Backbeat (1994)

IMDb plot summary: A dramatization of the Hamburg, Germany phase of The Beatles' early history.

Directed by Iain Softley. Starring Sheryl Lee, Stephen Dorff, Ian Hart, and Gary Bakewell.

I knew virtually nothing about this time in the band's career, and the film does a pretty good job of telling it as a straightforward story without trying to make it "A Big Beatles Biopic." Yes, there are a few moments where they casually drop the name of a future song into the dialogue, but it feels surprisingly natural most of the time. Most importantly, Stephen Dorff as Sutcliffe and Ian Hart as Lennon really sell the story here. They bring these characters to life in a way that made me instantly sympathize with them and want to know where their journey would take them. The movie does a great job of centering the music as well, devoting plenty of time to showing the band performing (though of course not with any of the songs we know them from today, as this was before they were written). The editing, cinematography, and sound all combine to do a great job of showing off what made the Beatles special in those early days before we knew what they could do. It's much more engaging than most biopics. I'd recommend it.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Backbeat > Mudbound

Backbeat < The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Backbeat > Lifeforce

Backbeat < A Serious Man

Backbeat < True Grit (1969)

Backbeat < Idiocracy

Backbeat > Cafe Society

Backbeat > New York Stories

Backbeat > Peeping Tom

Backbeat > Joe Versus the Volcano

Backbeat > Ghostbusters (1984)

Backbeat > Hamlet (1990)

Final spot: #1211 out of 3368, or 64%.