The Beatles: The First US Visit
8.2 /10 1 Votes8.2
Producer Susan Froemke Language English | 8/10 IMDb Genre Documentary, Music Duration | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Director Kathy DoughertySusan Fromke (as Susan Froemke)Albert Maysles Release date VHS/Laserdisc:13 November 1991DVD:3 February 2004 (USA)9 February 2004 (other countries) Directors Albert Maysles, Susan Froemke, David Maysles, Kathy Dougherty Genres Music, Documentary, Biographical film Cast Similar movies Related Albert Maysles movies |
The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit is a 1990 re-edited version of renowned documentary filmmaking team Albert and David Maysles' 1964 16mm documentary What's Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A., about the Beatles' first visit to America in February 1964. It documents the Beatles' US trip as they travel to New York City, Washington, D.C., and Miami Beach. Footage of the Beatles (often acting irreverently in front of the camera) in hotel rooms makes up the majority of the non-musical portion of the film.
Contents
- The Ed Sullivan Show NYC 1
- The Washington Coliseum Concert
- The Ed Sullivan Show Miami
- The Ed Sullivan Show NYC 2
- References

The main difference between the original 1964 documentary and the 1990 re-edited version is that 22 minutes of the Beatles' live recorded performances on The Ed Sullivan Show have been inserted the 1990 release. However, as the 1964 documentary is 81 minutes long and the 1990 version is 83 minutes, some 20 minutes of the 1964 documentary have been excluded, such as several scenes with Brian Epstein.

The original 1964 documentary is still being shown at various festivals, such as the Silverdocs in 2008, and was also shown at a special screening at the Maysles Cinema in New York on 18 November 2011 in honour of Albert Maysles' 85th birthday.

The Ed Sullivan Show (NYC #1)

The Washington Coliseum Concert

The Ed Sullivan Show (Miami)

The Ed Sullivan Show (NYC #2)

In addition to the live performances, there are also studio Beatles recordings heard on the program's soundtrack. Among them are "She Loves You", "I Saw Her Standing There", "Love Me Do", "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "It Won't Be Long". Other recordings featured are "Navy Blue" by Diane Renay and "Pride and Joy" by Marvin Gaye.
References
The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit WikipediaThe Beatles: The First U.S. Visit IMDb The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit themoviedb.org