The Four Complete Historic Ed Sullivan Shows Featuring the Beatles

 

 

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I am old enough to claim that the Beatles were still technically a group when I was born. But I wasn't one of the millions upon millions of people who saw these shows when they were originally broadcast. Considering so many people (listeners, fans, musicians, journalists) all agree that this was a pinnacle moment for them, the shows themselves had been pretty much hidden from public view since they aired. I had seen the clips of them playing in the "Anthology" and other documentaries. I thought their performances were fun, but I never had a feeling of how they fit in with contemporary 1964 culture and why it was all such a big deal.
Until now.
The two-set DVD has the four Ed Sullivan shows, complete with commercials, from February, 1964 and September, 1965. All I can say is... wow. The shows themselves feature a variety of acts, but they all share one thing in common: they are all totally lame compared to the Beatles. Mitzi Gaynor singing "It's Too Darn Hot"? Yikes! The comedy musings of Dave Barry? Oh dear. I can commiserate all too well with the Anacin commerical as it intones, "pain... pain... pain..."
Okay, maybe I'm being a little harsh here. I did enjoy Tessie O'Shea. She's not cool and she's not trying to be. She's just having fun and it's infectious as she belts her way through a bunch of old standards. The bit from "Oliver!" was cute (see the young Davy Jones, later of Monkees fame) and it was historically amusing to see Sonny Liston take a bow as the "heavyweight champion of the world"... when we know he will be knocked out by Cassius Clay the following week.
You begin to understand how much of a shock the Beatles were to the national psyche. Long hair? Maybe not from today's standards, but look at what everyone else looks like on these shows! Music? Well, today Beatles music is all mixed up on the radio, played against songs made some 10 - 20 years after their debut. Here, you can see what they were up against at the moment... and they just blow the doors off of everyone including Cilla Black, one of their contemporaries.
The video is clearest on the clips that feature the Beatles (as you would imagine). The rest varies. Some looks a bit blurred and there are some analog tracking issues. Well, the videotape is 40 years old, in a format that has been dead for at least 20 years. It's probably a miracle that the shows look as clean as they do. The sound is pretty good, but keep in mind that these were live performances. And "TV" and "hi-fidelity" didn't exactly go hand in hand in 1964. The second show in "Myamuh Beach" has some serious audio defects, but that how it sounded then. I enjoyed the live performances, warts and all. Unlike a lot of shows from the 1960's, the performances on Ed Sullivan were live rather than lip-synched.
DVD extras? Not a one. The shows themselves are the extras. There's no documentaries necessary, no secondary audio channel needed to explain the phenomenon, it's just, "Ladies and Gentlemen... the Beatles".
And really, that's all you need in the end.

Watching these old shows in their entirety demonstrates why the Beatles were so popular. The stagnant, Vegas-like entertainers that surround the Beatles performances are at best laughable and at worst annoying. Did anyone find Frank Gorsham funny or Cilla Black talented? With their Beatlesuits and moptops, the Fab Four were a breath of fresh air. The included commercials are surrealistically funny. I guess Pillsbury sold alot of muffins!

The only gripes I have are that there is no bonus material (interviews, behind the scenes photos, booklet, etc.) and that, because they are in black & white, all four shows could have fit on one DVD.

A must have for any Beatle fan!

[DW]

the product was here in record time and in perfect condition, am very pleased with the dvd and will be back to order more from you thank you very much

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3.0 out of 5 stars Poor quality transfers
The comedy and specialty acts are lots of fun to watch.
The Beatles truly were amateurish-then again, they were just young kids who really didn't know much about music. Read more

Published on Mar 20 2006 by mario pugliese

5.0 out of 5 stars PILSBURY PUSH BUTTON CAKE DECORATOR !
I give it 5 stars just for the ads alone! I'd already seen the Beatle footage over the years, most of the other acts were very ordinary with the exceptions of Soupy Sales,... Read more

Published on July 16 2004 by RICK AND OLLY

4.0 out of 5 stars fascinating historical document
it's interesting to see the beatles within the context of their contemporaries in the entertainment world of 1964. Read more

Published on May 30 2004 by Cameron Boahn

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish we could give 6 stars - "a really big shoe"
I taped these performances on my old monural reel-to-reel back in 1964. The recorder and tapes are long gone, but the memories of a time when four "twenty-something"... Read more

Published on April 19 2004 by Dom Miliano

5.0 out of 5 stars Bought to see Davy Jones and got A+ Beatles too!
I'm a Monkees fan that bought this set to see Davy Jones sing with the cast of Oliver(They should have listed his name on the DVD box then more Davy/Monkees fans would buy it... Read more

Published on Mar 24 2004 by snow white

4.0 out of 5 stars A REAL Trip Through The Time Tunnel
This is a must have DVD not only for the Beatles fan, but also for anyone who is a fan of old time TV. Read more

Published on Mar 8 2004 by John O'Keefe

4.0 out of 5 stars The Ed Sullivan/Beatles Time Machine
Almost every Sunday night, either at home or at my grandparents' house, we all sat around the TV to watch Ed Sullivan. Read more

Published on Mar 8 2004 by Mark

5.0 out of 5 stars Great value for your money!
I bought this collection when it was an Internet and television-only special offer through the official Ed Sullivan site. Read more

Published on Feb 19 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars ALMOST A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY
with the exception of the Beatles' performance's this dvd set was a almost a total waste of money for me. ididn't know i was getting FOUR HOURS of complete ed sullivan shows. Read more

Published on Feb 19 2004 by Donna J. Gibson

5.0 out of 5 stars Priceless
This DVD is a pop culture history lesson that can't be missed, whether you're an older fan wanting to reminisce, or a newly minted Beatlemaniac enjoying for the very first time... Read more

Published on Feb 13 2004 by Michelle Finch

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