Backbeat (Collector's Edition)
by Iain Softley
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Ian Hart, John White, Marcelle Duprey, Sheryl Lee, Stephen DorffDirector: Iain Softley
Brand: Universal Studios
Cinematographer: Ian Wilson
Editor: Martin Walsh
Producer: Hanno Huth
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language); German (Original Language); French (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Digital Video Transfer, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Restored, Special Edition, Subtitled, Surround Sound, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-01-25
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Gramercy Pictures
Movie Reviews of Backbeat (Collector's Edition)
Movie Review: The Pre-Historic Beatles
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a movie I enjoyed a lot when it first came out. I'm not a hardcore fan of The Beatles, more of a casual fan, and tend to like John Lennon's post-Beatle work more than The Beatles. "Backbeat" is the back story of The Beatles before they made it big. A pre-history of The Beatles. "Backbeat" starts where last year's "Nowhere Boy" leaves off. The years The Beatles went to Hamburg, Germany playing dank clubs in cellars and learned how to play rock `n' roll.
Liverpool art students and best friends John Lennon (Ian Hart) and Stuart Sutcliffe (Stephen Dorff) take the proto-Beatles Paul McCartney (Gary Bakewell), George Harrison (Chris O'Neill), and Pete Best (Scot Williams) to Hamburg. In Germany The Beatles resembled more of a punk band than The Beatles that later became famous. They dress in leathers, they're introduced to speed, and their playing is more ragged and raucous. One of the points of contention between McCartney and Lennon is Sutcliffe's lack of ability in playing the bass guitar, but since Sutcliffe is Lennon's best mate Sutcliffe stays in the band. Soon after arriving, Sutcliffe meets Astrid Kirchherr (Sheryl Lee), and several love triangles develop between the characters. The triangle that receives the main focus of "Backbeat" is between Lennon, Sutcliffe, and Kirchherr, then the close relationship between Lennon and Sutcliffe, and the more subtle love triangle of Lennon, The Beatles and the pull of fame and recognition Lennon craved. All pull with equal gravity on Lennon and Sutcliffe.
Hart as John Lennon disappears into the role he makes a believable Lennon without it falling into impersonation or parody. While not many people were familiar with Sutcliffe before "Backbeat" in the special features section of the DVD are pictures of Sutcliffe and Dorff looks remarkably like Sutcliffe. Dorff was about the same age as Sutcliffe when he made this movie, and due to the enormous input of Astrid Kirchherr to the movie it would be safe to assume Dorff has the same handle on Sutcliffe as Hart has on Lennon. Sheryl Lee also plays Kirchherr very subtly. She seems shy but her influence on Sutcliffe's life visibly grows during the course of the film, and the conclusion seems preordained to us. As the movie ends we fill in the blanks. It's the point where the historic Beatles begin and almost everyone knows (or thinks they know) the history of The Beatles.
A lot of attention seems to have been paid to the details of both the era and the relationships of the person's involved. As we discover in the special features director Iain Softley developed the screenplay with a lot of input from Astrid Kirchherr. Softley admits that some things have been changed for dramatic purposes but nothing that changes the overall story or the characters.
The special features include an interview with Astrid Kirchherr, that her relationship with Sutcliffe, and includes photographs of Sutcliffe and his paintings. There are two interviews with director Iain Softley the first at Sundance which tells a lot about how he developed "Backbeat" with the input of Kirchherr. The second interview with Softley and Hart is a little redundant in places because Softley reiterates how he came to make "Backbeat." The commentary is rather minimalist in approach and you can easily watch the movie around it.
As I mentioned "Backbeat" carries on where "Nowhere Boy" left off. Although these two movies weren't conceived as such and were made 16 years apart, they make nice companion pieces and fit nicely together in the Lennon/Beatles story.
Summary of Backbeat (Collector's Edition)
BACKBEAT SPECIAL EDITION - DVD MovieIan Hart's second performance as John Lennon (the first was the little-seen The Hours and Times) commands attention in this marvelous musical bio of the Beatles in Hamburg directly before their stardom. The focus is on the "5th Beatle," Stuart Sutcliffe (Stephen Dorff), a bluesy bass guitar player who finds Germany has more interesting things (art and a woman) than music. The woman, Astrid (Sheryl Lee), chronicles the early years of the Beatles, and she falls in love with Stuart, a move that would influence many aspects of the Fab Four. Nearly overpowering the film is Hart in a great, energized performance of an artist on fire. The music was adapted for the movie, rediscovering the raw sound and ballistic energy in the back street clubs. These scenes of rock and genius intermixed with a nervy lead singer evoke similarities to Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. Directed by Iain Softley. --Doug Thomas
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