Actors: Seth Swirsky, Henry Winkler, Jon Voight, Smokey Robinson, Sir Ben Kingsley
Directors: Seth Swirsky
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Cinema Libre Studio
DVD Release Date: October 2, 2012
Run Time: 85 minutes
Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I like the idea of stories. I am a big storyteller myself. I like how Seth Swirsky has taken his love for The Beatles and really delivers a fun…yet also informative film here. “Beatles Stories” is nice and tight documentary with a lot of great input from a lot of people who have known and been inspired by the music of The Beatles. This is not just a re-hash of already known stories, Seth really went out of his way to deliver new and very interesting stories from these people. When I think of The Beatles, I want to hear the music. So of course I was hoping to hear more Beatles tunes throughout but I understand the cost of that. So being a big Beatles fans since I was little child, I really enjoyed this and highly recommend this.
Seth Swirsky is one of the ultimate fans of The Beatles. He grew up in Long Island, NY (as did I) loving every aspect of The Beatles (also as I did). Seth sets out on a road trip gathering stories from many known people from Sir Ben Kingsley, Sir George Martin, The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, Henry Winkler snd Beatles engineer Norman Smith. As well as people who were involved with The Beatles, Seth also dives into his other musical favorites like Smokey Robinson, Graham Nash and Davy Jones and then relates then back to The Beatles. It is a very personal project and even though it is independent and a little choppy in parts. You can feel that it is just a real labour of love.
The special features included are quite impressive for this independent release. There is 30 minutes of additional interviews or “stories” as they are called. The film alone runs 85 minutes, so the additional time is welcomed. There is an extended interview with The Beatles’ first recording engineer Norman Smith, which is highly recommended. Lastly there is a commentary track from the director Seth Swirsky, which is good if you enjoyed the film and looking for more. For a documentary overall, I am very impressed with these extras and this is a must for all Beatles fans!
