MovieChat Forums > Backbeat (1994) Discussion > A few little problems...

A few little problems...

posted 18 years ago by ginger_sling
32 replies | jump to latest

I loved the movie a lot (I love anything to do with the Beatles) but there were a few little things that didn't fit right.

For one, the person they cast as John didn't look like John at all. They did a pretty good job with Paul and Stu, but it took me about ten minutes of watching before I could figure out where John Lennon was.

I was kind of offed by the fact that one of the bandmates said "It's been a hard day's night." That was a Ringo quote and you'd think that, if a sixteen-year-old Beatle fan knew it, the writers of a Beatle movie would know it too.

You're face to face with the man who sold the world.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] mshafto 16 years ago

How could anyone have a hard time picking out Ian Hart as John Lennon?
Firstly, he looks just like Julian, and secondly, 7 minutes into the movie Stu calls him John. I picked him out immediatley.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] PirateofPie 16 years ago

True enough. It is how well someone plays a part and captures the spirit of the characters. Looks are secondary, but it does help if the actors look similar to the people they're playing. I, for one, recognized John off the bat, though.I thought Ian Hart looked pretty similar to how John looked at the time.

But anyways, back on the "little problems" topic, I just saw this movie again recently, and realized that they had John singing Long Tall Sally....which was always sung by Paul. And Little Richard, of course.

[–] MartyMacFly 16 years ago

That (John singing "Long Tall Sally") was something that really pissed Paul off. He said so in an interview.

[–] speedolitec 15 years ago

I think Ian is a really good actor and even though he looks nothing like John he did deliver a strong performance.

[–] psxff7 14 years ago

Ian Hart has an uncanny resemblance to Julian Lennon, John's first son.

[–] mjz688 13 years ago

First off, a tip of the hat to the OP. It's nice to know teenagers are still listening to the Beatles. And I agree with him/her about the hard day's night line. I had no problem with the writers compressing time and events -- that's a typical necessity in producing a compact, coherent screenplay. But having someone other than Ringo say "a hard day's night" really bugged me, especially because they had the perfect set up for him to say it in the film -- the scene when he's crashed out in the Beatles' flat because he's had a, well, hard day's night.

[–] jefgg 11 years ago

I thought Ian Hart looked more like John Lennon than Chris O'Neill looked like George Harrison. I didn't sweat it because it was a movie, not a documentary.

Almost any movie that is based on real people and events has inaccuracies. I am not excusing it. But overall, "Backbeat" was very good. It may not have all the correct details, but it captured the essence.

[–] sezme 11 years ago

And even if Ian Hart didn't look identical to John, he sure sounded like him.

[–] crissttigaldames 10 years ago

The problem I had is that they depicted Paul as simply the guy who plays back up for John.. It's as if Paul and George were session guys for John Lennon. John and Paul knew each other before Stuart Sutcliffe even came into the picture. They were a lot closer than the movie gave them credit for. They were "The Beatles", not "John Lennon, his best bud Stu and some other random guys."

I wish someone would do a proper movie about the early days of the Beatles.

Yeah, and this is often the case. I'd really like to see a movie of The Beatles from Paul's perspective or at least equally from John's and Paul's. Let's remember for a second that it was when Paul came into the band that John's musical career and the band itself really became serious business and it all took off. Before that it was just John and some of his mates having some fun. I mean, John didn't even know how to play the guitar, nor did he write songs. He began to do both because of Paul. In fact, if John was intimidated by anyone's "maturity, confidence and good looks" (and talent) it was Paul's, not Stu's. He talked about it in interviews, how he knew letting Paul into the band meant it would stop being just "his" band, or something to that effect. And that was why he gave it some thought. I think for this very reason he even thought about kicking him out very early on, and told by Pete Shotton (a close friend of John's who was in the band early on).

And Long Tall Sally was ALWAYS sang by Paul. It was in fact the first song he ever sang live on a stage, before he had even met John.

"The Love you take is equal to the Love you make" The Beatles.