The film was directed by Tony Palmer. He had previously released All My Loving, a history of 1960s music in 1968, and the 17-part rock history documentary series . The musical director was Lou Reizner, who also produced the soundtrack album. Although it was rumoured that Terry Gilliam turned down the offer to contribute animation to the documentary, Russ Regan, who conceived the film, has stated that Gilliam was never asked.
Reception
Critics savaged the movie with gusto, audiences stayed away, and Fox promptly yanked the film from release. The reviewer in the New YorkDaily News wrote that the film's PG rating had to have stood for "Positively Ghastly". It appeared out of competition at Cannes in 1977, has occasionally been shown at film festivals, and even on American cable TV. On June 1, 2007 the film played a single midnight show at Landmark's Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles.
Distribution
The film has never been officially released on home video or DVD, but bootleg copies of the film are available from several collector-to-collector resources. A fairly high quality transfer is also available as an unofficial DVD release. A version of this film was released as a DVD plus two CD set by Gonzo Multimedia – TPDVD191 in 2016, entitled The Beatles and World War II, but this is a revised edition by original director Tony Palmer, using different footage and a different soundtrack.
Soundtrack
The original intention of the filmmakers was to use actual Beatles music in the film. The decision to use other artists covering Beatles music was made by the film's producers after they realised additional money could be made through a soundtrack album. The decision was a sound one, as the soundtrack actually generated more revenue than the film. The album was released on 25th October 1976 and the film was released on the 11th November 1976. The album reached number 23 on the UK Albums Chart, with a total of seven weeks on that listing, and number 48 on the Billboard Top 200. It also made number 17 on the Dutch album charts and number 37 on the New Zealand album charts. Elton John’s rendition of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", when previously released as a single in 1974, had been a US number one hit. Rod Stewart’s version of "Get Back" was subsequently released and became a UK hit single. Ambrosia’s cover version of "Magical Mystery Tour" was released and became a US hit single reaching No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Maxwell's Silver Hammer was Frankie Laine's last single to hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at #86. The album was also released in 1979 with the title The Songs Of John Lennon & Paul McCartney Performed By The World's Greatest Rock Artists, and two of the tracks were released on the Beatles cover version CD album With A Little Help that was released in 1991. The album was finally released on CD in 2006 on the Hip-O Select label and again in 2015 as a limited issue release on the Culture Factory label complete with the original gatefold sleeve.
