The Beatles And World War II DVD Review

The year 1976 saw the release of All This And World War II, a strange movie combining footage from World War II and World War II movies, set to Beatles songs performed by other artists. I had long heard of this movie, but had never seen it because it apparently had not received an official DVD release, or even a proper VHS release. And supposedly the movie flopped upon its initial release. Well, in 2016, Tony Palmer, who had worked on the original film, re-edited the footage and released it on DVD under the title The Beatles And World War II (which is obviously not nearly as good a title, for the play on the word “too” isn’t as strong). Tony Palmer had worked on 200 Motels and had directed the Leonard Cohen documentary Bird On A Wire before working on All This And World War II, and left that project before the final cut in order to work on his series All You Need Is Love. How different The Beatles And World War II is from All This And World War II, I can’t say, having never seen the earlier film. Tony Palmer considers it a whole new film, though it uses at least some of the same footage and uses much of the same music. Half a dozen songs from the original film were dropped from this release. And clearly the ending is new. But the concept remains the same, which is to tell the story of World War II with Beatles songs. And for someone like me, a Beatles fan who is fascinated by World War II, it is an odd treat. And in addition to the DVD, the package includes two CDs containing the Beatles songs used in the movie, presented in basically the order in which they are heard in the film.

The film opens with footage from 1939, of people as yet untouched by war. And it is not Beatles music we hear, but rather Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, the one that begins “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” We then see footage of Franklin D. Roosevelt saying that he wishes the United States to stay out of the war. Then over footage of Hitler, we hear Helen Reddy performing “The Fool On The Hill,” and so the song becomes a comment on that wormy maniac. And as England declares war, the song continues, and soon we see crowds of Germans cheering Hitler. David Essex sings “Yesterday/All my troubles seemed so far away” as cannons fire. At times, there is a strange but wonderful humor to the film. For example, on the line “Why she had to go,” we see planes diving. And on “The Long And Winding Road,” we see abandoned, damaged vehicles on the side of a road. And that footage of people dancing while wearing gas masks is darkly funny.

“I Am The Walrus,” performed by Leo Sayer, plays over footage of the Battle of Britain. And it’s a really good rendition. One of the best songs in this film is Tina Turner’s rendition of “Come Together,” which plays over footage of Japan. She totally nails it. Interestingly, after that, the film goes back to “I Am The Walrus” for footage of Pearl Harbor. That segment contains some seriously powerful footage. Then the footage of U.S. citizens signing up for the armed services is accompanied by “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” And we do get that footage of James Stewart signing up. Then as women join the efforts, we hear Bryan Ferry’s rendition of “She’s Leaving Home.”

The film does address the shameful business about rounding up citizens of Japanese descent here in the U.S., and “Let It Be” plays over that footage. That’s another of the musical highlights, that version done by Leo Sayer (the third track Leo Sayer contributes to the movie). Jeff Lynne contributes a good version of “Nowhere Man,” which plays over the footage of the war in the Pacific, as well as an interesting rendition of “With A Little Help From My Friends.” Elton John’s rendition of “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” which had been released as a single, is used in this film, and as John Lennon performs on that track, there actually is a Beatle heard in this movie. It is footage of the Battle of Midway that we see while that song plays. At one point, that song turns to reggae, which always surprises me. Rod Stewart offers a strong rendition of “Get Back,” and The Bee Gees deliver a good version of “Golden Slumbers” (keep in mind, the original film came out a couple of years before the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band film). One of the oddest recordings in this film is Frankie Valli’s version of “A Day In The Life,” which plays during footage of the storming of the beach, though Keith Moon’s rendition of “When I’m Sixty-Four” is also in the running. Richard Cocciante offers a fairly powerful rendition of “Michelle,” which is heard during footage of the liberation of Paris. It is certainly another of the musical highlights.

There is some footage I’d like to learn more about, such as the public shaving of women. I also like the footage of the various things painted on the sides of planes. That’s a cool montage. And there is some great footage of children burning Nazi symbols, while we hear Peter Gabriel’s version of “Strawberry Fields Forever.” The film does deal briefly with the horrors of the atomic bomb, and there is some concentration camp footage near the end, which is difficult to watch, and interestingly, that is positioned after footage of celebration, which makes it all the more striking and horrifying. The movie then includes more recent footage, of children suffering from hunger, of other wars, and of the current dictator of Russia, making the point that the troubles did not end with World War II, that humanity continues to struggle. This footage is unnecessary, and feels tacked on, rather than being the natural conclusion to the film. But this movie is still absolutely worth watching.

The Beatles And World War II was directed by Tony Palmer. (All This And World War II was directed by Susan Winslow.) The movie was edited by David Hughes and Tony Palmer. I am so glad to have this movie on DVD and its soundtrack on the two CDs. By the way, the CDs do include some of the speeches as well as the music, and also include “We Can Work It Out,” a song not included in the new movie, and a bit from an interview with John Lennon. However, I do wish that there were a fourth disc included in this great package, one with the original version of the film. Then it would be complete. The Beatles And World War II was released on DVD on August 5, 2016.