expect them to contribute more than a catchy chorus.

• You can rent/buy the film on Amazon, iTunes and Apple TV at the moment: https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-u-s-vs-john-lennon. But as we mention in the episode, get the DVD for the extras: Yoko Ono reading out her letter to Mark Chapman's 2000 parole hearing is really remarkable. More than worth £3 on eBay.
• Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/CmdiVvlPEtI

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:

• Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

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The film whose soundtrack yielded the first Beatle solo album, and the first release on Apple Records, 1968's Wonderwall is on the face of it just a mad, psychedelic wig-out about a nutty professor. But is it saying something deeper about British repression and how the flower power generation chipped away at it? What did it mean to George Harrison to go off and do this on his own, given how he was developing as a songwriter? And how many feeble Oasis puns can we shoehorn in?

There's a good quality version of Wonderwall on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4qOyVdwgzZI

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:

• Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Originally released in two parts in the BBC's Arena strand (as The Sun Will Shine Tomorrow and Tomorrow Never Knows on Christmas and Boxing Day 1998), The Brian Epstein Story was later re-edited and has aired twice on BBC4 with this title. The version we're discussing is this single edited version, which you can see on YouTube with some sound missing for copyright reasons at https://youtu.be/apKqMVej1cw.

Do its techniques do Brian justice? We also discuss how the nineties was a sort of golden age for Beatle insiders contributing to documentaries, and how this brought with it a tendency for people to place themselves at the centre of the story. Plus: why is Paul McCartney so coy about the Brian Epstein/John Lennon affair rumours, given that in later years he dismissed them?

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:

• Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's 1973: The Beatles are no more, but don't worry, David Essex has 100% filled the void. Here he stars as Jim MacLaine, a wayward youngster trying to make it after leaving home. His best work friend is played by none other than Ringo Starr, and neither of them is all that nice. How shocking is it to see Ringo playing a womaniser? Do we see his bum, or is it a stunt bum? (This gets more discussion than it arguably merits.)

NOTE: Matt might sound a bit tinny in this episode, because of his laptop wiping his recording, so what you hear is all recorded through Ed's mic. We hope it doesn't spoil anything for you. Where's Peter Jackson's AI audio capture software when you need it?

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:

• Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

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It's time to kill a sacred cow like the tiresome contrarian clickbaiters we are: is The Rutles actually terrible? Well, no, it's good, but we're not wholly convinced. Does it work as a parody, or does it too often just imitate rather than parody? (We say "parody" a lot in this episode.) Join us as we deconstruct it until you're no longer able to enjoy a thing you once loved. It's why the internet exists.

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:

• Twitter https://twitter.com/beatlesfilmpod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622/
• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.