ACT NATURALLY - Steve Matteo


There was a part of me that reacted with some joy - "Another Beatles book!" - and a part of me that thought - "Another Beatles book? What new can be said?" As it turns out, a fair amount new can be said.

This book takes a deep look at The Beatles' five feature films (A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine, and Let It Be) as well as some of their work individually in films and touches on the revised footage of Peter Jackson's Get Back and Ron Howard's Hollywood Bowl films and the animated Beatles series and the Anthology footage. And when I say "deep dive" I mean it - almost ridiculously so.  I mean, is it important for us to know:

Hairdresser Betty Glasgow worked on Lolita, A Hard Day's Night, Alfie, Georgie Girl, To Sir With Love in the 1960's and such work after the 1960s as Empire of the Sun, Titanic, Tomorrow Never Dies, Saving Private Ryan, and three Harry potter films.

Probably not. But it does indicate the level of research that Matteo has put into this book.  Anyone with any connection to a Beatles film, and especially anyone who then had contact with other noted films or filmmakers, is mentioned or acknowledged here. It can get distracting, but I suppose if I were inclined to a career in wardrobe or makeup or continuity or some such, it might be nice to see these.

While I might poke a bit of fun at the inclusion of some of these people and their role with the film, I will totally admit that I highlighted more in this book than any other book in recent memory.  My highlights are generally movies I'm interested in watching - movies mentioned because of some often tenuous connection to the Beatles (such as The Girl on the Motorcycle, which featured Marianne Faithfull (she is heard on the song "Yellow Submarine"), and Up the Junction which included music of Manfred Mann).

The average Beatles fan may have a reaction similar to my initial take: "Yay! ... Really?" But any Beatles fan who is also a cinephile will find this to be a real treasure.

The book can be a bit of a slog at times, with all the minutiae, but it can also be a real delight. I definitely felt that I learned some new things about the Beatles (Subafilms Limited was formed by Brian Epstein and the company produced Gerry and the Pacemakers' Ferry Cross the Mersey and the Beatles' concert film at Shea Stadium!), and this book helped put into perspective the timeline of events surrounding the Fab Four's film work within their commitments for producing albums and going on tour.

Looking for a good book? The bottom line here is that Act Naturally: The Beatles on Film by Steve Matteo is maybe too dense with material that is only peripherally needed. And that it's condensed into only 350 pages means it's info-dump heavy without much analysis. Still, it will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in the Beatles on film.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

* * * * * *

Act Naturally: The Beatles on Film

author: Steve Matteo

publisher: Backbeat

ISBN: 9781493059010

paperback, 350 pages

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