Thanksgiving Day will feel more like Groundhog Day this year as Disney+ is set to once again premiere a Beatles documentary from an acclaimed director. Following Peter Jackson‘s exhaustive The Beatles: Get Back, the Martin Scorsese-produced Beatles ’64 will land on the streaming service Friday, November 29th.
Directed by David Tedeschi (Rolling Thunder Revue, George Harrison: Living in the Material World), Beatles ’64 will revisit the Fab Four’s first trip to the U.S. with previously unreleased footage shot by documentarians Albert and David Maysles. The feature-length film includes The Beatles’ first American concert at the Washington Coliseum in D.C. as well as their historic appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. New interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr complement the archival footage, along with testimonials from fans whose lives were changed by The Beatles.
“On February 7, 1964, The Beatles arrived in New York City to unprecedented excitement and hysteria,” a synopsis for the film reads. “From the instant they landed at Kennedy Airport, met by thousands of fans, Beatlemania swept New York and the entire country. Their thrilling debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show captivated more than 73 million viewers, the most watched television event of its time. Beatles ’64 presents the spectacle, but also tells a more intimate behind the scenes story, capturing the camaraderie of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they experienced unimaginable fame.”
Scorsese produced the film with Margaret Bodde, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison, Sean Ono Lennon, Jonathan Clyde, and Mikaela Beardsley. Jeff Jones and Rick Yorn served as executive producers.
Along with Beatles ’64, the band has announced the archival release of seven long out-of-print albums from the era, cut for 180-gram audiophile vinyl from the original mono master tapes. The Beatles: 1964 Albums In Mono will arrive on November 22nd and include Meet The Beatles!; The Beatles’ Second Album; A Hard Day’s Night (Original Motion Picture Sound Track); Something New; The Beatles’ Story (2LP); Beatles ’65; and The Early Beatles, featuring faithfully replicated artwork, new four-panel inserts, and essays by American Beatles historian and author Bruce Spizer. Pre-order the vinyl box set here.