There's hardly more of a trademark moment in the Beatles' career than their appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show." If you were lucky enough to have seen them when they happened -- as we were -- or have seen them replayed, as they are on "The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring the Beatles," you can't help but feel the excitement and the impact of what that 1964 appearance did to the American pop culture scene.
The first appearance of this DVD was a dream come true. It included the complete shows where the Beatles made their first four appearances (three from 1964 and one from 1965) with all the other acts, the original commercials and Sullivan's trademark "really big shew" comment as they were broadcast.
This new version of "The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Beatles," out on Sept. 7, adds bonus features to each disc. On disc one, there are two announcements made on the show in the weeks prior to the Feb. 9, 1964, debut that the Beatles were to appear and Sullivan's comments on the March 1, 1964, show about the Beatles' Miami show with a snarky remark about the Clay-Liston fight that mentions the Beatles.
On disc two, there's a April 26, 1964 Sullivan mention of "A Hard Day's Night"; an interview with the group shown on May 24; a cute Oct. 4 skit with Sullivan audience favorite Topo Gigio about the Beatles; an announcement from Oct. 31 that the Beatles has been honored with MBEs; an announcement on May 29, 1966, that the Beatles will be appearing on the show the following week; a Remco commercial from July 17, 1966, in which viewers can buy four inflatable Beatle dolls for $2 (and two soap wrappers) and a telegram from the Beatles read by Sullivan on Nov. 26, 1967, when the Ed Sullivan Theater was named in the host's honor.
Missing, though, is the full rehearsal in front of an audience for the Feb. 16, 1964, Miami Beach appearance that has been bootlegged extensively. Also missing are all the later Beatle appearances after the Sept. 12, 1965, show where they did not appear live. They should be here as well.
The DVD menus allow you to play the full shows and individual segments. This new edition also allows you to play just the Beatles songs, which the original didn't, and also adds a 5.1 Dolby mix.
Watching these shows is something every Beatle fan young or old shouldn't miss. The quality of the full shows is superb.
And there are highlights besides the Beatles. The Feb. 9, 1964, show features future Monkee Davy Jones in the cast of "Oliver!" and impressionist Frank Gorshin, later the Riddler in the "Batman" TV series. The Sept. 12, 1965, show features another Brian Epstein talent, Cilla Black, plus Cab Calloway and comic Soupy Sales doing his big pop hit "The Mouse." And the Feb. 16 Miami Beach show features Mitzi Gaynor, whose song "It's Too Darn Hot!" still irritates us after all these years.
Watching them again can't help us but bring us back to that February night in 1964 when we saw the Beatles for the first time. It's great to have these shows. Enough said.
RELATED READING:
- John, Paul, Vince and Ringo: A special Ed Sullivan moment
-
Remembering Paul McCartney's first trip to the Ed Sullivan Theater with the Beatles - Feb. 9, 1964
-
A Beatles book with almost every little thing you ever wanted to know
Have a comment? Leave it below. And don't miss all our Examiner.com columns --
Beatles Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/x-2082-Beatles-Examiner
Paul McCartney Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/x-34954-Paul-McCartney-Examiner
Vintage Rock 'n' Roll Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/x-19248-Vintage-Rock-n-Roll-Examiner
TV on DVD Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/x-10254-TV-on-DVD-Examiner
Comments
Steve...mitzi gaynor...irritating?
WHY!!!
Woody, it was because the chorus of the song repeated over and over and over again! I swear I still hear that song....
I believe the Miami Beach show was February 16? The February 23rd show was taped in NYC on February 9th.
Does it restore the Kent cigarette ad from the 2/9/64 episode they cut from the 2003 set?
Re-releasing a product just a few years later on the same format (DVD)and adding just a sprinkle of new footage is suspect at best.
Was this new footage recently unearthed or did they hold back so they could do just what they are doing now? I don't know for certain so if someone can prove they didn't have this material, that would make me feel better about buying the Sullivan Shows all over again.
I feel exactly the same way, I feel cheated by such a "maffiosi" business and won't buy it ! I have to buy the "Band of the run" for the ....5th time ! !
Nickle and diming the consumer. One extra track here. One commercial blurb there. I think that's part of the reason people started "sharing" entertainment. I've bought it once, twice, or five times... no more.
Chris
MAYBE THEY ARE HOLDING THE VIDEO CLIPS OF "RAIN + PAPERBACK WRITER" AND OTHERS FOR RELEASE WITH THE SULLIVAN BEATLES TRIBUTE SHOW WHEN THEY RAN CLIPS FROM "LET IT BE". OH, AND "THE BEATLES AT SHEA STADIUM". CAN WE GET THAT FOR THIS CHRISTMAS, PLEASE?
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