In this equally interesting item, British Pathé gives The Beatles the deluxe treatment with a newsreel shot in Techniscope (a CinemaScope-style process, using an anamorphic lens for a widescreen image), Technicolor, and, at least for the performance sections, sync sound, documenting a very, very early performance by the group in Manchester.
There’s lots of differences in the structure of this newsreel vs. the Stones newsreel, not the least of which is the clean-scrubbed image the Beatles project, as well as the proscenium arch approach to their performance, seen in the distance on a stage with a large curtain dramatically closing as they end their performance, as opposed to the rather scruffy circumstances that the Stones were obliged to perform in.
You can also see that Pathé sent a whole crew out to shoot this; there’s over-shoulder shots from the stage of the screaming audience, close-ups of the lads in mid-performance, wide shots that take in the entire theater. All in all, this newsreel, rather prosaically entitled “The Beatles Come to Town,” is top-of-the-line treatment for a pop act of the era, and clearly recognizes that the Beatles were soon to become international stars of the first magnitude.
You can view it here; again, click on the button for the fullscreen image.
