Ed Sullivan / Beatles DVD Review

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I just received my four-hour two-disc DVD set last night of the four full-length episodes of the Ed Sullivan Show when the Beatles appeared. The dates were Feb. 9, Feb. 16, Feb. 23, 1964, and Sep. 12, 1965. These are the complete shows, including the commercials.
This is the first time I've seen these four shows in their entirety since they aired live in '64 and '65, when I was in grade school. I really enjoyed watching these programs last night, including the commercials. Overall this is a must-have video. Even if you're not especially a Beatles fan, it is a very entertaining time capsule of that era. Ed Sullivan and his show are a piece of American history.
The first program, Feb. 9, 1964, opens with "All My Loving", "Till There Was You", and "She Loves You". The sound was good, as well as the performance. We then see a magician, whom I enjoyed. Frank Gorshin (The Riddler in the 1960's Batman TV show) did good impressions. Tessie O'Shea sang and played banjo. The original English cast from the play "Oliver" featuring Georgia Brown and Davy Jones (future Monkees member) performed well. Brill and McCall, a husband and wife comedy team did a skit. The Beatles returned with "I Saw Her Standing There", and closed with "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". The show closed with acrobats doing an impressive display. The commercials were great. Sponsors included Pillsbury, Lipton tea, cold-water All laundry detergent, Anacin medicine, Aero shaving cream, to name a few.
The next show, Feb. 16, 1964, has the Beatles performing " "She Loves You", I Saw Her Standing There" and "This Boy" in the first half of the show, which took place at a ritzy hotel in Miami. Good performances, but Paul's mic is dead. Then we see the great Mitzi Gaynor. My head is still spinning! Guys - if your pulse doesn't race watching Mitzi Gaynor, well, you may be near death. How exciting is she? Well, how many performers can appear on the same stage the same night as the Beatles, and not get upstaged?! I'm going to head to the video store this weekend and rent any thing Mitzi did. She alone is worth the price of the set. The Beatles closed with "From Me To You", "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", and "All My Loving". An outdoor taped acrobatic display was very good. Heavyweight boxing champ Sonny Liston was shown in the audience, and retired champ Joe Louis.
The third show on Feb 23, 1964 featured the Beatles singing "Twist and Shout", "Please Please Me", and a couple of repeated songs from the previous two shows. Pillsbury, Anancin, Lipton, Chef Boy Ardee, and All sponsored this show.
The fourth show, Sep. 12, 1965 was interesting. "I Feel Fine" was the opener, "I'm Down" and "Act Naturally" follow. The second half featured "Ticket To Ride". Then George Harrison announces "Yesterday" featuring "just Paul", as the other three exit the stage. Paul sings the song. Upon returning John's comments regarding Paul make it clear that they did not appreciate Paul's solo feature. They close with "Help!".
Overall a very good video worth having. A great time capsule. The Beatles. Good commercials. Mitzi Gaynor. Historic music performances. The Beatles. Good comedians, acrobats, magicians, and musical performers. Mitzi Gaynor. Mitzi Gaynor. Enough said. Best regards.

Claude

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Topic - Ed Sullivan / Beatles DVD Review - Claude Abraham 09:45:52 09/26/03 (4)

Re: Ed Sullivan / Beatles DVD Review - Fretless 15:58:10 10/04/03 (1)

Re: Ed Sullivan / Beatles DVD Review - Claude Abraham 06:56:57 10/06/03 (0)

Re: Ed Sullivan / Beatles DVD Review - Hornlover 13:13:48 09/26/03 (1)

Re: Ed Sullivan / Beatles DVD Review - Claude Abraham 13:33:53 09/26/03 (0)

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