h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Beatles Biopics: 'In His Life: The John Lennon Story' - A87855475
Author: Bluebottle - U43530

Okay, I admit it - I love cheesy Beatles biopics. Yes, the acting is often terrible, but I find it fascinating to watch and compare how the same story is told in different ways.

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Excellent

Looking forward to the Stag Beatle entry

What happened to Stu Sutcliffe in the end

What happened to Stu after he died? His body was taken back to Liverpool for burial. For more information about Stuart Sutcliffe, you can see: A87810852

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Have you added the paragraph about Stu or was it in there before?

Anyway - one nitpick:

>>The film begins with a reassuring statement reassuring viewers that .. << You could leave the first "reassuring" out.

And one question: Is the film available on DVD or a film website? Could one see it today anywhere?

I didn't change the sentence about Stu Sutcliffe - mainly because his death is glossed over. His funeral doesn't appear in this film, so I've not mentioned it. But there is the link to the entry about him for those who want to know more.

The film hasn't been released on DVD unfortunately, but I do know that it was on television last Saturday and two days ago on True Entertainment, Freeview Channel 61 in the UK. On both days it was shown straight after 'Birth of the Beatles', as a Beatles biopic double-bill. It might be available online, I've not really looked.

I get the impression that True Entertainment often repeat what they show, so I imagine it'll be on again soon. A website called LocateTV allows you to type in the name of television programmes and films you'd like to be notified about and they'll e-mail you to let you know if it is on - I expect other, similar websites are available both within the UK and abroad.

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It'll be on next Monday at 10am on True Entertainment, for those of you based in the UK and wanting to watch.

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Hi Bluebottle. You're certainly dedicated to your cause of documenting everything ever filmed about the Beatles!

The main issue in this is the Veracity section.

There are some odd choices of words which alternate between suggesting that the film is accurate and that it isn't. I can't make out whether this is sarcasm or just mistakes in the writing:

reassuring viewers that their expectations are not going to be met -- suggests people will think it is not accurate
a further statement reinforcing this belief that they are being fully informed -- suggests people will think it is accurate
Certain events and dialogue in this drama based on fact are interpretative -- suggests people will think it is not accurate
The aura of authenticity is reinforced -- suggests accuracy

What are you trying to do here?

You list the Blackpool scene as the biggest problem, but the only thing that seems to be wrong with it is that it is not filmed in Blackpool.

I think the Veracity / Errors sections would work better if you put in a new header "Major Mistakes" or something like that before the final paragraph of the Veracity section, separating that section from the list of mistakes and allowing the mistakes to be grouped together better.

You could also put a header before the section about John being shown in a realistic/negative light, to separate the section from the list of mistakes.


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Some less important changes, which are mainly typos, grammar and punctuation:

Like biopics, the film shows John Lennon and his group

-- this is a biopic, so it can't be 'like biopics'. I think you meant to say 'like other Beatles biopics'

The Quarry Men vs The Quarrymen -- I've only ever seen Quarrymen but Wikipedia gives both spellings. What do you think?

the Beatles having number one success -->
the Beatles having a number one success

he and the members attends -->
he and the members attend

July 6, 1957 --> 6 July, 1957

the Quarry Men plays -->
the Quarry Men play

on the top of a Penny Lane bus -- was he standing on the roof of the bus? In my dialect you can't say 'on top of' for the upper storey of a bus. I'd say "upstairs in a Penny Lane bus". It may be OK in your dialect.

she is now in a passionate relationship with John has changed her hair -->
she is now in a passionate relationship with John and has changed her hair

A blink after at EMI's Abbey Road studio -->
A blink after, at EMI's Abbey Road studio
(I'd say 'a blink later')

15th January, 1964 --> 15 January, 1964

$225,000 US Dollars --> US$225,000

a reassuring statement reassuring viewers --> a statement reassuring viewers

The John Lennon Story included scenes --> The John Lennon Story includes scenes

Quarry Bank High School and Liverpool Art College and St Peter's Church Hall -->
Quarry Bank High School, Liverpool Art College and St Peter's Church Hall

through grounds of the Strawberry Field orphanage -->
through the grounds of the Strawberry Field orphanage

'Dedicated to [my] cause' am I? Well, at least you didn't say 'courageous cause'...

If you ever saw the Blackpool scene, you’d know how bad the Blackpool scene is. The acting in it hits rock bottom. Yes, in a telly biopic you expect the standard of acting and effort made by the actors to be quite low. Sometimes you are pleasantly surprised by the effort made – for instance, when Peter Capaldi played George Harrison for a couple of minutes in 'John & Yoko: A Love Story' he specifically learnt how to play the guitar just like George, which he now demonstrates in every episode of 'Doctor Who' in which appears as often as possible. The Blackpool scene is an example of a scene in which the standard of acting to be surprising in the other way – that it is so below the admittedly low expected standard based on both acting and dialogue.

'The Quarry Men vs The Quarrymen -- I've only ever seen Quarrymen but Wikipedia gives both spellings. What do you think?'
I've looked into this. I wrote 'Quarry Men' because the old photos all clearly show that the drum skin was (and still is, as the drum is on display in the Beatles Story museum) clearly labelled 'Quarry Men'. That said, written documents more often say 'Quarrymen', so I've used 'Quarrymen' in this article now.

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I like this - good humour! "Obligatory nude model scene"

"Songs in Bold were later released by the Beatles"

Delete "later" unless the Beatles released the songs after the biopic was made.

"On 15 July, 1958 Julia dies in a road accident "

If Julia is John's mother, it would be helpful if you say "mother Julia" at the point when she teaches him banjo

Who is Bruno?

I'm not sure the sarcasm (if that's what it is) is making the right point in the Veracity section - I think "based on actual events" is quite subtle, so it isn't necessarily clear about how much fiction is in a biopic... And are you saying that biopics *are* held to a standard, or are they *not* held to a standard? Would you consider something like "The film begins with a statement that doesn't exactly reassure viewers that their expectations are going to be met"? I like your paragraph about how the newsreel does encourage viewers to think there is authenticity in it.

Wow, the end of the Entry is very powerful... I'd prefer a different paragraph to end on, but I can't think of any suggestions for how to move things around without ending on a similarly dour note...

I remember this film – I saw it early last year.

I've added a footnote after 'When Stu sells one of his paintings' to mention who it is who bought it, on the off-chance that someone writes an entry about Sir John, and a link can be added.

I've moved the soundtrack section to the end so it doesn't end on such a shocking note. I've also added information about Bruno and clarified that Julia is John's mother. I've also re-written the veracity section too – let me know if that works better for you now.

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Excellent footnote

That's much better with the soundtrack section at the end so it's not such a shocking note to finish on

I'm still not sure what you're saying with the Veracity section, sorry... Now I read it as saying people know the film is very accurate because there's a statement saying the film is not very accurate...

Tweaked again. The truth is it is reasonably accurate for a small-budget television drama. (Except for the bits set at Blackpool. Which are rubbish.)

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