A dramatization of the Hamburg, Germany phase of The Beatles' early history.
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Awards:
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins & 3 nominations.
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Photos and Videos
Cast verified as complete
Sheryl Lee | ... |
Astrid Kirchherr
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Stephen Dorff | ... |
Stuart Sutcliffe
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Ian Hart | ... |
John Lennon
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Gary Bakewell | ... |
Paul McCartney
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Chris O'Neill | ... |
George Harrison
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Scot Williams | ... |
Pete Best
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Kai Wiesinger | ... |
Klaus Voormann
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Jennifer Ehle | ... |
Cynthia Powell
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Marcelle Duprey | ... |
Singer
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John White | ... |
Sailor 1
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Bernard Merrick | ... |
Sailor 2
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Nicolas Tennant | ... |
Sailor 3
(as Nicholas Tennant)
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Finola Geraghty | ... |
Model
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Rob Spendlove | ... |
Arthur Ballard
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Charlie Caine | ... |
Lord Woodbine
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Freda Kelly | ... |
Mrs. Harrison
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Paul Humpoletz | ... |
Bruno Koschmider
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Christiana Uriarte | ... |
Groupie
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Abigail Wrapson | ... |
Groupie
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Galit Hershkovitz | ... |
Groupie
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Gertan Klauber | ... |
Pimp
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Stephan Grothgar | ... |
Barman
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Lynn Lowton | ... |
Hooker
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Manuel Harlan | ... |
Johannes
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Britta Gartner | ... |
Exis
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Dirk Winkler | ... |
Exis
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Wolf Kahler | ... |
Bert Kaempfert
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James Doherty | ... |
Tony Sheridan
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Paul Duckworth | ... |
Ringo Starr
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Joerg Stadler | ... |
Policeman
(as Joerg Stabler)
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Alexei Jawdokimov | ... |
Napoleon
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Albert Welling | ... |
Doctor
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Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Steven Horsley | ... |
Kaiserkeller Barman (uncredited)
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Zacharee Lee | ... |
Photographic Model (uncredited)
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Birgit Riedel | ... |
Prostitute on Reeperbahn (uncredited)
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Louise Samuels | ... |
Existentialist (uncredited)
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Directed by
Iain Softley |
Written by
Iain Softley | ... | () |
Michael Thomas | ... | () |
Stephen Ward | ... | () |
Produced by
Giles Cooper | ... | consulting producer (as Giles Richard Cooper) |
Paul Cowan | ... | line producer |
Sarah Curtis | ... | co-producer |
Finola Dwyer | ... | producer |
Rainer Grupe | ... | film associate producer |
Hanno Huth | ... | executive producer |
Nik Powell | ... | executive producer |
Stephen M. Williams | ... | co-producer |
Stephen Woolley | ... | producer |
Music by
Don Was |
Cinematography by
Ian Wilson |
Editing by
Martin Walsh |
Editorial Department
David Barrett | ... | assistant editor |
Jim Heffernan | ... | negative cutter |
Daryl Jordan | ... | first assistant editor |
Scott Klein | ... | master colorist |
Casting By
Dianne Crittenden | ||
John Hubbard | ||
Ros Hubbard |
Production Design by
Joseph Bennett |
Art Direction by
Michael Carlin | ||
Josef Plagge |
Set Decoration by
Barbara Herman-Skelding |
Costume Design by
