The Beatles Anthology

The Beatles Anthology is the name of a documentary, a series of three albums, and a television miniseries which focus on the history of the popular rock band The Beatles.

The television specials and video collection

Literally thousands of hours of footage were viewed in consideration for inclusion in the documentary, which originally aired in Britain on ITV, beginning November 19, for an hour a week until Christmas Eve. The series was produced by Apple Corps and Granada Television.

Related Topics:
ITV - Apple Corps - Granada Television

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It appeared in America on ABC as a five-hour miniseries over three nights (November 19-21, 1995). ITV's version of Anthology runs 25-30 minutes longer than the one screened on US television, with most of that time spent on more complete song sequences.

Related Topics:
ABC - November 19 - 21 - 1995

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All of the surviving Beatles members filmed new interviews to add to older interviews with John Lennon, who died in 1980. The first episode ended with a promotional video of the brand new Beatles track, "Free as a Bird," created from a recording supplied by Lennon's widow Yoko Ono.

Related Topics:
John Lennon - 1980 - Yoko Ono

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The entire documentary was released sometime after on video as an eight-tape set with additional material not seen in the television specials, clocking in at 10 hours total. The entire set was released worldwide on DVD on April 1, 2003.

Related Topics:
DVD - April 1 - 2003

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The Beatles Anthology video release won a Grammy for best long-form music video. "Free as a Bird" won two: one for best short-form music video, and one for best pop performances by a duo or group.

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