Product Description

This two hour and 35 minute DVD program has been Digitally Mastered in 5.1 Digital Surround Sound. In addition to the concert and great Beatles interviews we have also included an interactive Beatles Trivia Game that combines questions with illustrated answers, and will certainly test the limits of your Beatles knowledge. THE BEATLES IN WASHINGTON, D.C. was the first show performed by the most celebrated group in music history during their first visit to the United States in 1964. It captures the magic and excitement surrounding THE BEATLES and features the Fab Four singing live at the height of Beatlemania.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29846 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-11-11
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dolby, DVD, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 130 minutes

Amazon.com
As if there were any doubt, this February 11, 1964 show (just days after their triumphant debut on Ed Sullivan’s TV show) proves that the Beatles were one rockin' little combo, whatever the situation. The sound was awful, the din of the audience almost constant. Also, the concert set-up was in-the-round--but only Ringo Starr's rickety little drum riser could rotate, so during several songs the other three Fabs were obliged to turn their backs on their own amps to face the rest of the audience! No matter; they roar through their eight-tune set with palpable, irresistible energy--just check out "I Saw Her Standing There." Sure, the black-and-white footage is grainy, and the audio's lousy. But this document of the group at their early peak is a must-have for true believers. Considerable file footage and audio clips from the period help fill out both the concert program and an accompanying trivia quiz. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews

Unbelievable...
I've been collecting and dodging bad Beatles video for decades. I thought I'd seen it all.

Until this...

This is, without question, the WORST excuse for a grey market Beatles rip-off I have EVER seen. There've been numerous knock-offs of this show for as long as there has been home video. Boot VHS, quasi-legit VHS, the "official" comps on "Anthology" and "First Vist"...I've seen them all.

But I have never, EVER seen anything this wretched.

The video "quality" of this is unbelievable. It's like a copy of a copy of a copy of a bad dub from someone's 25-year-old boot copy. I'll grant it that some nitwit has tweaked the audio to some degree, but visually this is virtually unwatchable.

Not to mention that the edits are ridiculous, it's not in order, two songs are missing...and I'm STILL being kind to it.

"Anthology" has most of this, in incredibly better quality (sadly, incomplete). If you own "Beatles First Visit" DVD or VHS, you've got a bit more. Heck, the Goodtimes DVD of "The Beatles Unauthorized" that you can find here is 250 times better than this.

I cannot believe how bad this is. I thought I'd seen it the worst, but as of today, the worst has hit a new low.

This concert is wonderful and historic - so get "Beatles Unauthorized" if you want most of it, and if you've got "Anthology" and/or "First Visit" you've got the best of it. But do not, under ANY circumstances, buy this DVD.

Warning!
This is one of the worst quality dvd's I've ever seen. The fact that The Beatles are on it is the only reason I made it through the thing 1 time. I realize that the grainy film can not be avoided and that's not what bothered me. It's the cheesey incidental music and "video" quality of the DVD. I'm sure you could find an original vhs that would look better than this.

Buyer Beware!
I just had a chance to review the Washington concert on DVD, and I was expecting the DVD to be mastered from the original master video from CBS, which does exist. Instead, it appears to have been mastered from a poor copy of a copy of the master film. Also, two songs from the original concert are missing. In my opinion, while this may be an okay gift for someone with a passing interest in The Beatles, any die-heart Beatles fan would be disappointed with this version of the concert.