Backbeat movie overview

Amazon.com Widgets

Available Backbeat Images

Backbeat Overview

The Beatles' early days as a struggling bar band are depicted in this fact-based drama, which tells the little-known story of original member Stuart Sutcliffe (Stephen Dorff). A close friend of John Lennon, Sutcliffe acts as the band's original bassist, accompanying them on their early gigs in Liverpool and Hamburg, Germany. The friendship becomes strained, however, when Sutcliffe falls in love with a German art student and starts to question his commitment to the band. With Sutcliffe's story taking center stage, the stories of the more famous Beatles largely fade into the background. The exception is John Lennon, thanks to a fierce performance by Ian Hart, who had previously portrayed the musician in the more intimate and provocative The Hours and the Times. While Backbeat does provide a new perspective on the band's beginning, and numerous opportunities for a group of modern rock musicians to recreate the band's energetic early performances, it never makes Sutcliffe's story seem more than a footnote to musical history.~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Production
Channel Four Films [gb]; Fortbeam; PolyGram Filmed Entertainment [gb]; Royal; Scala Productions [gb];

Cast Names
Sheryl Lee; Stephen Dorff; Ian Hart; Gary Bakewell; Chris O'Neill; Scot Williams; Kai Wiesinger; Jennifer Ehle; Marcelle Duprey; John White; Bernard Merrick; Nicholas Tennant; Finola Geraghty; Rob Spendlove; Charlie Caine; Frieda Kelly; Paul Humpoletz; Christiana Uriarte; Abigail Wrapson; Galit Hershkovitz; Gertan Klauber; Stephan Grothgar; Lynn Lowton; Manuel Harlan; Britta Gartner; Dirk Winkler; Wolf Kahler; James Doherty; Paul Duckworth; Joerg Stadler;

Box Office
USD 2,392,599

Release Date
1994-01-01 * (Sundance Film Festival)
1994-04-15
1994-04-17 (Cleveland International Film Festival)

Genres
Biography; Drama; History; Music;

Running Time
1 hr. 40 min.

Director
Iain Softley

Backbeat Reviews

No comments have been provided.

Submit your comment/review for this movie:

Top Movies

Latest Comments

Backbeat movie overview