Distributor:
Universal Home Entertainment Certificate: R | Region 1 | NTSC |
101 minutes
Available to buy Director: Iain Softley
Extras: Yes
ANYONE
IN IT WE KNOW?
Stephen
Dorff, Sheryl Lee, Ian Hart
WHAT’S
IT ABOUT THEN?
In
the late fifties Britain is a
hotbed of Rock N Roll and John
Lennon and Paul McCartney are
determined to make it big on the
scene, their band The Silver
Beetles are about to go over a
storm in the clubs of Hamburg,
Germany. John invites his best
friend, the artist Stuart
Sutcliffe to play bass in the
band (despite the fact that he
has no musical ability), once in
Hamburg Stuart comes under the
influence of the beautiful
photographer Astrid Kirchherr
(Sheryl Lee) who quickly comes
to exert a huge influence over
not just Stuart but the rest of
the boys too, however tragedy
awaits for Stuart...
SO
IS IT ANY GOOD?
Made in 1994
Backbeat is a pure slice of Beatlemania magic, Stuart Sutcliffe has
always been seen as Lennon's artistic soulmate who may not have stayed
the course with the band (there was always too much rivalry between Paul
and Stuart for that) but he would without question have continued to
exert a strong influence over them if he had lived.
Backbeat,
directed by Iain Softley, is one funky movie, the music, albeit not
Beatles originals but the covers they would have played whilst in
Hamburg
has
a real raw power, thanks in no small part to the band put together to
record the songs for the movie (it featured Dave Grohl, David Pirnier of
Soul Asylum and REM's Mike Mills) and you can really imagine how the
Beatles would have stormed the clubs back then. Ostensibly Stephen Dorff
as the troubled Sutcliffe is the star and his scenes with the sexy
Sheryl Lee are strong but Ian Hart as John Lennon really does steal the
film every time he appears, Hart's a fantastic actor anyway and he was
born to play Lennon.
A
solid movie in its own right Backbeat is essential to not just fans of
the Beatles but to fans of the era in general and is well worth having
in your collection.
ANY
SPECIAL FEATURES?
Plentiful
extras include an interview with the real life Astrid Kirchherr as well
as interviews with director Softley and Ian Hart, there's also another
interview with Softley for the Sundance Channel, deleted scenes, casting
session footage, a TV featurette and an essay by the director.
