List of inaccuracies.


Allot of people who haven't seen the film yet keep asking about inaccuracies in the film. i thought that i could list some off the top of my head.

In case you don't know much about John Lennon's life and don't want to be SPOILED then don't read ahead.

Firstly, i'd like to say that i think it was a great film, the only thing needed was a better director who actually knows something about John Lennon and a better cast. Also, i've only seen the film once at the movies and that was a while back now, so forgive me if i say something false about the film.

1. Mimi was portrayed as quite wicked, especially in the scene after George's death where she doesn't want to hug John. She loved John and the film didn't really explore their connection at all, they just despised each other.
2. At the fete, John was playing 'Come Go With Me' when Paul McCartney arrived (in reality). In the film, he is playing Maggie May. They also play way too well, John never played well until the Hamburg days.
3. John and Paul never shook hands when they met. Paul played Twenty Flight Rock upside down on John's right hand guitar, as well as Be Bop A Lula. The film briefly shows him playing Twenty Flight Rock right side up.
4. George had already briefly met John prior to playing Raunchy on the bus. He did not want him in the band as he was only fourteen. The film shows John meeting George on the bus and he is instantly let into the band.
5. John knew his mother always. The film makes it seem as though he hadn't seen her in years.
6. In Spite of All The Danger was recorded on the 12th of May and John's mother died on the 15th of May. She dies before they record the song in the film.
7. Paul and George's characterization was all wrong.
8. John never punched Paul.

That's all i can think of right now. if you can add more, please feel free to.

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[deleted]

[deleted]

I won't argue about the list, as I'm not an expert on the young John Lennon. But I don't think that Mimi was portrayed in the film as "quite wicked". She seemed (in the film) to be attempting to make John strong, and give him the kind of boundaries, and stability lacking in many of the family situations she knew.

How are Paul and George's characterizations all wrong? This isn' an argument, I just would like to further understand your point.

"If I knew the way, I would take you home" ("Ripple")

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George was very shy and the guy who portrayed him in Backbeat was spot on. In the film, Paul is like a wise mentor and it is implied that he is well behaved and responsible. Remember when he refuses a beer? Paul was really never like this. He had sex when he was fifteen with a babysitter who was much older than him. And the way he dominates over John in terms of his musical knowledge in the film like a mentor. The real Paul could play the guitar better than John and he knew all the words to the songs he sang, but that was it. Paul was never that wise as a kid.

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I thought she was pretty stiff upper lip in that scene. I commented to my friend about taking the British thing too far when I first saw that scene. I mean, his uncle had just died and she tells him to go to his room?

...for more information on the Crack Spider's Bitch, contact The Canadian Wildlife Service in Ottawa.

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In Spite of All The Danger was recorded on the 12th of May and John's mother died on the 15th of May. She dies before they record the song in the film/

LOL isn't that being just a little bit nitpicky? Obviously that was done for dramatic effect, and I thought it worked well.


Life is just that thing between naps

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I don't think that the OP was dismissing the film altogether, or claiming that all the points were equally important.

"If I knew the way, I would take you home" ("Ripple")

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I noticed the same inaccuracies, except for the date of their recording of "In Spite of all the Danger."
Paul didn't bring his own guitar to meet John after the garden fete at Woolton. He used someone else's guitar (he has said he borrowed a guitar, so I don't know if it was John's) and he had to play right-handed. He also has said that he thought it was funny that John didn't know the real lyrics to "Come and Go With Me," and he was making up the words on the spot.
Paul has out-and-out said the John never hit him. He said that he was given the script before shooting started by Sam Taylor Wood, who is a personal friend. He objected to the harsh way that Mimi was portrayed, and the script was revised somewhat in response to his feelings. I think he has been very reserved in his comments, and didn't attend the premiere.
Obviously, the turnover of the original Quarrymen to John, Paul, George, Stu and Pete right before Hamburg had to fade into the background while the primary story of John-Julia-Mimi gets played out.
I loved the movie, and these comments are not meant as criticism, because this isn't a documentary. I especially loved the opening scene where John is running through the arcade (is that Gambier Terrace?) with the voices of screaming girls behind him, in a beautiful recreation of the opening of "A Hard Day's Night." It's just a dream, but a dream about his future.

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Funny you should mention A Hard Day's Night.

