"The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years" is a must-see, not only for the British rock band's key fans, the Baby Boomers, but for music fans who weren't old enough to be there during the group's 1960s heyday.

Millennials especially will get a sense from the well-crafted, extensively researched and captivating and uplifting documentary of what it was like to be 14 in 1964 and a Beatles' fan.I know. I was. I sat in front of the television set with my family in the living room, Feb. 9, 1964, to watch the Mop Tops, as they were dubbed, sing and play on "The Ed Sullivan Show," along with some 73 million Americans, about one-third of the then population of the United States (I first saw clips of The Beatles, introduced by Randy Paar on her dad's "The Jack Paar Program").If you thought, as I did, that you knew just about all there is to know about The Beatles prior to their becoming a studio band that resulted in what Rolling Stone magazine calls the greatest album ever, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1976), think again."Eight Days a Week" uncovers many Beatles' trivia gems through many never-before-seen photos, concert footage and television interviews of the time, plus contemporary interviews with Ringo Star, drummer and vocalist; Paul McCartney (who gets the most screen time), bass player-vocalist and chief Beatles co-songwriter with John Lennon, rhythm guitar-vocalist, who comments via 1970s-era interviews; and George Harrison, songwriter, lead guitarist, via 1980s and 1990s-era interviews.Director Ron Howard, working from a screenplay by Mark Monroe ("Chasing Ice," 2012; "The Cove," 2009), charts the portion of The Beatles' career from 1962-66, from their gigs in the basement Cavern Club, Liverpool, England, to their final concert at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, 1966. While some of the footage is extremely grainy, whether in black and white or color, much of it is quite good since it has been restored digitally as best as possible, as has the sound. For those such as myself who never saw The Beatles live in concert (although I have seen Paul McCartney twice in recent years, including July 2016 in Hershey Park Stadium; met John Lennon briefly at Yoko Ono's "This Is Not Here" exhibition at the Everson Museum, Syracuse, New York, and saw Ringo Starr having breakfast at The Four Seasons hotel, Hollywood, but didn't disturb him), it's great to see The Beatles in concert on the big screen.Another aspect of "Eight Days a Week" to commend it is that it places the rise of The Beatles not only on the Billboard pop-rock music charts, but also in the cultural cauldron that was the 1960s. The Beatles' "Ed Sullivan Show" appearance is credited with providing solace for those bereaving the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination of President John F. Kennedy.Lesser known, at least for me, was The Beatles' impact on desegregating concerts, as stated in their contract clause ("Artist will not be required to perform before a segregated audience."), starting with a Sept. 11, 1964, Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla., concert. This incident is recounted by TV newscaster Larry Kane, who accompanied The Beatles on their second tour in 1964 and final 1965 tour (he became a Philadelphia TV news anchor in 1965). Kane brings a lot to the documentary with many detailed, trenchant and revealing observations.There are some surprise observers, too, in "Eight Days a Week," including Whoopi Goldberg, who talks about how The Beatles made her feel that anything was possible in personal and professional fulfillment, regardless of race. There's also an interview segment with Sigourney Weaver, who symbolizes all those screaming girls at Beatles' concerts and "Beatlemania," as it was called (girls are shown swooning, crying and fainting throughout the film) and, amazingly, is included in crowd footage as a teen at one of the concerts. There are also quite brilliant opinions expressed in interviews with Richard Lester (director, "A Hard Day's Night," 1963; "Help!" 1965), actor Eddie Izzard, composer Howard Goodall, and singer-songwriter Elvis Costello.Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, who groomed not only "those famous haircuts," but The Beatles' tailored black velvet-collar suits (as well as tan Nehru collar, epaulet, button-in-the-back military jackets for their final tour) and, with George Martin, who groomed their recording studio sound, timed the every three month release of their singles and every six month release of their albums. The camaraderie of The Beatles is emphasized (though nothing is referenced about the group's later acrimonious breakup). Controversy about The Beatles is also explored, including John Lennon's comment that, in effect, The Beatles were "more popular than Jesus," which resulted in their records being burned during their third U.S. tour. Lennon's mea culpa press conference is shown.While non-Boomers, including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra "Bobby Soxers," and Rudolph Valentino fans are probably tired of hearing about The Beatles' phenom, "Eight Days a Week" makes a case that there may never have been anything like it and may never be again (Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande fans, notwithstanding). Regardless of your taste in music, "Eight Days" brings The Beatles to life again. Yes, those are colored jelly beans thrown by fans littering the stage that "The Lads from Liverpool" must step gingerly around at a Nov. 20, 1963, Manchester, England, concert. The chart-climbing and staying success of The Beatles' singles and albums is listed. At one point (the week of April 4, 1964), The Beatles' singles occupied the No. 1 through 5 slots on Billboard music charts."The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years" is an exuberant, amusing and insightful documentary of an era. As McCartney recounts of his mates, "You had to have faith" in each other. That faith, secular as it may be, continues with Beatles' fans to this day."The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years,"No MPAA Rating; Genre: Documentary, Music; Run time: 2 hrs., 17 mins.; Distributed by Abramorama.Credit Readers Anonymous:A 30-minute film, "The Beatles at Shea Stadium," which depicts the group's third U.S. tour that opened before a then-record crowd of 55,600, is shown after the Lehigh Valley screening of "The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years."Box Office,Sept. 16: "Sully" again circled at No. 1, $22 million, $70.5 million, two weeks, keeping two sequels, "Blair Witch," from taking off, opening at No. 2, with $9.6 million, and "Bridget Jones's Baby," opening at No. 3, with $8.2 million, and the biopic about the NSA snitch, "Snowden," opening at No. 4, with $8 million;5. "Don't Breathe," $5.6 million, $75.3 million, four weeks; 6. "When the Bough Breaks," $5.5 million, $22.6 million, two weeks; 7. "Suicide Squad," $4.7 million, $313.7 million, seven weeks; 8. "The Wild Life," $2.6 million, $6.6 million, two weeks; 9. "Kubo and the Two Strings," $2.5 million, $44.2 million, five weeks; 10. "Pete's Dragon," $2 million, $72.8 million, six weeks; 22. "The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years," $615,632 (85 screens, in limited release, with a per-screen average of $7,243, highest of any of the 55 films in release, including the No. 1 "Sully").Unreel,Sept. 23:"The Magnificent Seven,"PG-13: Antoine Fuqua directs Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and Vincent D'Onofrio in the remake of the 1960 western that starred Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen about seven gunmen who protect a village from thieves."Storks,"PG: Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland direct the voices of Andy Samberg, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell and Kelsey Grammer in the animation feature comedy about storks delivering babies."Queen of Katwe,"PG: Mira Nair directs Lupita Nyong'o, David Oyelowo, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine and Madina Nalwanga in the drama based on a true story about a Uganda girl who becomes a world chess champion."The Dressmaker,"R: Jocelyn Moorhouse directs Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving and Sarah Snook in the drama about a woman returning to her small town in Australia who becomes a dressmaker."Goat,"R: Andrew Neel directs Ben Schnetzer, Nick Jonas, Gus Halper and Danny Flaherty in the drama about a young man pledging a college fraternity."The Lovers and the Despot,"No MPAA rating: Ross Adam and Robert Cannan direct the documentary about a director and an actress kidnapped by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il who forces them to make films.Four popcorn boxes out of five popcorn boxes.