1972's Imagine was part-longform music video for John Lennon's Imagine and Yoko Ono's Fly albums, and part-bonkers conceptual art film. We try and get to the bottom of it: does it mean anything, and does a work of art's meaning have to be intentional in order to be, well, meaningful? Plus some key themes: mass isolation, intimacy in celebrity, male femininity through submission: sure, why not?

• You can watch the 2018 remaster on Prime Video at the moment.
• The trailer for the 2018 cinema release: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThIhgBloqN0
• The chess scene, set to Yoko's Don't Count the Waves: https://youtu.be/nVRhtWfJqXQ
• The video for the song Imagine: https://youtu.be/YkgkThdzX-8
• OK, so we weren't 100% correct about Situationism, but give us a break: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situationist_International
• The chess scene in Bottom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f64qJorLrY
• The Marina Abramović work similar to Yoko's Cut Piece is Rhythm 0, in which she stood for six hours and invited the audience to use 72 objects to do whatever they wanted to her: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_0

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
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We love an iconic Beatle interview, and here's one: the first time two Beatles had been interviewed together on TV since the band split up. It's fascinating for a few reasons. We talk about Ringo's alcoholism (he went into rehab later that year), and how George gently prevents his drunk friend from going too far. Plus some discussion of the When We Was Fab video, which George was there to promote. Was Paul McCartney in the walrus costume? And did Michael Aspel found the Traveling Wilburys?

• Watch the interview: https://youtu.be/-vrRfORrcYM
• Thelma Barlow, the Coronation Street actor also interviewed in the episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelma_Barlow
• Terry Wogan interviewing English footballer Paul "Gazza" Gascoigne in 1990: "The dream could turn out to be a nightmare" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcGvSKRQ5KY
• George's When We Was Fab video: https://youtu.be/AVu6nPTVbBQ
• Oliver Reed drunk on Aspel and Company: https://youtu.be/EZMXIxIQmPw

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/beatlesfilmspod.bsky.social
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast
• Threads https://www.threads.net/@beatlesfilmspod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Based on Lars Saabye Christensen's 1984 book, a huge success in Norway, it's another coming-of-age story! Why does teenage Beatles fandom dovetail so well with this genre? We look at the use of the music in the film, which secured the rights to use a few Beatles songs, as well as how successfully it marries up the four teenage boy characters with their respective Beatles.

• You can rent the film cheaply on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlOJYlREuIE
• The book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatles_(novel)
• Watch The Bonfire of the Vanities: https://share.google/2KvlWLlYJaRyxTi1D
• Mario Puzo's The Godfather novel: https://share.google/25bfmbahtQ6IksLbA
• The Norwegian Wood film: https://share.google/olHb9tcPqN3cYKKtQ

The Beatles Films Podcast is hosted by Matt Looker and Ed Williamson. We're both film writers and Beatles fans. Between us we've written for TheShiznit.co.uk, Total Film, Den of Geek and Virgin Media.

But tomorrow may rain, so you'll follow us on:

• Instagram https://instagram.com/beatlesfilmspod
• Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/beatlesfilmspod.bsky.social
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BeatlesFilmsPodcast
• Threads https://www.threads.net/@beatlesfilmspod
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/304654901827622

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.