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Backbeat ©1994 Backbeat is a 1994 Anglo-German independent drama film directed by Iain Softley. It chronicles the early days of the Beatles in Hamburg, Germany. The film focuses primarily on the relationship between Stuart Sutcliffe (Stephen Dorff) and John Lennon (Ian Hart), and also with Sutcliffe’s German girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr (Sheryl Lee). It has subsequently been made into a stage production. Plot The film follows the Beatles through their pre-fame Hamburg days when Stuart Sutcliffe, the band’s bassist, meets German photographer Astrid Kirchherr. Cast Sheryl Lee as Astrid Kirchherr Stephen Dorff as Stuart Sutcliffe Ian Hart as John Lennon Gary Bakewell as Paul McCartney Chris O’Neill as George Harrison Scot Williams as Pete Best Kai Wiesinger as Klaus Voormann Jennifer Ehle as Cynthia Powell In addition, brief portrayals of other historical characters in these early days of the Beatles include Paul Duckworth as Ringo Starr, Paul Humpoletz as Bruno Koschmider, Wolf Kahler as Bert Kaempfert and James Doherty as Tony Sheridan. Hart had already played Lennon in the 1991 film The Hours and Times. Bakewell later reprised his role as McCartney in the 2000 television film The Linda McCartney Story. Williams reprised his role as Best in the 2000 television film In His Life: The John Lennon Story. Soundtrack Due to the film’s focus on the early days of the band, the soundtrack includes no songs written by members of the Beatles but various songs the group performed in Hamburg, written and recorded by other artists. In this respect, rather than re-create the sounds of the period, iconoclastic, rebellious musicians were recruited (as a producer noted, the Beatles’ pre-recording stage act was “the punk of its day“) to better convey the way the music was appreciated by audiences of the time. All musicians were members of contemporary American rock bands: 1. Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum): vocals (Paul McCartney) 2. Greg Dulli (The Afghan Whigs): vocals (John Lennon) 3. Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth): guitar 4. Don Fleming (Gumball): guitar 5. Mike Mills (.): bass guitar 6. Dave Grohl (Nirvana): drums 7. Henry Rollins (Black Flag): vocals (Stuart Sutcliffe) The film’s distributor happened to be PolyGram Filmed Entertainment which was then under common ownership with Polydor Records, the label that owned the rights to the Beatles’ music from the Hamburg days. Directed by Iain Softley Written by Iain Softley Michael Thomas Stephen Ward Produced by Finola Dwyer Stephen Woolley Starring Sheryl Lee Stephen Dorff Ian Hart Cinematography Ian Wilson Edited by Martin Walsh Music by Don Was Production companies Channel Four Films PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Distributed by Rank Film Distributors (United Kingdom) Senator Film (Germany) Release date 14 April 1994 Running time 100 minutes Countries United Kingdom Germany Language English
