The Unauthorized Story: The Beatles—Parting Ways

Gr 7 Up—This short film details the solo lives of each of the Beatles. Separated into four equal segments, the documentary starts with a brief discussion of the dissolution of the band in 1970 and moves to the present. A cheery voiced British narrator covers their careers (including musical output and other endeavors) and personal lives. The program doesn't shy away from the unsavory. For instance, John Lennon's "Lost Weekend" (an 18-month period where he took off, with wife Yoko Ono's approval, with his personal assistant May Pang) is mentioned, and the band's use of drugs is also described. However, all is discussed in a tasteful, reportlike manner, with minimal sensationalism. Footage and interviews will give viewers a general, if not nuanced, sense of how each of the Beatles carved out an identity for himself. Though famous solo songs are mentioned (such as Lennon's "Imagine," George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord," and Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die"), the works aren't included. The segment on Lennon is by far the richest, and students will certainly understand the deep sense of love that this particular Beatle engendered in his followers, while the bit on Ringo Starr, perhaps predictably, is the weakest (with few of his famous hits mentioned and an erroneous statement that he voiced Thomas the Tank Engine on Shining Time Station, when he, in fact, played Mr. Conductor). Viewers new to the group will come away informed, though perhaps not particularly impassioned.—Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal