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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: Sunset Home Visual Entertainment (SHE)
Salesrank: 5434
Released: October 24, 2006 |
| Our Price: $18.97 |
| Used Price: $18.94 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The Beatles' appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 and 1965 helped catapult the band to stateside fame and fortune. Their debut performance alone was viewed by 73 million viewers. This collection compiles four full episodes containing 20 songs in total, and including other guests like Soupy Sales, Cab Calloway, and Cilla Black; and even commercial breaks. Shown in their original black and white, these episodes convey the feeling of a bygone era, while placing some of The Beatles' early appearances in a framework that shows how they eventually exploded as one of the most influential rock bands of all time. The four Beatles, with their fluffy mop-head haircuts and little black suits, look like fresh-faced kids as they stride nervously onto the stage in their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, February 9, 1964. Met by screaming, lovestruck fans--mostly teenage girls dressed in clean-cut sweaters with their hair curled and combed--The Beatles launch into a trio of carefully played songs including "All My Loving," "Till There Was You," and "She Loves You." The next two weeks, on February 16 and February 23, 1964, they reappear on the Ed Sullivan Show, each time to the same unabashed hero worship, performing hits like "Twist and Shout" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand." The last episode on this fascinating collection, September 12, 1965, shows how the band has changed after a year and a half--with longer hair, a loose and rebellious spirit, and a bolder stage presence. Through these classic television episodes, viewers of all eras can join the fab four as they begin their ascent into the musical history books, courtesy of the Ed Sullivan Show.
Description of The Four Complete Historic Ed Sullivan Shows featuring the Beatles and other Artists:
A great concept: The Beatles appeared four times on CBS' The Ed Sullivan Show, and while one is tempted to skip through this collection to watch only the Fab Four's 20 performances, there is historic value in seeing Sullivan's complete programs. With America reeling from the murder of a popular president, JFK, less than three months prior, the Beatles' Sullivan debut on February 9, 1964, ushered a renewing joy into the country's living rooms. The band kept it up another two weeks, sharing Sullivan's variety-show bills with the likes of impressionist Frank Gorshin, comedians Allen & Rossi, future Monkee Davy Jones (in a scene from Oliver!), and sundry unrepentant vaudevillians, magicians, and acrobats. Various problems with microphones and bad direction (one barely sees John Lennon on 2/9) couldn't stop the magic, and by the time the Beatles made a return trip in September 1965, the group's brilliance and wit outsized their television surroundings. --Tom Keogh
The Four Complete Historic Ed Sullivan Shows featuring the Beatles and other Artists Reviews:
THIS Is Where It Started 
2009-10-08 - I won't bore you with the details of the historic significance of these shows...we all know about it. But I wiil say this:
If you were there, you need this, if only to see it again and re-live the magic. Both audio and video are near-perfect (for 1964 standards, that is!).
If you weren't and are wondering what all the fuss was/is about, watch these shows (particularly the first one) and notice the day-and-night juxtaposition of The Beatles and acts like Carmen MacCrae and the cast of "Oliver!". The passing of the torch is obvious; history - and show business - would never be the same again.
Nice walk down memory lane 
2009-06-13 - Pretty much what you's expect. And it was fun watching the old commercials. The Beatles were of course, fun to watch.
Good Beatles Reference, Good History Too 
2009-03-18 - I got this because the name Julia Meade, a frequent Ed Sullivan Show commercial spokesperson, was on the Amazon page for this. I've been researching her for a project, But it turns out she is not in this collection (I have heard she was on the show for the Rolling Stones performance).
That said, I am a big Beatles fan, and this DVD is really a great piece of history...not just for the details on them, but for seeing all of the other folk on these four shows...from Cab Calloway to acrobats. A great time capsule.
Top Quality
2009-03-13 - I was amazed at the quality of these CDs. They were identical
to seeing the original shows on TV: no loss of quality at all.
A Must Have
2009-01-10 - Haven't Seen This Show Since 1964, Very Happy To Own it. Money well Spent. A Must Have For Any Beatle Fan........