Sheena Napier |
Makeup Department
Richard Glass | ... | contact lens optician |
Pat Hay | ... | makeup artist |
Stephen Rose | ... | hair stylist |
Production Management
Sarah Nichols | ... | production manager: Hamburg (as Sarah Lucraft) |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Gray | ... | third assistant director: Hamburg |
Jonathan Karlsen | ... | crowd assistant director (as Jon Karlsen) |
Cliff Lanning | ... | second assistant director |
Josh Robertson | ... | third assistant director |
Mary Soan | ... | first assistant director |
Art Department
Mark Adams | ... | supervising painter |
David Bowes | ... | art department assistant |
Gordon Fitzgerald | ... | property master |
Andrew Garnett | ... | scenic artist |
Ron Higgins | ... | stand-by propman |
Josh Jones | ... | carpenter |
David O'Williams | ... | props driver (as David Williams) / props driver |
Matthew Parsons | ... | scenic painter (uncredited) |
Bill Stallion | ... | storyboard artist (uncredited) |
Sound Department
Nainita Desai | ... | assistant sound editor |
Peter Elliott | ... | adr editor |
Glenn Freemantle | ... | supervising sound editor |
Dominic Lester | ... | assistant sound re-recording mixer |
Nick Lowe | ... | dialogue editor |
Chris Munro | ... | sound mixer / sound recordist |
Robin O'Donoghue | ... | re-recording mixer |
Steve Spencer | ... | foley artist / foley editor |
Special Effects by
Tim Baxter | ... | optical effects |
Visual Effects by
Ray Short | ... | titles and opticals |
Simon Dowling | ... | main title designer (uncredited) |
Tony Willis | ... | effects cameraman (uncredited) |
Stunts
Steve Griffin | ... | stunts |
Camera and Electrical Department
Alan Almond | ... | camera operator: second unit |
Ken Byrne | ... | focus puller (as Kenny Byrne) |
Pete Cavaciuti | ... | steadicam operator |
Malcolm Huse | ... | camera grip |
Norman Smith | ... | gaffer |
Mark Tillie | ... | still photographer |
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Graham Churchyard | ... | assistant costume designer |
Annie Crawford | ... | costume supervisor |
Location Management
Jeff Bowen | ... | location manager |
Ben Rimmer | ... | location manager |
Chris Wheeldon | ... | supervising location manager uk |
Music Department
Terence Blanchard | ... | musician |
David Campbell | ... | composer: additional music (as David Richard Campbell) / conductor: strings / orchestrator: strings |
Greg Dulli | ... | singing voice: "John Lennon" |
Don Fleming | ... | musician: guitar and vocals |
Dave Grohl | ... | musician: drums |
Bob Last | ... | music supervisor |
Mike Mills | ... | musician: bass and vocals |
Thurston Moore | ... | musician: guitar |
David Pirner | ... | singing voice: "Paul McCartney" |
Eric Reed | ... | musician |
Script and Continuity Department
Diana Dill | ... | script supervisor |
Transportation Department
Gary Birmingham | ... | unit driver |
Dean Ward | ... | transportation coordinator |
Additional Crew
Catherine Charlton | ... | dialect coach: UK and Germany |
Simon Downes | ... | floor runner |
Polly Duval | ... | assistant to producer |
Peter D. Graves | ... | executive marketing consultant |
Andrew Jack | ... | dialect coach |
Peter Ogunsalu | ... | personal assistant: Stephen Dorff |
Christopher Simon | ... | assistant accountant |
Graham Smith | ... | unit publicist |
Fran Triefus | ... | production coordinator |
Will Tyler | ... | production accountant |
Julie Adams | ... | dialect coach (uncredited) |
Marcus Agar | ... | publicity team (uncredited) |
Thanks
Eddy Joseph | ... | special thanks |
Astrid Kirchherr | ... | special thanks |
Ulf Krüger | ... | special thanks |
Michael Kuhn | ... | special thanks |
Aline Perry | ... | special thanks |
Russell Schwartz | ... | special thanks |
Pauline Sutcliffe | ... | special thanks |
Stewart Till | ... | special thanks |
Klaus Voormann | ... | special thanks |
Mark Wolfe | ... | special thanks |
Production Companies
Distributors
- Rank Film Distributors (1994) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- Becker Entertainment (1994) (Australia) (theatrical)
- Dela Corporation (1994) (Japan) (theatrical)
- Gramercy Pictures (I) (1994) (United States) (theatrical)
- Norsk Filmdistribusjon (1994) (Norway) (theatrical)
- Nuevo Mundo Visión S.A. (1994) (Spain) (theatrical)
- Pan Européenne Distribution (1994) (France) (theatrical)
- Rialto Film AG (1994) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
- Sandrew Film & Teater AB (1994) (Sweden) (theatrical)
- Senator Film (1994) (Germany) (theatrical)
