For the most part, Best of the Beatles is a very interesting, well-done supplement to the official Beatles story, this documentary focusing on Pete Best and his stint in the band in the early '60s. Directed by the same man (Geoff Wonfor) who directed the Beatles' own famous Anthology documentary,... [+] Expand

For the most part, Best of the Beatles is a very interesting, well-done supplement to the official Beatles story, this documentary focusing on Pete Best and his stint in the band in the early '60s. Directed by the same man (Geoff Wonfor) who directed the Beatles' own famous Anthology documentary, it includes extensive interviews not only with Best himself, but also with quite a few others who were around him and the Beatles in their early days, including their Hamburg friends Astrid Kirchnerr (who offers the memorable observation that they would have been popular even if they'd worn turbans) and Klaus Voormann; Best's brothers Rory Best and Roag Best; Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall; and John Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Lennon. While there's no moving sound footage of the Beatles from this period, the two-hour film does use a wealth of vintage still photos, covering Pete's association with the group from the time he met them in his mother's basement club to his inglorious sacking in 1962, just as the Beatles secured their recording contract. There's also some very interesting (if brief) actual footage of Best from the 1960s, including a television spot in which he was interviewed with his mother.

However, there's also the sense that the documentary is something of an apologetic justification for the man who was dealt one of the worst breaks in the history of show business. The points are repeatedly made that Best was a good drummer, and vital to their rise both as a musician and via his moody image, which gave him great individual popularity as the Beatles established themselves in Liverpool. But Best's own nervous, shy demeanor throughout his interview segments doesn't convince the viewer that he was ever too charismatic, or offer proof that he would have been nearly as good a fit for the group as his far wittier, more charismatic replacement (Ringo Starr) was. Nor is this question addressed: if he was so vital to the Beatles' rise to success, why didn't the group's popularity suffer (quite to the contrary, it mushroomed) after Ringo stepped in? Too, a crucial piece of information is left out of the documentary that compromises its objectivity: that just a month before Best was fired, his mother, then still married to his father, gave birth to a child (Pete's half-brother Roag) fathered by Aspinall, a boarder in the Best home at the time. Though still not a well-known incident, this has been documented in several places, including a book co-authored by Roag Best himself. It wasn't necessarily a factor in Pete's ouster from the Beatles, but it's certainly a complication that seems important to have noted.

Also on the DVD is an hour or so of extra features, including interviews with Kirchnerr, Mike Smith (the A&R man who auditioned the Beatles for Decca Records in January 1962), Andy White (who replaced Ringo Starr on drums during the sessions for the Beatles' "Love Me Do" single), and Brian Poole of the Tremeloes (the band Decca chose instead of the Beatles). All of these segments offer something of interest, although it does seem that memories had dimmed about the incidents that took place about 40 years before the interviews. It adds to the appeal of a disc that will carry considerable interest for serious Beatles fans, though less intense devotees of the group might find it too specialized. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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