The very loud one-noted guitar strum (or however I should describe it) you hear at the very start of the Nowhere Boy film is actually a very strong reference towards A Hard Day's Night, as both the Beatles film, the LP and the single start this way.

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The very loud one-noted guitar strum (or however I should describe it) you hear at the very start of the Nowhere Boy film is actually a very strong reference towards A Hard Day's Night,

That was such a cool way to start the film. I loved it.

-Di

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I love that chord too. Rolling Stone magazine once called it, "The most famous chord in rock music." It is very Beatles-ish and instantly identifies John and as every guitar player knows who has tried to play "A Hard Days Night", the sound of it is very hard to recreate. The basis of it is from George Harrison's 12-string Rickenbacker, but there is much more to it. In fact, here is a very interesting story about how hard it is to recreate that very chord:

http://everything2.com/title/The%2520%2522A%2520Hard%2520Day%2527s%2520Night%2522%2520Chord%2520-%2520Rock%2527s%2520Holy%2520Grail

As far as the inaccuracies go, I side with those who believe that it's OK to take some creative license. It's impossible to recreate the past because memories and motivations change. Aunt Mimi herself related two separate versions of what she thought the day after first seeing John on stage: "I was horrified to behold John in front of a microphone", and "I was as pleased as punch to see him up there". The film was a very entertaining recreation, which is about all you can hope for in a historical film.

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6. In Spite of All The Danger was recorded on the 12th of May and John's mother died on the 15th of May. She dies before they record the song in the film.

If you're gonna be so picky, check your references first. John Lennon's mother died on the 15th of JULY.

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sorry, they should both be July

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Where is Stu and Pete Best in this film?

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I must say these "inaccuracies" are a bit trivial. "John and Paul never shook hands when they met."

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it's true. Ivan Vaughn's wife said that that's what she found amazing about when they were introduced to each other.

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wasn't Julia the one that gave John his first gallotone guitar?, in the film the show him buying it at the store with Mimi... she also gaves him another guitar on his birthday

I don't know, maybe it was an attempt to make her nicer for the viewer, huh?

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i thought it was interesting they left out cynthia. she was definitely there by the time he went to hamburg anyway. she kinda gets the shaft in any movie it seems, but that's a little unfair, imo. yes, they got married because she was pregnant, but they had been together for like 4 years by then too. he even said himself in the mid 70s that it's wrong to say that he never loved cynthia. she just wasn't somebody who sucked the life force out of him and separated him from his friends.

yeah, and stu as well, he was around by the end of the movie's timeframe, at least. and everyone says he and john were so close, so that was weird.

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It's a fairly short movie, so not really expected to put Cynthia in it really - as it would detract from the story surrounding his mum and Mimi. Stuart is mentioned, I was quite surprised he didn't feature more though.
I (like many other posters) am shocked at the adherence to fact expected by some people. I'm actually impressed that the film is as accurate as it is really - many 'based on truth' films are far less so.
I will say that although Thomas Sangster is quite a good actor, he seemed oddly cast as Paul McCartney to me.

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another inaccuracy in the film was that Julia was dead by the time the quarrymen formed. that's what brought john and paul closer together as friends because paul's mum had died like either a year or month before and john's mum had died too. it was an off duty policeman who was drunk who hit john's mum. that wasn't really addressed in the film which i think would have explained better why john had problems with authority. you can find john talking about this in a john lennon documentary if you search on the GUBA video site. also, in reality, when asked to choose between his mom and dad john chose his mom NOT his dad which was claimed in the film.

i believe a lot of these time frame changes in the film were made so that the story could take place when john was older because they felt the subject matter of a boy being treated like that by his mum (sexually) might be too taboo for film audiences. in reality, john was having sex before the age he was portrayed in the film.

also john lennon's eyes were a beautiful light brown. NOT blue. though i think the guy in the film had beautiful blue eyes.

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3. John and Paul never shook hands when they met. Paul played Twenty Flight Rock upside down on John's right hand guitar, as well as Be Bop A Lula. The film briefly shows him playing Twenty Flight Rock right side up.

I'm pretty sure, he played it upside down in the film, becaue I remember John making a comment about it being upside down...

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John says "You've got that thing back to front", because Paul had a right-handed guitar but applied the strings the other way round.

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All you guys are trivia peeps who never stop to smell the spagatini.

Qui sitaque stultior me?

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