Cinema and television film
The movies
Five pictures issued while they were a group, plus the later restorations that turned leftover footage into a second life on screen.
1964Richard Lester87 minfeatureA Hard Day's Night
A fictionalised day in the life of The Beatles as they travel from Liverpool to London for a television appearance, pursued by fans, a fussy director, and Paul's mischievous grandfather. Alun Owen's screenplay treats the group as slightly heightened versions of themselves rather than as a conventional pop act in a variety plot.
Richard Lester shot the film in black and white in a handheld, quasi-documentary style that later influenced music video. The title was a Ringo Starr malapropism. Principal photography began in March 1964, weeks after the group's first American visit, and the film opened in London on 6 July 1964.
1965Richard Lester92 minfeatureHelp!
A colour comic-adventure in which a religious cult and a pair of scientists pursue Ringo Starr for a sacrificial ring he cannot remove. Between attempts on his life the group moves from London to the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas, performing songs from the accompanying album along the way.
United Artists financed a second Lester feature after the box-office success of A Hard Day's Night. The Beatles later said they were often under the influence of cannabis during filming, which they felt loosened the comedy. The soundtrack supplied the singles Help! and Ticket to Ride, and the UK album included Yesterday.
1967The Beatles55 mintv-filmMagical Mystery Tour
An unscripted television film in which The Beatles and a coach-load of friends, actors, and hired characters take a British mystery tour through the countryside. Sketch comedy, dream sequences, and promotional films for songs including I Am the Walrus, The Fool on the Hill, and Your Mother Should Know interrupt the journey.
Paul McCartney proposed the project after Brian Epstein's death, drawing on charabanc mystery tours and the idea of a camera simply following the bus. BBC1 transmitted it in black and white on Boxing Day 1967 to a largely hostile family audience; BBC2 showed it in colour on 5 January 1968. Much of I Am the Walrus was filmed at the disused West Malling airfield in Kent.
1968George Dunning90 minfeatureYellow Submarine
An animated adventure in which The Beatles travel in a yellow submarine from Liverpool to Pepperland to defeat the music-hating Blue Meanies. The film weaves songs from 1966–67 with four new recordings — All Together Now, Hey Bulldog, It's All Too Much, and Only a Northern Song — and closes with a brief live-action appearance by the real group.
The Beatles had little involvement in the animation, which was produced by TVC London for United Artists with art direction by Heinz Edelmann. Voice actors John Clive, Geoffrey Hughes, Peter Batten, and Paul Angelis impersonated them for most of the running time. The group appears in person only in a short coda shot at Twickenham, after which they are seen leaving in the submarine.
1970Michael Lindsay-Hogg81 mindocumentaryLet It Be
A documentary of The Beatles rehearsing and recording in January 1969, first at Twickenham Film Studios and then in the basement studio at Apple, 3 Savile Row. The film follows arguments, songwriting, and the 30 January rooftop concert that became their last public performance.
The project began as a television special tied to a live show and a back-to-basics album then titled Get Back. United Artists released the finished feature in May 1970, after Paul McCartney had announced he was leaving the group. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score; Peter Jackson later used the same 60-plus hours of footage for Get Back.
2021Peter Jackson468 mindocumentaryThe Beatles: Get Back
A three-part documentary series assembled from unused January 1969 film and audio, covering the Get Back / Let It Be sessions from Twickenham through Apple Studios. It includes George Harrison's brief departure, Billy Preston's arrival, the writing of songs that later appeared on Abbey Road, and the complete rooftop concert.
Jackson's team restored 16 mm film and separated dialogue from Nagra tape recorded by the original Let It Be crew. Disney+ released the episodes on 25–27 November 2021, running 157, 173, and 138 minutes. A concert cut, The Beatles: Get Back — The Rooftop Concert, was later shown in IMAX and cinemas.
2016Ron Howard106 mindocumentaryThe Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years
A documentary on The Beatles as a live band, from the Cavern Club and Hamburg through British Beatlemania and the American tours of 1964–66, ending with the final concert at Candlestick Park on 29 August 1966. Restored concert film is combined with interviews, including new contributions from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
Apple Corps authorised the film, which includes restored footage of the 15 August 1965 Shea Stadium concert. Whoopi Goldberg and Sigourney Weaver appear as former audience members. It opened in cinemas in September 2016 and streamed in the United States on Hulu.