- Columbia TriStar Home Video (1994) (United States) (video) (laserdisc)
- PolyGram Video (1994) (United States) (video) (laserdisc)
- Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (1995) (Argentina) (VHS)
- VideoVisa (1995) (Mexico) (VHS)
- Elliniki Kinimatografiki Enosi (ELKE) (1996) (Greece) (theatrical)
- Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
- USA Films (1997) (United States) (VHS)
- Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE) (2003) (United States) (DVD)
- Senator Home Entertainment (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
- Indaco Pictures (2014) (Italy)
- Shout! Factory (2019) (United States) (Blu-ray)
- SEF-Kinoton (1995) (Russia) (theatrical)
- Columbia TriStar Home Video (Australia) (VHS)
- Fabulous Films (2024) (United Kingdom) (Blu-ray)
- Fabulous Films (2024) (United Kingdom) (DVD)
- PlayArte Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
- Polydor Music Video (United Kingdom) (VHS)
- Shout Select (2019) (United States) (Blu-ray)
Special Effects
- ReelEye Company (special effects contact lenses)
Other Companies
- Beat About the Bush (musical instruments)
- Bucks Motion Picture Laboratories (film processing)
- Capital FX (titles and opticals)
- Joe Dunton & Company International (camera equipment)
- Mister Lighting (lighting equipment)
- Motion Picture Association (MPA)
- Movietech (camera equipment provided by)
- Mr Lighting (lighting)
- Ocean Way Studios (music recorded at)
- Ruben Entertainment Insurance Services (insurance)
- Sapex Scripts (post-production script services)
- Twickenham Film Studios (sound re-recording)
- Twickenham Sound Station (digital sound editing services)
- Virgin Records (soundtrack)
Storyline
Plot Summary |
A pre-fame Beatles head for the seedy clubs of Hamburg in search of success. The band meet up with a group of trendy German beatniks, one of whom (Astrid Kircherr) bass guitarist Stuart Sutcliffe falls in love with. Whilst best friend John Lennon can only watch, Sutcliffe has to choose between rock 'n roll and a new life in Germany... Written by Douglas Baptie |
Plot Keywords | |
Taglines | He Had To Choose Between His Best Friend... The Woman He Loved... And The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band In the World. See more » |
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Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
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Did You Know?
Trivia | As seen in the movie, The Beatles are given "uppers" pills so they can keep performing when they're getting tired. Also, as seen in the shot after John accepts the pills for the first time, The Beatles are performing "Long Tall Sally" like crazed maniacs with eyes bulging and sweating profusely. The reason for this is that the uppers were actually prescription-strength "speed" pills. According to all of The Beatles in various interviews (most prominently in the "Beatles Anthology" film and book), the band was forced to perform up to eight hours a night, far and away more than a band can possibly play given the normal fatigue that sets in from singing and playing. Whenever they grew tired, the bartenders or the waitresses would often give them (and other performers) uppers to keep them going. Because of this, and their horrible living conditions in the Kaiserkeller Club's back room, The Beatles were often sweaty, smelly, pale and shockingly thin (speed pills back then doubled as diet pills) because they rarely bathed, hardly ever washed their clothes or, more importantly, ate healthy meals. However, after Stuart Sutcliffe began dating Astrid Kirchherr, she would feed the band and wash their clothes and allow them access to her bathroom for bathing. All of The Beatles have said that Astrid, more or less, kept them alive and healthy. See more » |
Goofs | There are at least one movie posters visible, that aren't from that period. "Svezia, inferno e paradiso" (aka Sweden: Heaven and Hell) movie released in 1968, and it can seen in movie theatre scene (At 01:05). See more » |
Movie Connections | Featured in Backbeat Band: Money, Version 1 (1994). See more » |
Soundtracks | Good Golly Miss Molly See more » |
Crazy Credits | At the very end of the end titles, long after all the other music credits have run, one last music credit appears on the otherwise blank screen: "TIME TO GO HOME, Written by Maria Bird, Published by Minder Music." See more » |
Quotes |
John Lennon:
We're gonna be big Stu, we're gonna be too big for Liverpool, we're gonna be too big for Hamburg, we're gonna be too big for our own bloody good. See more » |