This fascinating documentary explores the rise of the world’s most famous band, from their humble beginnings in their hometown and faltering performances at the Cavern Club through to the group becoming the most famous band in history. It also has their final live performance in Candlestick Park.

Using footage from the archives of ITN, Reuters and Pathe and including a rare 1963 interview, this film analyses how they became so popular, why the dream died and the legacy left behind. This documentary consists primarily of interview footage, television appearances, and lots of archival footage of adoring fans screaming for the Fab Four. We look at their progress week by week through the best days of their lives with footage of fans and interviews, destinations and encounters, good times and bad.

You might have to skip through the majority of boring year-by-year commentator narration, but the clips of choice are the '63/'64 interviews/awards, Ringo's interviews after his tonsil operation, the MBE interview, Yellow Submarine comments by Paul and George, Paul and Linda post-wedding clips, and the '66 interviews and newsreel footage. The lads at press conferences, passing through airports, and pushing through screaming crowds of young girls also became monotonous, regardless of whether or not I'd ever seen it, make for an interesting watch.

This is basically a British television documentary of the Beatles' phenomenon, and is delivered with the zest and panache as a BBC documentary. There also isn’t any of the Beatles' music either, as the filmmakers didn't license any at all to get it.

But to anyone who wants to expand his / her knowledge of the greatest band in Rock n Roll history, you can travel with John, Paul, George and Ringo from their early days in Liverpool to San Francisco.

The package also contains the documentary ‘Beatles Across America’ which charts how the Beatles conquered the US but also sparked major controversy following John Lennon’s more popular Jesus quote. The footage includes a fairly in depth look at the 1966 "greater than Jesus" controversy, complete with interviews with teenagers in Memphis, Tenn.

Awesome stuff for you Beatles historians out there.

Format: ‎ PAL

Run time: ‎ 1 hour, 44 minutes

Release date: ‎ 20^th Aug. 2007

Studio: ‎ Liberation Entertainment

Rating: *****

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira