There's nothing very profound here, but we do at least get a nice handling of period and milieu, and pretty good performances of the songs.
Comment
09/10/07
Backbeat (1994)
74
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:25
Rotten:9
Average Rating:6.1/10
Synopsis: A reconstruction of the legendary British rock group's early days, before the advent of Beatlemania and world-wide fame. The story focuses on the turbulent and exciting period that the Beatles'... [More]
Reviews for Backbeat
What pulls you over the bum spots is the electrifying immediacy.
09/10/07
First-time director Iain Softley makes the film more visually distinctive than most music bios.
09/10/07
The early, pre-fame days of the Beatles are a great subject for a film, but the potential has been only partly realized in Backbeat.
09/10/07
Top CriticThe film tells the story of the original, little-known fifth Beatle, Stuart Sutcliffe, a young painter with rock n' roll sensibility who in 1960 forgoes his promising art career to join his best friend John Lennon (nicely played by Ian Hart) in Berlin
09/12/06
You can't miss the affection and sincerity Backbeat carries from start to finish.... Softley bottles the attitude and energy, the excitement of the new, that were as integral to the Beatles' success as their songs.
04/09/06
The music is loud and raw, but nevertheless evokes the excitement it generated.
01/26/06
The music, done here by a group of grunge all-stars, doesn't even attempt to sound dead-on, but remains mostly true to the raucous spirit of the time.
12/06/05
No review available.
11/14/05
No review available.
10/09/05
points to the tragic irony of immortality being achieved through early death
08/17/05
Iain Softley directs his feature debut with simplicity and feeling, and you don't have to have been a Beatles fan to get with the beat. Gives you hope for the British film industry.
06/22/05
Top CriticAll the cast give credible performances.
10/04/03
A raucous film about the Beatles before they made it big
07/18/03
No review available.
06/25/03
Backbeat, which for all its pretensions can often be impressively canny and affectionate about its subject, is helped enormously by newly recorded versions of Beatle records.
05/20/03
Top Critic
An engaging look at fifth Beatle Stuart Sutclife and his relationship with John Lennon.
12/30/02
Nice look at the early life of the Beatles.
09/08/02
Very good biopic about the early days of the Beatles
08/21/02
Latest News for Backbeat
September 12, 2007:
Total Recall: Across the Universe And The Beatles On Film
This week, Across the Universe hits theaters. Julie Taymor's film, starring Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess as a young couple in the midst of the heady, chaotic 1960s,... More...
August 24, 2006:
New Line Signs Bettany & Fraser for "Inkheart"
New Line's just getting the ball rolling on their highly-anticipated "His Dark Materials" series -- and now they have an all-new potential trilogy to worry about.... More...
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